I have often wondered why no South American country ever reached the level of the United States or Canada, even though they have been settled for a longer amount of time. I have come to one conclusion that seems to be the most deciding factor.
While geography has a lot to do with it, I think the #1 thing that Spanish America missed out on was any true desire to populate their regions. Much of the United States was populated by those seeking religious freedom, refuge from overcrowding, prisoners and land-seekers. The Spanish had no such wide-scale movements of people into their colonies; They never had any groups with the intention of settling the colonies as the British did. The only people you really had coming into their colonies were noble plantation owners, fortune-seeking prospectors and African slaves. The same goes for Portugal; While modern day Brazil's economy and population is booming, their still not up to snuff, and this is a consequence of being settled on the back of slaves... lots and lots of slaves...
I wonder that if Spain had any groups willing to settle New Andalusia or Argentina, that these states would be able to create a society more akin to the U.S., and in the process reach better levels of economy and production by the modern age.
Here's one idea: Perhaps a more tolerant Spain gave the option to Jews and Muslims to relocate to South America. Perhaps a conquered Morocco would give them even more Muslims to ship over and colonize.
What other ways do you guys see that could make South America more on the level of "Western" countries by today's age?