[lbrito]

I understand your point and I see comparisons with South Korea a lot. Sibling commenter makes a good remark about education.

Another huge difference which can't be underestimated is the geopolitical importance of South Korea and the ensuing economic aid from the US.

Singapore also has uniquenesses (its location) that wouldn't translate well into other countries.

In no way does this diminish the merits of both those countries -- its great that they managed to develop so well, and they deserve applause for doing so. But I don't think we can easily compare either to Brazil.

[sudosysgen]

Another big difference is that both of them were absolute dictatorships at the time, which means they would develop differently from democracies in general, let alone a very corrupt and flawed democracy like Brazil.