Paulo Rebêlo Wired News March 2002 Frustrated by a government that either can’t or won’t address epidemic levels of commercial piracy, a broad coalition of Brazilian industry created an advertising campaign it hopes will appeal to Brazilians’ sense of fair play and economic self-interest. The industries of software, music, clothes, toys, cable TV and movies have mounted a $1.5 million national campaign that will include ads in television, newspapers and online outlets. The message is that piracy that hurts Brazilian companies, in turn, hurts Brazilians in their own pocketbooks, both in higher prices and loss of jobs. According to reports from the Interactive Digital Software Association, Brazil lost $303 million to pirates in 2001. The IDSA also claims that 99 percent of entertainment software in Brazil consists of illegal copies; for corporate software, it’s 58 percent. While piracy is rampant everywhere, it is particularly acute in a country such as Brazil — which has a thriving consumer base, but an economic system in which workers make significantly less than their American counterparts. That economic picture is what makes the temptation to purchase pirated products so strong. And it’s why this advertising campaign may be doomed to failure, and why critics
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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News March 2002 In the United States, printer companies reap most of their profits by selling ink cartridges rather than the printers themselves. That’s not necessarily true in Brazil, where remanufactured ink cartridges sell for less than half the price of the original. Despite efforts by big companies to convince consumers that retread cartridges might damage their printers, Brazilians continue flocking to the refills, apparently figuring that the risk is offset by the printers’ relatively inexpensive cost. These “reconditioned” cartridges, as they are often called, are neither illegal nor considered pirated, as long as they are labeled as being refilled. And with the costs of printers going down while the prices of new cartridges continues rising, reconditioned cartridges are becoming more and more popular. An average printer, such as a HP 840C, costs about $140 in Brazil. A 640C model goes for $115, about the same price of an Epson C40UX. Black ink cartridges cost around $35 each, and a color one can go for around $45, depending on the model. In other words, a couple of black-ink cartridges with a color one thrown in cost as much as a new printer. Remanufactured cartridges, meanwhile, run between
Paulo Rebêlo Wired News February 2002 PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — The World Social Forum wrapped up several months of business with the usual proposals for making the world a better place, but the stark reality remains: All talk is meaningless unless the richest nations pitch in and help. The forum, founded as a kind of social riposte to the capitalists who make up the World Economic Forum, hosted 28 separate conferences and more than 700 seminars dedicated to a range of subjects. Among the themes touched upon in this southern Brazilian town: the production of wealth, dealing with unemployment, labor relations, civil rights, prejudice and racism, ethics, religion and, yes, even socialism as a living and breathing concept. “This (forum) represents (an alternative to) the Economic Forum, where injustices tend to perpetuate as a result of their economic rules,” said Olívio Dutra, the governor of the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul. “What we’re building here is a social movement for everyone who needs it, not only the rich.” Perhaps the key issue is the indebtedness of the world’s poorest nations, who need financial help from the developed nations but often cannot repay. The idea of forgiving these debts is
Paulo Rebêlo Wired News February 2002 PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — The heavy rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands who strode down the streets here in the “Walk for Peace,” which preceded Thursday’s opening of the World Social Forum. Politicians, scholars and grassroots organizers — the vast majority coming from the left portion of the political spectrum — arrived to participate in more than one hundred workshops. Social issues such as world hunger, unemployment, workers rights, genetically modified crops, prejudice and the environment are the focus. More than 11,000 people, many with their own tents and sleeping bags, have packed the Intercontinental Youth Encampment, a sort of Woodstock-style beachhead for attendees. “It’s quite an adventure, but we are here to develop ourselves,” said João Simão, an education technical assessor who leads a delegation of 45 people. “As we have plenty to learn in the forum’s seminars, we also have plenty to teach.” Simão’s group will discuss successful public education alternatives that have been implemented in northeast Brazil. Among the more interesting personalities at the forum is Brazilian presidential candidate Luis Inácio “Lula” da Silva, from the Workers Party (PT). Lula, who has run for president in elections since 1989,
Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2002 PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — While political and business leaders from the world’s richest nations preach the gospel of globalization at this week’s World Economic Forum in New York, a wholly different point of view will be presented in this southern Brazilian city. The week-long World Social Forum, beginning Thursday, was initiated last year for those who believe that life quality and development can’t be achieved only through economic rules, but mainly through social rules. Under the auspices of what they call “solidarity globalization,” WSF organizers and participants are working toward finding social solutions for some of the world’s most pressing problems, including hunger, poverty and sickness. During last year’s first WSF, all the speeches seemed to center around a feeling that something is very wrong with the globalization embraced by developed and rich countries — a globalization on vivid display during the yearly World Economic Forum — since poor nations would only become poorer and more dependent on the rich. However, very few solutions were offered last year. This year, WSF officials will concentrate on potential solutions. “We came because we believe in the possibility of a different world,” said Bernard Cassen, director of
Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2002 Thirty years ago, the sugar business was Recife’s biggest source of income. That was until São Paulo started processing its own sugar, and Recife was forced to diversify. Recife, situated on the northeastern coast of Brazil, went through another economic boost with expanded use of its local harbor, but the recent opening of a new deepwater harbor, 40 kilometers (28.4 miles) to the south, is putting the once thriving port in jeopardy. Now, Recife is being given a technology makeover to make it a sort of Brazilian Silicon Valley surrounded by the sea. Its goal is to lure both international and Brazilian IT companies and startups to this digital port, or DP. Since the ’90s, Recife has been well known as a provider of skilled IT professionals, thanks to its computer science program at Federal University of Pernambuco. But graduates of the program often get hired to work abroad or in other Brazilian cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. For investors, one reason for the DP’s quick success is that Recife is the only tech cluster in northeastern Brazil, where wages are usually 30 percent lower than in the south. The
