She says she doesn't know of a single "former Spanish colony" that ever amounted to much, both from an economic and governmental perspective. Off hand, I think she's right.

I'm currently reading 2 classics from Filipino literature, "Noli Me Taggere" (Touch Me Not) and "El Filibusterismo" by Jose Rizal. It was a novel that stressed Filipino nationalism against the tyranny of Spanish rule and the Catholic Church. He was executed by Filipino Colonial troops (under Spanish orders) for writing the books.

She's probably right about most former European colonies, too. Countries like Spain, Belgium, and France raped the natural resources of most of their colonies and ruled them through tyrannical treatment and corruption. It's hard to overcome corruption that exists in every level of a society.