[luau] NEWS: Peru Congressional Open Source Bill

[Warren Togami]

This story continues to make me smile.  In this article LinuxToday follows
up with additional information from Peru Congressman Dr. Edgar David
Villanueva Nuñez's growing support in the Peru government for his Open
Source in Government Bill # 1609, mandating Free Software in Public
Administration.

This is a must read!

http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2002-05-20-006-26-IN-LF-PB

On March 21, 2002, the General Manager of Microsoft Perú, Juan Alberto
González, wrote a letter to Peruvian Congressman Dr. Edgar David Villanueva
Nuñez regarding an issue near and dear to Microsoft's heart--or perhaps more
appropriately, an issue that had the powers at Microsoft rolling their eyes
in disbelief. The now infamous letter expressed Microsoft's concerns about
Bill Number 1609, Free Software in Public Administration, which is currently
under discussion in Perú's political and intellectual circles.

When reading the Microsoft letter in its original or translated form, most
open source advocates can easily note that it's full of the usual Fear,
Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) tactics used throughout time by big business to
keep people afraid of going with anything but their big solution. No
surprise there. However, try as advocates might, no one has been able to
clearly and succinctly explain why many of Microsoft's and other companies'
assertions were incorrect... until now.

Peruvian Congressman Villanueva's reply, written on April 8, 2002, has
raised him practically to folk hero status amongst the open source community
almost overnight. With eloquence and a strong attention to fact and detail,
this letter manages to point by point rebut the many incorrect and even
conflicting assertions made by González. Dr. Villanueva uses a
matter-of-fact approach that simply tells it like it is, and is difficult to
argue with--especially since the letter contains a reminder of Microsoft's
own conviction of software piracy in France in 2001, which had until now
escaped the attention of the North American press.

Reactions to Congressman Villanueva's letter are appearing far and wide, as
well as speculation about whether the letter is real or not. Linux Today
tracked down the story behind the letters, and took a look at how open
source has captured mainstream attention in Perú.

... skipping a few paragraphs ...

In summary, this Bill states that all areas of the Peruvian government would
be required to make use of open source software (with the term strictly
defined within the bill) except in specific cases where a mature enough open
source project is not available. The Bill only affects the government's
systems and does not restrict commercial entities from participating, as
long as the software they offer is open source--or for educational
institutions that may require some particular proprietary software for
research or other purposes. All other institutions, companies, and so on
within Perú could still purchase whatever software they please.

... skipping more ...

The Congressman is getting more and more caught up with the open source and
free software movements as time goes by. Villanueva was once invited to an
event in Columbia where he was to meet with the Free Software Foundation's
Richard Stallman, and to his great disappointment this event had to be
cancelled. He added as an aside that he hopes to meet Stallman at another
international event--and hinted that perhaps someone over at the FSF might
pass along the open invitation.

In the meantime, Villanueva and his supporters feel that the Bill Number
1609 may only be months away from approval. The Bill's chance of succeeding
grows as international momentum builds behind them. That momentum can
certainly help, Villanueva added, as those within Perú and without can help
by writing articulate letters to any number of agencies in Perú, including
Congressmen, the Commission of Education, and the Consumer Protection
Commission, on both the freedoms of open source and the practical nature of
how the Bill might benefit Perú, its government, its people, and its
technology industry.

(Please read the full article!)
http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2002-05-20-006-26-IN-LF-PB

Read Villanueva's Letter to Microsoft and my earlier comments here
http://videl.ics.hawaii.edu/pipermail/luau/2002-May/007783.html