Linus, We Love You: A Report from the 5th International Free Software Forum

"Linus, we love you. Please come to Brazil". With these words, hundreds
of young people, technology specialists, businessmen, executives and
members of the Brazilian government wound up their participation in the
5th International Free Software Forum (FISL), which took place in Porto
Alegre, in Brazil's far south, at the beginning of June. Recorded on
video by John "Maddog" Hall, president of Linux Internacional, this
affectionate plea was aimed at bringing Linus Torvalds, probably the
only great figure in the history of free software who has not yet visited
the country, to Brazil.

And there is no lack of reasons for such a visit. Brazil is one of
the countries whose government has come out firmly in favor of free
software. The initiative includes plans to export around 2 billion USD
worth of software per year; to replace Microsoft Windows with
Linux in 300,000 federal government computers; to transfer 1 billion USD
in resources from the Telecommunications Fund (Fust) to the
free software-based Digital Communications System (SCD); and to integrate
the country's 200,000 public schools via open-source technology.

The movement already has brought dozens of open-code supporters here,
ranging from Richard Stallman to Maddog. This year in Porto Alegre, the
participants included Lawrence Lessing, founder of the Creative Commons;
Ian Murdock, from Debian; Dan McGee, from IBM; and Bdale Garbee, from
HP. Hundreds of Brazilians also were present, including arts
minister Gilberto Gil and the Linux Kernel 2.4 maintainer, Marcelo
Tosatti, who took part in various round tables and an amusing and
instructive play devised by the Brazilian firm, 4Linux. All in all, there
were visitors from 35 countries, more than a thousand institutions and
companies, and 380 Brazilian towns. In 2003, there were representatives
from 14 countries and 245 firms.
Negligible Importance
The decisions by the left-wing government, led by former factory worker
Luis Ignácio Lula da Silva, are threatening Microsoft's monopoly, and
the company has launched a counter-offensive in an attempt to block
the advance of free software here. While the FISL was taking place, MS's
multinational head of Brazilian operations, Emilio Umeoka, declared
to Reuters that the choice of open code could lead the country in the
wrong direction. "Ten years from now we will wake up and be dominant in
something insignificant", he said. "I know this is not the best way to
create a base of development from which to export because there's no
revenue from something free."

Because open-code software plays an important part in the government's
industrial policy, published at the beginning of the year, Microsoft's
irritation is understandable. Sérgio Amadeu da Slivera, a sociologist
who runs the National Information Technology Institute, one of the main
federal government body dealing with IT policy, explained the choice
of free software:

We are not opting for a product, we are opting for
a software-use development model. This is a political decision, and I
cannot emphasize this enough, based on an economic reason--a reduction
in the remittance of royalties. It also expands Brazil's technological
autonomy and strengthens our collective intelligence"
Instrument for Change
Economics is at the center of the debate over free software in Brazil. Here,
the adoption of open-source platforms for free and unrestricted use that
can be copied, modified and distributed at will may act as an instrument
for social change. The cost of proprietary software impedes digital
inclusion. In order to understand the impact of Maddog, Stallman and
Linus Torvalds' ideas here, it would be wise, therefore, to examine the
country's economy.

With a GDP of around 493 billion USD and a population of 170
million, Brazil boasts the world's 15th largest economy, but it also is rated
among the worst when it comes to distribution of wealth. Per capita
GDP is around 2,900 USD (versus 37,300 USD in the US), but around 40%
of the population have no earnings at all. In addition, around 40% of
those who work receive less than minimum wages (223.26 USD) per month,
and less than 2% earn more than 1,488 USD. Basic interest rates are
16% p.a., versus 1% in America, which makes investments prohibitively
expensive. Any businessperson thinks twice before investing, because it may
be more worthwhile to keep the money in the bank. The government is
struggling to control inflation, lower interest, stabilize the currency
and build up reserves to pay off a huge foreign debt.

