Portugese-born writer Sarah Hoyt:

I didn’t grow up in a South American country, but the culture rhymes. I think I told before of the father of a friend who, when I was fourteen, informed me that the Portuguese would have invented/produced much better computers than IBM if “the US let us.” I tried to figure out what the US was doing to hold back this powerhouse of Portuguese computing and got a confused story about not being allowed to grow rice and if Portugal did something or other (search me. It made no sense then, and I have trouble remembering insane ramblings) the US would cut aid. Thereby making it impossible for Portugal to have a computer industry.