Usually the narrative boils down to the elite (with help from the United States) conspiring to keep the country down. I've been hearing this drivel since elementary school, it's tiresome.
> Also, I don't think Brazil is a special example at all.
Yeah, like most Brazilians I used to think that Brazil was exceptional. The eye-opener was the book "The Elusive Quest for Growth", which describes efforts to bring many countries out of poverty. Most poor countries make similar mistakes, we're not an exception at all.
It may, at times and under certain circumstances. But for the most part, the notion that the U.S is what has kept much of latin america poor completely sidesteps completely valid blame against the region's many corrupt or awful leaders and their flunkies. It also sidesteps the bad voting decisions many populist-led voters have made for decades. Furthermore, it doesn't explain how a number of South American countries have indeed made enormous progress in social development over several decades.
Finally, you're talking about a vast region with hundreds of millions of people. If its own population and leaders want development, they'll find a way to get it, regardless of what any U.S agency or president wants without resorting to full blown military interventions across the board.
The idea that South America would be rich if only it weren't for the "Evil U.S." is a hard leftist myth that gets far too much credit at the expense of a much more complex and dynamic reality with many sources of not so popular blame.
> Also, I don't think Brazil is a special example at all.
Yeah, like most Brazilians I used to think that Brazil was exceptional. The eye-opener was the book "The Elusive Quest for Growth", which describes efforts to bring many countries out of poverty. Most poor countries make similar mistakes, we're not an exception at all.