In Brazil
In Brazil, the average life expectancy at birth is 74.5 years. The country’s adult mortality rate per 1000 inhabitants is 97 for females and 197 for men. Furthermore, the death rate per 100,000 individuals from malaria and tuberculosis is 0.6 and 2.5, respectively, with an HIV incidence of 10.5 percent among adults aged 15 to 19. Brazil has an infant mortality rate of 12.3 per 1000 live births, while the country spends 9.7 percent of its GDP on public health. Additionally, the Brazilian Multidimensional Poverty Index stands at 0.011 with 2.9 percent of the country’s population being in multidimensional poverty. The Brazilian population living below the income poverty line ($ 1.25 per day) stands at 3.8 percent, and the population that nears multidimensional poverty is 7.2 percent. In Brazil, the employment to population ratio stands at 65.6 percent for the population aged 15 years and above, while child labor (population aged 5 to 14 years) stands at 8.3 percent. Besides, the Brazilian domestic workers represent 17 percent and 0.9 percent of the country’s total employment for the females and males respectively. The country’s labor participation rate for people aged 15 years and above stands at 69.8 percent, and the average unemployment rate stands at 6.7 percent.
On the other hand, in Nigeria
Nigeria has a life expectancy at birth of 52.8 years, and its adult mortality rate per 1000 people stands at 325 and 357 for the females and males respectively. The deaths in Nigeria as a result of malaria and tuberculosis (per 100,000 people) stands at 106.6 and 16 respectively. Besides, the HIV prevalence in Nigeria for the adults aged between 15 and 49 years stands at 13.2 percent, with an infant mortality rate of 74.3 per 1000 live births. Additionally, the country spends 3.9 percent of its GDP on public health. The Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index stands at 0.279 with 50.9 percent of its population faced with multidimensional poverty. In Nigeria, the population living below the income poverty line (below $ 1.25 per day) stands at 62 percent, with 18.4 percent of the country’s population nearing multidimensional poverty.
Additionally, the employment to population ratio in Nigeria(for people aged 15 years and above) stands at 51.8 percent. The country’s child labor (persons aged 5 to 14 years) stands at 24.7 percent, and the domestic workers represent 0.6 and 0.4 percent (of the country’s total employment) for females and males respectively. Besides, Nigeria has a labor force participation rate of 56.1 percent for ersons aged 15 years and above, and the country’s total unemployment rate (of its total labor force) stands at 23.9 percent. From such statistics of the two countries, the quality of life for citizens is better in Brazil than Nigeria.
In which of the two countries are civil and political liberties better protected, and in which do its citizens participate most freely in their political system?
In Nigeria, the current freedom rating stands at 4.5 on a scale of 7 (1=best, 7=worst), and the country’s freedom status is “Partly Free,” with an aggregate freedom score of 48. Additionally, on a scale of 7 (1=best, 7=worst), the political rights in Nigeria stand at 4, and the country’s civil liberties stand at 5. Nigeria’s press freedom status is “Partly Free,” although it experienced an upward freedom trend following its improvements in the quality of legislative and executive elections in 2015.
Additionally, on a scale of 40, Nigeria has a score of 23 in matters relating to people’s political rights, and the effectiveness of the country’s electoral process has a score of 9 on a scale of 12. In Nigeria, the president gets elected by the popular vote for a maximum of two four-year terms. While the general elections that followed the country’s return to a multiparty system in the year 1999 got characterized by irregularities, Nigeria’s 2011 polls marked the start of its departure from such trends.
In a scale of 16, Nigeria’s score on political pluralism and participation stands at 10.
The country’s multiparty system give the opposition parties the opportunity to gain power through elections. Besides, with a population of about 186,056,386 people, Nigeria registered 67,422,005 voters in its 2015 elections and recorded a voter turnout of 51.87 percent.
Brazil, on the other hand, has “Free” freedom status and an aggregate freedom score of 81.
In a scale of 7(1=best, 7=worst), Brazil’s freedom rating stands at 2.0, with its press freedom having “Partly Free” status. Additionally, the country’s political rights and civil liberties tie a score of 2 in a scale of 7 (1=best, 7=worst). Following the economic recession which the country suffered after 25 years, President Dilma Rousseff’s administration faced allegations of corruption in 2015 that led to huge, but peaceful protests, aimed at pressuring the president to resign, and also as a demonstration of their political rights.
In Brazil, the score of people’s political rights is 33 in a scale of 40, and the effectiveness of the country’s electoral process has a score of 11 on a scale of 12. Additionally, on a scale of 16, Brazil has a score of 14 in political pluralism and participation. Brazil, like Nigeria, has a free multiparty system characterized by stiff competition between the country’s rival political parties. The Brazilian electoral framework encourages the parties’ proliferation, and most of the parties are based in a single state. With a population of about 205,823,665, Brazil registered about 142,822,046 voters as of October 2014 and recorded an average voter turnout of 79.54 percent. An evaluation of such data from the two countries shows that Brazil has a better protection of the civil and political liberties than Nigeria. Additionally, from such data, the Brazilian citizens participate in the country’s political system most freely compared to Nigeria.
What best explains the difference between the two countries?
Brazil and Nigeria share, as well as differ in a broad range of practices in their social, political, and economic aspects. However, what best explains the difference between Brazil and Nigeria is the people’s respect for the rule of law. In Nigeria, the judicial independence is legally and constitutionally enshrined. Despite achieving some degree of professionalism and independence in its practice, the Nigerian judicial system faces constant cases of corruption, political interference, as well as inadequate funding. Despite the rising pressure from the international human rights groups, Nigeria is yet to criminalize torture, bribe taking, and extortion. The Nigerian military has always faced extensive criticism for pervasive human rights abuses and corruption. Additionally, in Nigeria, violent crime in most parts of the country is a serious problem. Besides, the country faces a strong challenge in dealing with matters relating to trafficking of drugs and illegal acquisition of firearms. Despite the country’s constitutional protection against ethnic discrimination, most ethnic minorities in Nigeria continue to experience bias by both the societal groups and state governments.
On the other hand, the Brazilian judiciary is greatly independent, more efficient, and capable of withstanding intimidation and other forms of external influences, especially from the political class.
Despite various challenges, Brazil has a progressive constitution which ensures that the judiciary remains active, a situation which has often made the Brazilian judiciary to make rulings in favor of citizens over the state. Violence has decreased significantly in the Brazilian large and more affluent cities in the recent years as most citizens recognize the importance of abiding by the country’s laws. Additionally, the long-term existence of the Pacifying Police Units (UPP) in Brazil has significantly helped in reducing crimes and aligning citizens to observe the rule of law at all times. In its efforts to combat torture, the Brazilian legislative body passed a law in 2013 for the creation of a watchdog body consisting of eleven experts with unprecedented power to visit any military or public facility that practice torture of ill-treatment of citizens.
Works Cited
Freedom House’s website https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2016 for the countries’ scores on political liberties and civil liberties; The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s report
http://www.idea.int/publications/vt/upload/Voter%20turnout.pdf for information on voter turnout and reasons behind the variation specifically pages 78-88.
http://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/ ), the Economist’s quality of life
The UN’s HDI indices (http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries ), the World Bank’s data indicators
