Is it possible to create a new country from a garage? – 09/29/2024 – Ronaldo Lemos

Several companies (or rock bands) have emerged from a garage. Would it be possible to create a country in the same way? This is the proposal of the movement “The Network State”, or the “network state”. The concept was developed by Balaji Srinivasan, author of the book of the same name that can be downloaded for free online.

The idea is that technology would now allow the creation of a new and decentralized country. It would be built by people from different parts of the world who share values ​​and would first organize themselves in the form of an online community. From then on, this new “country” could issue its own currency, using cryptocurrency technology. The third element would then be missing: the territory.

Balaji proposes that the new “country” need not have a continuous territory. It could spread across enclaves in multiple places. In the future, it could begin to acquire territories, including with the ambition of declaring political and legal sovereignty over it (like Acre was purchased from Bolivia).

It all may seem far-fetched, but last week the first conference on the subject took place in Singapore. The event brought together entrepreneurs, liberals, dreamers and enthusiasts in general.

There it became clear that there are already cases of concrete implementation of this idea.

One of them is in Honduras, located on the island of Roatán and named “Próspera”. In 2013, the Honduran Constitution was modified to allow the creation of ZEDEs (Special Employment and Development Zones). These zones have legal and administrative autonomy. They can adopt their own laws (with the exception of criminal and immigration legislation).

Próspera was one of the ZEDEs created. It attracted entrepreneurs from various places and stood out especially in biotechnology. Several companies have set up shop there to speed up research into new medicines, shortening the approval time that usually takes ten to 15 years in the United States.

I visited Próspera this year to record Expresso Futuro, a series of documentaries I make for Canal Futura (premiering on November 25th). However, I will probably have to change the series. The reason is that the Supreme Court of Honduras declared on September 20 that the ZEDEs are unconstitutional in a close vote of 8 to 7, with retroactive effects to 2013.

The decision fell like a bombshell for Network States enthusiasts and for members of the ecosystem that formed on the island of Roatán. A long legal battle is beginning, as Honduras signed international treaties in which it committed to maintaining Próspera for at least 50 years or paying compensation estimated at around US$10.7 billion (around R$58.1 billion in current quote) if he went back (the decision is by international arbitration).

In the documentary I show how people from all over the world were attracted there because of the proposal to form new autonomous communities. One of them, called Vitalia, aims to expand human life indefinitely. Her challenge now became to expand Próspera’s life as much as possible.

It was already – Charter Cities as the most elaborate model of autonomy

It already is – Network States

It’s coming – Decentralization movements wanting to manifest themselves physically

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