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Brazil and digital democracy challenge

Luciana Cristina de Souza

Brazilian legislators was approved a Regulatory Mark to internet on 23 April 2014, and the mainly question about this new regulation is a way:

TO ESTABLISH STATE CONTROL OVER THE WEB

OR

TO BUILD AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC SPACE?

According to Neal Thomas, social computing is a reality of our days and it’s also responsible to rationalize information, conceived as a shared token of meaning, despite the chaotic hyperlinking structure of the web. The computing rationality is a collective construction, made by a community which wants to optimize its actions rationally. One of the instruments used by people and, mostly, by organizations to rationalize information is building data bases full of individual behavior characteristics. Of course, it’s a kind of “god’s-eye view” (THOMAS, 2011).

BUT, IS PUBLIC SPACE IN WEB REALLY ACCESSIBLE?

The creation of new spaces for deliberation through communication media available today has not reflected yet in the increase of democracy especially in Latin America where access to computers and the web is not widespread if we consider the numbers needed for effective public access. So, digital democracy – social inclusion – is required to guarantee balance of power among Citizens and the State.

TODAY, INTERNET IS JUST IN 41% OF BRAZILIAN RESIDENCES AND THIS NUMBER IS

CONCENTRATED ONE COUNTRY REGION. MOST OF THE PERIPHERICAL POPULATION

STILL FAR FROM IT.

In the intricate system of rivers, creeks and streams of the Amazon region, for example, is possible only satellite internet, expensive for local people. Without public investments, it will very difficult to get web access.

AND, WHO CONTROLS THE WEB CONTENTS?

State, companies and other organizations from Civil Society have to debate on the ethic in these power relationships among State and Citizens inside the web.

Private and public relationships have to begin to understand their reciprocal limitations in virtual space and interaction because is important to avoid in web the serious problems faced today about television and other medias, controlled by few “families”.

Considering topics outlined, Brazil needs to qualify its digital democracy to qualify democracy itself as predict in the currently Republican Constitution (1988)

Art. 5th, XIV - shall be ensured everyone access to information

and in the Regulatory Mark of Internet (RMI – Bill n. 12965, April 23, 2014).

Art. 7th, RMI - Internet access is essential to the exercise of citizenship

Many Brazilians don’t have an appropriate access to these new media, or have difficult to understand what I call the mediatic rationality, a new manner to order ideas, to build knowledge and to think about life (SOUZA, 2013).

This reality is faster than Modernity and requires new skills that Eugênio Trivinho (2005) calls infotechnical passwords (hardware and software understanding, system frequently upgrades, etc.)

But, we have to remember technology can’t be used to manipulate Citizens or submit them under unnecessary State control in private situations. It has to be a way to qualify democracy and to improve Citizenship. Not a obstacle in social life.

Today, the social media has huge potential to give more overture to public debates, access to information and to amplify democratic deliberation (HALPERN, 2013). However, the freedom of action available to us in the digital society – multiple human agency – does not always ensured the wellbeing expected in the face of easier access to information (TRIVINHO, 2005).

As Trivinho says (2005), technology brought a diverse type of “death”, because the Citizen who can’t interact using internet has less democratic access to State services, information and, also, compromises his social networking, indispensable nowadays to public participation.

Accordling F/Radar report (2013, p. 12) social class and scholarity still are access problems in Brazil.

Classe social = social classEscolaridade = scholarityFundamental = Junior HighMédio = High SchoolSuperior = College / University

Cell phones are the great “door” to Brazilian people get access to web nowadays (F/Radar, 2013, p. 14-15). Mobil communication is the most relevant media today because costs less than cable one.

Another important data is that old people are seeking more web access (p. 42). So, without this kind of media is harder find information and, because of that, to exercise Citizenship. It’s possible these days require public pension by internet, move finances and schedule medical appointments. Those facilities contributes to old people diary life.

The Brazilian campaigns for free education in new technologies demonstrate the distance that remains low public access. In countries where democracy is still under construction, as Brazil, more than computerize administrative offices will be necessary to integrate Citizen. Then, we have to think:

HOW TO INCLUDE ALL CITIZENS IN DEMOCRACY?

HOW TO ORGANIZE SOCIAL INTERACTION USING MEDIATIC RATIONALITY?

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL COST OF EXCLUSION?

Considering Brazil as a social democracy, how Republican Constitution (1988) indicates, the Regulatory Mark of Internet has too the objective to guarantee wellbeing for all Citizens, proposal that we can observe in this law:

Art. 2th - The discipline of Internet use in Brazil is founded on the respect for freedom of expression, as well as: I - the recognition of worldwide network; II - human rights, personality development and the exercise of citizenship in digital media; III - the plurality and diversity; IV - openness and collaboration; V - free enterprise, free competition and consumer protection; and VI - the purpose of the social network.

Art. 6th In the interpretation of this Law shall be taken into account, beyond the fundamentals, principles and objectives set forth the nature of the internet, its uses and particular customs and its importance to the promotion of human, economic, social and cultural development.

So, internet as public space depends on the recognition of diversity, of Citizens, of ways to participate. It is must therefore ensure the realization of democracy and its tools so that one can exercise genuine citizenship, effective and mature (NINO, 2003, p. 202). It is believed that these measurements will be essential so that the Brazil Current, the democratic promise of active participation and full access to fundamental rights be fulfilled.

To promote this changes we have to consider the human agency and its relevance for digital democracy, plural and cooperative.

