Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Insurgent Expertise: The Politics of Free/Livre and Open Source Software in Brazil

2011; Routledge; Volume: 8; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/19331681.2011.592063

1933-1681

Aaron Shaw,

FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance

ABSTRACT Under the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian state has advocated the use of Free/Livre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) throughout the public sector. How did FLOSS adoption gain traction as a developmental strategy across a large federal bureaucracy that had embraced information technology policies supporting export-oriented growth and market liberalization during the 1990s? In a historical case study, I argue that the FLOSS agenda emerged as a result of the actions of a network of insurgent experts working within elite political, technical, and educational institutions. I trace the history of this mobilization and show how a dedicated network of experts brought about conditions for institutional transformation that contradicted prevailing neoliberal policy proscriptions. The Brazilian FLOSS insurgency offers insights into the means by which a group of elites endeavored to reframe debates about technology-driven economic growth around questions of state-led access to source code and knowledge.