11 Nov
2011
11 Nov
'11
4:51 p.m.
On 11/11/11 12:11 PM, Jecel Assumpcao Jr. wrote:
That is good to know. I've worked with several Brazilians who are very
enthusiastic about open source, and I look forward to them changing the
situation over time!
--Toby
Toby,
Yes, I'm aware Dell has a factory. I assumed it was a loophole; but
thanks for clarifying. Seems it's a loophole in the spirit of the
tariffs that is large enough to sail a container ship through...
A watered down form persists in the form of high
import tariffs -- a
laudable and necessary idea, except for loopholes which Dell and such
seem to exploit. Brazil doesn't have a corresponding ban on
foreign-owned local manufacturing, or if it does, it's incompletely,
ahem, enforced.
The big change in 1992 was exactly to encourage foreign companies to set
up local factories, as Dell did. And even Foxconn is expanding its
factory in Brazil to make Apple iPads locally (though the decision to go
through with this changes every two weeks). I don't have an opinion on
whether this strategy is good or not, but the results are certainly
those that were planned.
Foxconn isn't very well regarded as an employer. I hope this isn't
merely a barometer of desperation. I also hope they don't hike the
worker suicide rate as they have done, without giving a damn, in China.
Also, these policies have not helped the Windows
problem: Brazil is one
of the worst-infested countries on the planet, by numbers (and hence
also in terms of malware and the black hat industry that has grown
around it there).
On the other hand, there is a strong open source movement and you can
see Linux based computers being sold in supermarkets. The ministry of
education only buys machines with open source for the students. The
impact on the Windows situation you described is slight, but it is
growing as time goes by.
-- Jecel