According to Giddens (2000, p. 37), the agency is the power of social agents to transform the structure in which they live. Although the structure, or social setting, delimit a field of choices, many individuals usually arranged in groups, create strategies that allow them to overcome such limitations.

THAT IS MANY WAYS TO USE AGENCY HUMAN POWER IN WEB AND IS NECESSARY

COORDINATE THEM TO IMPROVE ALL CITIZENS.

In the recente meeting in Rio de Janeiro (April 2014), Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, also known as NETmundial, some principles were presented as fundamental to digital interaction and to preserve the social-virtual relationships:

Cultural and linguistic diversity in all its forms;

Security, stability and resilience of the Internet;

Open system architecture;

Multistakeholders;

And others.

Multistakeholders is a essential caractheristic of democracy, mainly, its deliberative form, as says Nino. With the human agency of this different stakeholders a plural and diverse “digital culture” will be made and the mediatic rationality (SOUZA, 2013) will be developed, absorving the multiple contributions from this subjects.

Resilience is a principle that I used in my Doctoral Degree (SOUZA, 2012), when I wrote my analysis about the possibility to apply it to the relationships between State, Civil Society and Law to ensure a effective democracy in Brazil. It’s crucial that this new interactions in digital Society are flexible to changes, at the same time they must be able to sustain fundamental values.

Being resilient means, here, the ability to overcome complex situations and so commonplace that confrontations since the democratization of Brazil, in the post-1988 scenario, which challenge our institutions, our political and legal values , forcing both state and society to (re ) adapted to one another.

(…)

It is believed that, rather than restricting the social spaces by excessive attachment to rationality and thinking nineteenth century, we must extend them plurally. How about inclusion in no way preclude the maintenance of the State; on the contrary, the development of what is called in this study of state resilience

SOUZA, 2012, p. 24-25

And by digital medias is possible to broaden this plurality and to make the interaction between State and Civil Society in the wellbeing context more closer than Citizens can consider a desirable reality.

Social movements reproduce standards of conduct prescribed by Law (create associations registered in the registry office, subscribe to get tax breaks, etc.), but also produce new behaviors (particular mechanisms of conflict resolution, informal labor, and others) mainly in digital space.

HOW TO LEARN WITH THIS NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL APPROACH?

WHAT STATE CITIZENS CAN BUILD TOGETHER?

The recognition of Citizens as subjects in their plurality, made possible by the RESILIENCE, is critical to improving the level of quality of democracy that we intend to adopt in Brazil today.

We can then say that the hallmark of contemporary Citizenship is its deliberative character. But, if State and Law don’t offer communication channels for the minorities (sometimes demographically majority as African descendants and women), the democratic standard will be just theoretical.

DIGITAL SPACE brought new ways to think democracy, to recognize other groups and to express opinions about public policies. Its cooperative construction of knowledge is a important basis to resilient interaction between State, Law and Society.

Digital Map of Public Manifestations in Brazil (2013)

According the site Scup Ideas, this manifestations are organized by social networks: Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter (1.495.555 items).

The top trand was Gotostreet (Vemprarua).

http://ideas.scup.com/pt/especiais/a-semana-em-protestos-dados-das-midias-sociais/

MAILY TUMBLRS

O povo no poder (People in the power) – collaborative, top trand “What are you doing here today?”

Vandalismo não me representa (vandalism is not me)

Brazilian Protests

http://youpix.virgula.uol.com.br/viral-2/novos-tumblrs-para-voce-acompanhar-as-manifestacoes-no-brasil/

In conclusion:

Nowadays, Brazilian democracy confuse itself with social network deliberation. Even it is a relevant way to express opinions, is not a appropriate instrument to enforce public channels of communication between State and Society yet, because most of this manifestations wasn´t a continuous movement.

Despite that, cyberspace is today the mainly information resource for most of Brazilians.

We have now to discuss how the Regulatory Mark will contribute to improve web deliberation. There are many concerns on neutrality control of the internet by federal government and the access cost to solve.

REFERENCES

F/RADAR. Panorama da internet no Brasil. 13ed. F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi; Instituto Datafolha, Outubro de 2013.

GIDDENS, Anthony. Dualidade da estrutura: agência e estrutura. Tradução de Octávio Carneiro. Oeiras (Portugal): Celta, 2000.

HALPERN, Daniel; GIBBS, Jennifer. Social media as a catalyst for online deliberation? Exploring the affordances of Facebook and YouTube for political expression. Computers in Human Behavior, v. 29, Issue 3, May 2013, p. 1159–1168.

NINO, Carlos Santiago. La constitución de la democracia deliberativa. Barcelona: Gedisa, 2003.

SORJ, Bernardo. Brasil@digitaldivide.com - Confronting inequality in the information Society. Brasília: UNESCO, 2003.

SOUZA, Luciana Cristina de. State power legitimacy in Brazilian democracy. 26th World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (Internationale Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie - IVR), 2013.

SOUZA, Luciana Cristina de Souza. Applying the principle of resilience to relationships between State, Law and Civil Society. Thesis. Catholical University, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Law Postgraduate Program, 2012.

THOMAS, Neal. Social Computing as Social Rationality. Doctorate of Philosophy. Art History and Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts. McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2011.

TRIVINHO, Eugênio. Introdução à dromocracia cibercultural: contextualização sociodromológicada violência invisível da técnica e da civilização mediática avançada. Revista FAMECOS, Porto Alegre, n. 28, p. 63-78, dezembro 2005.

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