At the same time, the country is paying out 1.2 billion USD every year
in software licensing fees. It therefore is essential to find some way
of keeping these resources within the country. This idea led José Dirceu,
the chief of staff, to affirm that free software is a fundamental issue
here. In fact, there are numerous examples of how the government and
the country are using open code to benefit the economy.
Digital Inclusion
Discussions on how to utilize more than 1 billion USD in the Fust, a fund
set up when telecommunications were privatized and funded by a periodic
levy on the new operators, began under the previous administration. The
Fust's main aim is to promote universal access to telecommunications
services and digital inclusion, the latter by way of the SCD. During the FISL,
the president of the National Telecommunications Agency, Jaime Ziller
de Araújo, reaffirmed the willingness to use free software in the SCD,
which will connect schools (200,000 of them), libraries and other public
institutions.

The Communications Ministry has introduced the Gesac--Government
Electronic Citizens' Attendance Service--a digital-inclusion program
connecting 3,200 computers to the Internet through satellites. All of these
machines are equipped with free software. In addition to providing remote
communities with access to information, the Gesac also encourages
integration among the communities involved, creating knowledge networks.

According to the ITI, six ministries are currently changing over to
free software: Foreign Affairs, Mines and Energy, Education, the Arts,
Science and Technology and Communications. By 2005, 40% will be using
open code. Cost savings over five years are estimated to be 5.8 million
USD.
Free Software in the Rainforest
Free software is helping the most isolated communities in the Amazon
rainforest to gain knowledge, education and jobs. In conjunction with the
ITI, Eletronorte, a state-owned electric utility, has set up the Topawa
Ka'a Rain Forest Digital Inclusion Network, which benefits indigenous
communities affected by the building of river dams for the construction
of power plants.

The people concerned have free access to the Telecentros (Digital
Inclusion Centers), where they can undertake community projects, take
courses, learn to create Web pages, play games and listen to music,
undertake scholastic research, receive messages and seek job vacancies.

The Telecentro model was developed over the last few years at the
other end of the country, in São Paulo, a teeming metropolis with more
than 10 million inhabitants. Launched by Sérgio Amadeu da Silveira,
the Telecentros in Brazil's wealthiest city were designed to provide
Internet access for the underprivileged. The city government chose
those neighborhoods with the lowest HDI (Human Development Index)
and installed between 10 and 20 computers, all equipped with free
software. They cost under 40,000 USD a year to run, 50% less than they
would with proprietary software.

There are now 108 Telecentros in São Paulo, providing 85,000 courses and
with 370,000 users. But their biggest achievement is the social inclusion
that they foster. They are located in extreme low income areas, where
manual workers live cheek-by-jowl with drug dealers, thieves, addicts and
street dwellers. However, the streets around the Telecentros are becoming
drug-free zones, because they act as a positive integrating factor among
the youth, keeping them away from the criminal milieu. They also have
been used for other purposes, such as showing movies or as a collection
point for winter clothing for the needy.
The Banks
Free software and Linux also have been highly successful in Brazil's
corporate area. While the FISL was in progress, during the opening
of a congress on banking technology, the powerful Febraban (Brazilian
Federation of Bank Associations), pointed out that 42% of Brazilian banks,
including all the leaders, already had adopted the Linux operating system
and an additional 41% were considering doing so. "There are great
potential savings, since a good deal of the banks' technology costs
come from software-licensing fees", declared Carlos Eduardo Fonseca,
Febraban's head of technology.

According to an IDC study quoted by Executivos
Financeiros, a specialist banking publication, Linux use in Brazil is expected to grow at an
average 9.62% p.a. through 2007, 11.3% in 2004 alone.

In order to help the government and companies make the change, Cobra,
a state-owned technology firm, has come up with FreeDows, an open-code
package containing an operating system, word processor, spreadsheet
and browser. Its graphical interface is similar to that of Windows XP, and
it can run Win32 applications. In fact, the company markets it as the
desktop Linux that looks like Windows. It will cost 27 USD per user,
or "a twentieth of Microsoft products".
Will Maddog Convince Linus?
At a dinner before the FISL began, Maddog highlighted free software's
quality as being its most important advantage, while the Brazilians
emphasized its economic savings. However, there was no disagreement
regarding its benefits and the changes that it could bring about in
Brazil. And Linus Torvalds? Will he pay us a visit to see for himself
the benefits of his creation in the country of samba, carnival and, now,
free software? Let's hope that Maddog's filmed plea will convince him.

Pedro Cadina (pedro@vianews.com.br) is a journalist
and director of the communications agency Via News
Comunicação.