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...

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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...

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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...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News December 2001 In a poor neighborhood in the city of Olinda, artists, dancers and musicians are embracing technology as a way to help youth imagine a way out of poverty. A group called Leo Coroado, which has sung and danced "maracatu" since 1863, is trying to fight poverty and violence by using its music to educate citizens in Olinda’s neighborhood of guas Compridas. Now, with the help of computers and the Internet, they intend to expand their approach. Maracatu is a style of dance and music from the state of Pernambuco, in the northeast part of Brazil. But maracatu...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News October 2001 Satellite Internet connections have, for the first time, arrived in order to expand the country's Web penetration. Universo Online (UOL), the biggest ISP in Latin America, joined forces with Star One and Gilat Satellite Networks in an effort to expand Internet access at distant locations of Brazil. Only 5 percent of the country uses the Net on a regular basis, according to a recent survey. The satellite connection service, UolSat, works through Star One's structure, and Gilat's equipment. UOL is the content provider. Net users in Brazil predominantly use phone...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News August 2001 The Brazilian government might again get into a worldwide fight about anti-AIDS drugs. Now it's over Nelfinavir, a drug from the Swiss laboratory Roche. Last June, the World Trade Organization defended Brazil in the so-called patent war between American laboratories -- which had the support of the U.S. government -- and the Brazilian Health System. After a series of discussions and international meetings, Brazil's proposal was accepted: The country would be allowed to break American patents on anti-AIDS drugs only for situations agreed upon as incontestable. This...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News August 2001 If you lived in a house with no running water, no electricity and not many amenities, getting access to the Internet wouldn't seem to be such a high priority. But that's what's happening in Amapá, a small state in Brazil near the Amazon region, where a project called "Navegar" provides Web connectivity to riparian, poverty-stricken communities. The Navegar Project consists of a boat with a computing laboratory and a satellite antenna for the Web connection. The boat has eight desktop computers, a GPS system, a digital camera, a scanner, an ink-jet printer...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News August 2001 Free ISPs in Brazil have been falling apart for quite some time, despite the growing number of Net users. Recently, Internet Gratis (iG), the biggest of the free ISPs, acquired hpG, the biggest free Web-hosting service in Brazil. Two free services getting together won't make a profitable business, right? Wrong. Both may be running toward profitability. Last month, iG may have turned a corner, after the announcement of the break-even for May and June. Break-even numbers are being audited by PriceWaterhouse, and official numbers will be revealed at the end of the year. "The...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News July 2001 Efforts to connect Brazil to the 21st century continue in earnest as governments and non-governmental organizations endeavor to provide Internet access to poor and rural areas. According to Brazilian Planning Minister Martus Tavares, the government is about to invest $400 million this year to expand Internet use in Brazil. "The idea is to reduce the exclusion of 160 million Brazilians who are outside of the fastest growing sector in the world," Tavares said. According to government studies, about 11.1 million of the more than 160 million Brazilians are currently...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News May 2001 The Brazilian health system is a model to the world when it comes to fighting AIDS. But it faces the wrath of labs in the United States, which want to regain control of their patents on generic medicines used to fight the disease. Brazil is the only Latin American nation providing free triple therapy, which almost pays for itself by reducing the costs for hospitalization and drugs. Nevertheless, U.S. labs are trying to stop the production of the generics used in Brazil -- known as antiretroviral drugs -- since they derive from formulas developed and patented...

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