Brazil and Spain sign agreements on Big tech and digital technology

The documents, signed by presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Pedro Sánchez during the 1st Brazil-Spain Summit, confirm the positions shared by the two countries both from an international point of view and regarding the rights of their people.

There were also sectoral meetings, with authorities from both countries, which concluded negotiations on agreements on:

• • cooperation in information and telecommunications technologies;

• • public policies for small and medium-sized companies;

• • Cultural exchange and sustainability,

• • air transport;

• • social security.

Lula highlighted that, for decades, Spain has been one of the biggest investors in Brazil, with emphasis on the telecommunications, finance, energy and infrastructure sectors.

“Spanish companies won 50 projects in the Brazilian Partnership and Investment Program, totaling more than US$10 billion in investments.”

Strategic sectors

According to Lula, who makes a series of visits to European countries, Brazil and Spain share similar concerns about the need to establish rules that regulate the activity of so-called big techs – large digital technology companies that exercise political and social economic power on a global scale.

“Without rules, big tech will institute the era of digital colonialism,” said Lula, stating that these companies extract and monetize people’s data, concentrating power “in the hands of a handful of billionaires.”

Given this scenario, the Brazilian president highlighted that Brazil and Spain have invested in their own capabilities to guarantee the digital sovereignty of both countries, and that dialogues are being promoted by the National Supercomputing Center in Barcelona and the National Scientific Computing Laboratory.

“This collaboration will allow the development of joint projects in Artificial Intelligence and other areas.”

The partnerships also include partnerships in strategic sectors, such as minerals.

“We are committed to cooperating at different stages of the strategic minerals chain, generating knowledge and adding value,” he added.

Motor countries

Pedro Sánchez said that Brazil and Spain are “motor countries” that bring the European Union even closer to Latin America and the Caribbean – regions that, according to him, have common values.

According to him, the partnership between the two countries is relevant from the point of view of international politics, given the fragmentation the world is going through.

“Within the scope of Mercosur, we want to convey a totally different message: one of cooperation, openness, mutual trust and shared prosperity.”

Sánchez added that, in addition to common views on peace and multilateralism, Brazil and Spain maintain the same objective of advancing in the fight against inequalities.

“We have also advanced in social commitments, aimed at the fight against gender-based violence, the promotion of racial equality and the solidarity economy.”