Was the Ballon D'or not given solely by the votes of journalists back in the day?
Zico won it in '81 and '82.. Can you provide a link to the story where you read that brazilians didn't vote for this award?
Technically yes, they were both awarded by journos. In practical terms the difference is substantial.
France Football had a massive reputation and a select hand-picked bunch voted. The SAM award was more about building reputation
through the award.
Early on they invited a select few renowned journalists (at that point Brazilian outlets like Placar did take part). But the award wasn't taking off because a big part of establishing it was recognition, to gain recognition you needed more coverage and to get coverage you needed more outlets involved. At that point it starts turning into a free for all and a lot of the more reputable ones switch off, e.g. imagine being Jonathan Wilson and finding your vote is worth as much as that of Alan Shearer or Paul Merson.
It has been see-sawing like that. To the temperamental nature of Brazilian involvement you have to add lack of an established logic. The El Mundo award died because it persevered with wanting to vote the best SAM player while many (quite rightly) didn't vote or want to vote on that basis once players started moving to Europe more regularly. Remember SAM sports journalists in the 70s-80s would be unlikely to be watching much European football and, if anything, had an incentive to promote local one!
From 1986 on it's 100% players playing IN South America. There's still all sorts of oddities. In your average year Copa Libertadores form is the yardstick, but occasionally national team form gets factored in significantly (somewhat unfair to those who are subs of Europe-based players).
They also consider team inclusions as votes. That is, if you are in the XI you get 1 vote, if the journalist names you Best in SAM you get another, both have equal weight. It's nice in that it evens things out for defenders, but there have been really odd outcomes over the years as a result. E.g. it would be possible to have 3 phenomenal #10s splitting threeways and ending up with a bunch of solid but unspectacular defenders in the roster.
I know this details because I was born and raised here. Also lived in Brazil three years. I always took this stuff with a pinch of salt and I'm just telling you why.