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Brazilian here. A professor who taught me engineering once quipped that Brazil needs a monument to the unknown smuggler, because, if everyone were to follow the

Brazilian here. A professor who taught me engineering once quipped that Brazil needs a monument to the unknown smuggler, because, if everyone were to follow the law, Brazil's high-value-added industries would have disappeared at the 80's. No one could legally buy world-class computers in the middle of their revolution. Talk about unintended consequences.

forinti 11y ago
It was hard and expensive to buy the latest hardware, but at the same time there was no effort to make the best of what we (Brazil) had. Even an MSX machine with extra RAM, an 80-column card, and a floppy drive could have been a very reasonable business machine in the 1980s. The Unitron Mac was quite impressive. Brazilians were complaining about not having the latest and greatest while the UK was putting BBC Micros in every school. So I think that the real problem with closing the IT market was that Brazil didn't even try to make the best of it.
- zorked 11y ago
  Let's not forget that while the official excuse for the closed market was to (somehow) foster the country's industry, the real reason was that Brazil was a dictatorship and the dictator was giving control of a large booming industry to some of his best friends and holding the country hostage. It's 100% corruption. There wasn't even a law saying what you could or could not import, you would just get your imports confiscated if you happened not to be in the group of friends of the military.
  - forinti 11y ago
    I don't believe this to be true. There was a genuine desire to foster a Brazilian IT industry. And it did partially succeed. They just didn't invest enough in education and to widen the market (make them cheaper). In the end, they thought that selling oranges to the US was more important (as the Unitron case shows).
    - gcb0 11y ago
      that's extremely naive. btw the same still happens with cars. car manufacturers are very profitable to corrupt people in the government, so importing a car is pretty much impossible. taxes are absurd and the law is so insane that nobody can follow it. most importers already included a bribe fee. and i am taking about Brazil today, not in the 60s
      - sanoli 11y ago
        What are you talking about? "Importing a car is pretty much impossible"?!?! I walked around São Paulo last week on a tuesday, and I saw a bunch of BMWs, a bunch of Land Rovers, a bunch of Volvos, a bunch of Audis etc. And I'm talking about new cars, 5 years or newer. Importing a car is actually simple today. You just pay the import taxes, deal with the bureaucracy, and you got yourself a legal, corruption-free if you want it to be, import car dealership. I agree completely that the taxes are very high, and the bureacracy is complicated, but please don't exaggerate things.
        gcb0 11y ago
        all those brands have official brand imports. they assemble the last bolts in Manaus and avoid paying taxes. it's mostly wrong according to the law but they know who to pay. Harley does the same. try to import any not "made in Manaus"
        sanoli 11y ago
        C'mon, first show me where where these automakers are breaking the law, and also where it is these days where you can't import a car without bribing someone. Here are some stories by reputable journalists showing how expensive and bureaucratic it is to import a car by yourself if you want to, yet also how completely legal it is: http://carros.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2014/05/08/burocracia-dificulta-importar-carro-mas-preco-final-pode-compensar.htm http://carros.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2014/05/08/burocra... http://economia.terra.com.br/carros-motos/importar-carro-por-conta-propria-pode-ser-30-mais-barato,168d6037a18da310VgnCLD200000bbcceb0aRCRD.html http://economia.terra.com.br/carros-motos/importar-carro-por... http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/automoveis/importar-traz-exclusividade-mas-requer-paciencia-ecc6x59lrub8ynmsbmawjpt8u http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/automoveis/importar-traz-excl...

forinti 11y ago

It was hard and expensive to buy the latest hardware, but at the same time there was no effort to make the best of what we (Brazil) had. Even an MSX machine with extra RAM, an 80-column card, and a floppy drive could have been a very reasonable business machine in the 1980s. The Unitron Mac was quite impressive. Brazilians were complaining about not having the latest and greatest while the UK was putting BBC Micros in every school. So I think that the real problem with closing the IT market was that Brazil didn't even try to make the best of it.

zorked 11y ago
Let's not forget that while the official excuse for the closed market was to (somehow) foster the country's industry, the real reason was that Brazil was a dictatorship and the dictator was giving control of a large booming industry to some of his best friends and holding the country hostage. It's 100% corruption. There wasn't even a law saying what you could or could not import, you would just get your imports confiscated if you happened not to be in the group of friends of the military.
- forinti 11y ago
  I don't believe this to be true. There was a genuine desire to foster a Brazilian IT industry. And it did partially succeed. They just didn't invest enough in education and to widen the market (make them cheaper). In the end, they thought that selling oranges to the US was more important (as the Unitron case shows).
  - gcb0 11y ago
    that's extremely naive. btw the same still happens with cars. car manufacturers are very profitable to corrupt people in the government, so importing a car is pretty much impossible. taxes are absurd and the law is so insane that nobody can follow it. most importers already included a bribe fee. and i am taking about Brazil today, not in the 60s
    - sanoli 11y ago
      What are you talking about? "Importing a car is pretty much impossible"?!?! I walked around São Paulo last week on a tuesday, and I saw a bunch of BMWs, a bunch of Land Rovers, a bunch of Volvos, a bunch of Audis etc. And I'm talking about new cars, 5 years or newer. Importing a car is actually simple today. You just pay the import taxes, deal with the bureaucracy, and you got yourself a legal, corruption-free if you want it to be, import car dealership. I agree completely that the taxes are very high, and the bureacracy is complicated, but please don't exaggerate things.
      - gcb0 11y ago
        all those brands have official brand imports. they assemble the last bolts in Manaus and avoid paying taxes. it's mostly wrong according to the law but they know who to pay. Harley does the same. try to import any not "made in Manaus"
        sanoli 11y ago
        C'mon, first show me where where these automakers are breaking the law, and also where it is these days where you can't import a car without bribing someone. Here are some stories by reputable journalists showing how expensive and bureaucratic it is to import a car by yourself if you want to, yet also how completely legal it is: http://carros.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2014/05/08/burocracia-dificulta-importar-carro-mas-preco-final-pode-compensar.htm http://carros.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2014/05/08/burocra... http://economia.terra.com.br/carros-motos/importar-carro-por-conta-propria-pode-ser-30-mais-barato,168d6037a18da310VgnCLD200000bbcceb0aRCRD.html http://economia.terra.com.br/carros-motos/importar-carro-por... http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/automoveis/importar-traz-exclusividade-mas-requer-paciencia-ecc6x59lrub8ynmsbmawjpt8u http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/automoveis/importar-traz-excl...