the secrets behind Latin American phonecodes:

the 8 larger countries have a two digit code,
(+5I), (+52), (+53), (+54), (+55), (+56), (+57), (+58)


the smaller countries have a three digit code:
the 9 smaller countries of South America start with +59-
(+590), (+59I), (+592), (+593), (+594), (+595), (+596), (+597), (+598) and (+599)


the 8 smaller countries of Central America start with (+50-)  
(+50I), (+502), (+503), (+504), (+505), (+506), (+507), (+509)

looking at one of her old adress books, Brigitte noticed that
many central American countires were once part of the North American phonesystem using the country code (+I)
in fact it is only in I972 that British Hoduras (now Belize) (+50I), Costa Rica (+506), El Salvador (+503), Honduras (+504), Nicaragua (+505) and Panama (+507)
became part of the Latin American Phonesystem


it is only in I976 that the French Departements Guadeloupe (+590) and Martinique (+596)
got their country codes

** Brigitte did not really understand why in I984
Saint Pierre et Miquelon  two French islands situated in the high North above Nova Scotia, Canada
were remooved from the North American phone system (+I) and got the Central American country code (+508)
all the Caribbean Islands situated a few thousand miles lower remaining in the North American system

*also the British Falklands (in Spanish Malvinas) (+500)  located next to Argentina, South America
received a central American code, it would have been more logic to give them a Southern (+59-) code
the explanation is that there were no more codes left ...


all 5 codes having been issued
it will be difficult to react towards eventual future political changes,
like splits of Latin American countries