Tech roundup: What the future holds for Brazil’s state-owned tech companies

Welcome to our Tech Roundup, where we bring you Brazil’s biggest stories on technology and innovation. This week: Brazil’s new government decides the future of the country’s main state-owned tech companies.

What the future holds for Brazil’s state-owned tech companies

On the first day of the year — and of his third term as head of state — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva interrupted the privatization process of two of the country’s largest state-owned IT companies: Dataprev and Serpro. 

What happened. The move was part of an executive order the president signed as soon as he took office, excluding major state companies from a government privatization program that also involved oil and gas giant Petrobras and Brazil’s postal service (Correios). 

• Lula justified the signing of the order to “ensure a rigorous analysis of the impacts of privatization on the public service or on the market in which the aforementioned economic activity is inserted.”

Why it matters. The president’s stance against privatizations worried pro-market pundits since the beginning of his election campaign, as they say it would lead to a more bloated government prone to excessive welfarism — seen as negative for the sustainability of public accounts.

Yes, but… Dataprev and Serpro’s inclusion...