Brazil can lead in digital infrastructure – 08/13/2023 – Ronaldo Lemos

Remember those three words: public digital infrastructure. Any country to develop today needs not only physical infrastructure (roads, railways, ports, etc.) but also a digital infrastructure. Ask India. The country has suffered for years from the precariousness of its physical infrastructure. But it was able to create a digital infrastructure for more than 1.2 billion people that changed the country. The package includes a unique and free digital identity for all citizens. An online document storage service that eliminates the use of paper. Plus free bank accounts and a universal digital payments system.

You don’t have to go to India to see the importance of initiatives like these. Just look at Brazil. We are not behind other countries in this regard. The proof is Pix. It not only revolutionized payments in the country, but also became an example of public digital infrastructure that is the envy of the world, to the point of being copied even by developed countries. My conviction is that Brazil can become the greatest global leader in digital infrastructure. There are many seeds planted for this: Pix, the Gov.Br platform, the electronic invoice, Datasus (which uses blockchain!), the Real digital project and so on.

What’s missing are two things. First, understand these infrastructures in a coordinated way, thinking about their present and future with strategy. Second, Brazil needs to obey the command of the song by Xande de Pilares: “raise your head, put your foot down and go in faith”. Assuming to the world that what we have done so far in this area is extraordinary. And put our protagonism for the next three years.

There is a unique opportunity for Brazil to mark its leadership on this topic globally: the G20 meeting, the meeting of the 20 richest countries, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in 2024. The occasion will be perfect for the country to show what we have already done and what what can we do. The current presidency of the G20 is from India. What was the theme that the country chose as a priority for its administration? Precisely the issue of digital public infrastructure. The possibility of building cooperation in this area is enormous if we prepare ourselves.

It is also worth mentioning that the word “public” here does not mean “state”. Public digital infrastructure is an effort that must involve multiple actors, including the private sector, civil society, academia, international organizations, and so on. Of course, the government has a role in coordinating and participating in these efforts, but it should not act alone. An excellent example in this sense is what Portugal has done to attract submarine cables, making the country the main data port for Europe. The port city of Sines today is not only a hub for goods, but also for information. There are the “cable landing stations” that connect a good part of the Atlantic. The result is there to be seen: the emergence of large data centers in Portugal. The newest of them, currently underway, will create 1,200 high-quality jobs in Sines.

As the saying goes: the wave takes the shrimp that sleeps. Regarding digital public infrastructure, we cannot be that shrimp.

It’s over – think it’s ok to be on your cell phone all day and night

Already – China controlling the time children and teenagers can spend in games

It’s coming – China creating a “child mode” on cell phones, which limits the use time of young people and children to 2 hours a day

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