Open Source in Venezuela

Speaking of open-source software, Andrew Leonard has an interesting take on Venezuela's planned migration (this month) to open-source software. In his "How the World Works" blog on Salon, Leonard writes

This month, a new law goes into effect in Venezuela mandating that all government agencies migrate their information technology infrastructure to free, or open-source, software. While it has not been uncommon in recent years for nations in the developing world to cast a leery eye on the licensing fees and technological dependency associated with relying on proprietary software made by Western corporations, Venezuela's determination to move everything to free software may be the most extreme example yet of the emerging global politics of open source.

And why not? Under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, a country that vehemently rejects the status quo historically imposed on South American nations by the United States, has become a critical flash point for North-South stresses. Venezuela isn't the only South American nation resisting the "Washington Consensus"-style globalization advocated by institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, with their demands for privatization, deregulation and trade liberalization, but it is certainly the most controversial.

He goes on to offer a compelling reading of the root causes for the switch (I won't spoil the end); the only weakness in the post is Leonard's "moral of the story:" "When you have to hack your way into proprietary software to keep the mainstay of your economy running, maybe it's time to find a better way." The implication, it seems, is that open-source software will be easier to infiltrate, in a crisis, than Microsoft Windows. I'm not sure the opposite isn't true. Anyway. It's an interesting piece, as are many of Leonard's posts. Have a look.