Except that, materially, those in the "USA sphere" -- even those with pro-US dictators forced upon them -- are better off comparatively than their neighbours or

Except that, materially, those in the "USA sphere" -- even those with pro-US dictators forced upon them -- are better off comparatively than their neighbours or a comparable country. Just to look at the countries you listed and their GDP per capita: 1) Asia Taiwan vs Mainland China South Korea vs North Korea Indonesia (under Suharto) vs Indonesia (under Sukarno) 2) Europe Spain & Portugal vs Eastern European countries (These two are weird. They were originally old facist countries that stayed neutral during WWII. They were also rural and not industrial compared to every other Western European country until recently) 3) South America Guatemala vs Nicaragua Brazil vs India (This is tough, since no country can really compare itself to Brazil in South America. I think Indonesia is probably most similar, but they are also on the list. India was more Soviet-aligned) Argentina & Chile vs every other Spanish-speaking South American country. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, but everybody struggles to some degree during the cold war. Those that the CIA kept propping up are much much better economically than those that didn't receive US funding and arms. I can't believe I am defending the CIA in 2023. But here we are.