It's true in America too, though. I'm sure it's not uncommon to see a competent worker get passed over for promotion multiple times while the boss's chums form a conga line through the position.
But people in America have many protections. While in the UAE for example if you publicly complain about a company, boss or government you could get jailed/deported. People often don't even get paid for months and they have no real recourse.
Whether or not Americans have protections isn't the topic. It's whether we differ significantly in whether competency know-how or network and camaraderie decide your job prospects.
Also you can be fired for publicly complaining about an employer in at-will states, at the very least.