It's my culture and my country.
All of the small miracles you listed happened in spite of the culture, not because of it. It's also not a coincidence that both are deeply linked to the most successful brazilian enterprise: the brazilian government.
I'm trying to avoid getting too deep in these Brazil tangents so I'm gonna leave it at that. Anyone who cares enough to know what I think about the subject can just look up my comment history.
thank you for sharing your lived experience
Timothy Snyder, in On Tyranny, has a chapter about staying in touch with friends from other countries, and while we are not friends, this thread is in that spirit and I have learned things from you, so thank you!