WORLD WORLDWIDE SOUTH AMERICA BRAZIL BRASIL - news journal UPDATE - (en) Brazil, OSL, Libera #182 - POWER, TECHNOLOGY, AND ELON MUSK (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 A recent controversy has brought to light a curious and instructive

situation: the Brazilian Armed Forces depend on a foreign company for
their communications. Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, provides
satellite internet for Army and Navy operations in remote areas, such as
the Amazon. It seems contradictory, but the country needs this
technology to defend its sovereignty, while, in practice, it ends up at
the mercy of a foreign company, led by a billionaire and, until
recently, head of a department in the Trump administration.

The issue becomes even more complex when one considers that Starlink is
linked to X, the former Twitter platform, also controlled by Musk. With
control of a key telecommunications company and one of the world's
largest social networks, Musk amasses considerable power. He can
simultaneously influence public opinion and provide (or withdraw)
critical internet services. This situation highlights the contradiction:
Brazil needs a foreign company to guarantee its sovereignty, even if
this also puts that very sovereignty at risk. The problem is not unique
to Brazil. In the age of globalization and advanced technology, nation
states have less and less control over what happens within their
borders, and the ruling classes increasingly exert their power of
domination. Giant companies like Starlink, Alphabet, and Meta operate on
a global scale that governments often cannot keep up with. To give you
an idea, Starlink has a constellation of more than 6,000 satellites in
orbit, providing internet to regions where other technologies cannot
reach. In Brazil, its antennas are installed in 90% of the
municipalities in the Amazon. In other words, in many isolated regions
of the country, Starlink is the only available option.
The European Union, faced with a similar scenario, decided to take
action. In 2022, it launched IRIS, its own satellite communication
system for the bloc's countries. The idea is to reduce dependence on
foreign companies by offering an alternative controlled by European
governments. The system is expected to be fully operational by 2027,
demonstrating growing concern about this issue. Furthermore, the
connection between Starlink and X increases Musk's influence. With
control of the platform, he can shape debates and influence public
opinion, something that could directly impact the policies of several
countries, including Brazil.
Given all this, national sovereignty needs to be rethought,
understanding that before relations between nations, there is the class
struggle, present in all countries. The ruling classes don't just
control physical borders; they control technological and informational
infrastructures. Until we have our own secure infrastructure, we will
always be subject to the interests of large global corporations. And
this is a reality that extends far beyond Brazil, affecting oppressed
classes worldwide.
In short, the Starlink case shows how technological dependence can
weaken any project of self-managed popular power, and any deeper rupture
in the system of domination today must take into account technological
and communications infrastructures.

https://socialismolibertario.net/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca