Jack of Harts

The South Americans are the most powerful of the non-aligned powers.  They maintained strict neutrality between the Western Alliance, Russians, and Chinese as we expanded into the stars.  Their worlds became trading posts where traders of all nations are welcomed, for a small import-export tax of course.  And their own freighters carry goods that cannot be acquired through official shipping to all the worlds.  They are a vital cog of the interstellar economy.