The debate took place in the event Global Connections 2.0, which formed part of the Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The general coordinator of the Digital Cabinet of the Rio Grande del Sur government, Vinicius Wu gave an analysis over power and democracy today. He expressed that the “structures of today’s democracies are too rigid to support the current dynamic in global powers”.

Additionally, the official defended that 21st century democracy should be based on the guarantee to freely “share, transparency and the access to knowledge and information”.

The ex-minister of Culture from Lula da Silva’s government, Gilberto Gil highlighted that “the new social movements that use internet as a mobilisation tool affect just some parts of the political system, but have the strength to change it totally”.

The journalist Antonio Martins, of the Otras Palabras Association, confirmed that “it is not the technology, but the appropriation of this technology that can create new interactions and social dynamics”.

Via videoconference, the investigator Olga Rodrigues spoke of the social inequalities which the Middle Eastern countries experience, and how these imploded in the recent social revolts. She explained that in Egypt 40% of the population lives on less than one dollar a day.

Rodrigues confirmed that the interventions of the international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are responsible for the rise in inequality.

The investigator concluded that the internet is a new tool in the fight against abuses of power in the global economy. (PÚLSAR)