> The commonality between these stories is that loyalty and hard work at a job has historically enabled people to earn a good quality of life. Nowadays, it intuitively seems like internal promotions from the very entry level are harder to come by, as many firms prefer to hire people with degrees for management or hire externally.

This could also be a difference in the country's working culture. Not all countries need to be the same in this regard, and it may still be common to rise through promotions in Brazil.

It could probably depend on other factors, like the industry, too.