Open Source in Brazil

Despite a host of problems—from government corruption to public health issues and rising crime—Brazil is still the most vibrant Latin American economy. With its strong extractive, manufacturing, and service industries, IT in Brazil is booming as companies seek to digitally transform their operations. Tech startups are also springing to life, and free and open source software is everywhere.

In this report, author Andy Oram explores the many trends in business, education, and government that have contributed to the current state of open source activity in Brazil. You’ll explore the country’s open source community, its free software movements, business and workforce involvement, and problems in education.

Learn how:

• Hackers have created meetups and other spaces for collaboration and training, not just in large cities but in small towns as well
• Government support, especially during the 2000s, has helped educate the public about open source
• Open source software is everywhere in business, with growth attributable to startups, and to open source in cloud computing
• Education in open source is hard to find, forcing students and programmers to find non-institutional ways to learn important skills
• Brazilian open source advocates are finding grassroots ways to promote open source software, rather than rely on government help