Latin America Gathers to Gripe About U.S.Sadly, this region could be the poster child for fecklessness and victimology. No wonder we in North America (including Canadians) tend to ignore Latin America. Like other places sharing a Spanish colonial heritage (e.g., Philippines, California), the region is charming but corrupt and badly governed.
Latin America finds it so much easier to blame the U.S. than to face up to what they are doing wrong. If their troubles are our fault, they don't have to take the hard steps to solve those problems; in fact it would be both inappropriate and pointless to try.
Even the region's few bright spots (Costa Rica, Chile, Peru) only look good in comparison with their sad neighbors. The stunning comparison is to see what Lee Kuan Yew accomplished in post-colonial Singapore, in less time with fewer resources in the steamy tropics.
Culture matters.
