Brasília - At the same time as new technologies occupy more space in the country's daily routine, millions of Brazilian continue to be excluded from technological tools that are already considered obsolete by the large companies in this sector.
According to statistics presented by Compera (a firm that operates in the mobile internet segment), there are presently 12 million internet points in Brazil, guaranteeing web access to less than 10% of the population. "The idea of democratizing communication also involves providing small communities with computers hooked up to the internet," underlined Fabrício Bloisi, director of Compera.
Experts from various countries participated today in the international seminar, Global Knowledge 2004: Interaction, Knowledge, and Development, in Brasília. The meeting is debating alternatives to ensure that the new technologies reconcile information transmission with the promotion of social inclusion.
The lack of access to these technologies is borne out in the North and Northeast of the country, regions where over 40 million Brazilians do not have access to computerized banking systems, because they don't have the minimum income required to open a checking account. In an effort to improve this situation, the National System of Cooperatives of Solidary Economy and Credit (Ecosol) implanted a project that leads to social inclusion through banking technology.
The cooperatives associated with the System created the "solidary credit card," which allows residents of a community to make purchases in supermarkets, stores, and small establishments by using a magnetic card. Each merchant installed machines that accept cards and, in the act of the sale, verify the consumer's credit. "The card makes it possible for members of the cooperative to go shopping, make purchases, and pay only at the end of the month, with 30 days of credit. He or she doesn't need to have the amount recorded in a notebook or ask the merchant for credit. The buyer doesn't have to suffer the embarrassment of asking for credit. The merchant gains, because, when he extends credit or accepts a postdated check, there is the risk of not receiving the money," the president of the Ecosol, Gilmar Carneiro, pointed out.
According to Carneiro, the idea behind the solidary credit card is to make sure that money circulates within the community itself, assuring tax revenues to the municipal government and credit and profits to local merchants. "The associate wins, commerce wins, the cooperative wins, and the community as a whole wins, because money doesn't leave the community to go to another city, it circulates right there. The municipal government also wins, because everybody pays taxes in his own town. The big credit card networks are necessary for large transactions but not for small ones," he affirmed.
At present, three Brazilian municipalities have implemented the solidary credit card: Indaiatuba (São Paulo), Chapecó (Santa Catarina), and Senhor do Bonfim (Bahia). The goal is to install the system in at least one thousand Brazilian municipalities by 2006, assigning priority to places that don't have a banking system available to the population.
Agência Brasil
Reporter: Gabriela Guerreiro
Translator: David Silberstein
12/07/2004
