Because by and large countries there are dominated by one tin horn dictatorship after another and the continent has been, by and large, a social and economic failure.

Is the panama canal zone considered a part of "the west"?

I personally do consider all of Latin America to be "the west". And I think the term as it was applied in the postwar period carries little meaning today. I think people are coming around to that, and realignment is really kicking into gear right now. I hope to see and believe I will see a mostly prosperous Latin America within my lifetime.