Abstract
This article addresses the diverse patterns of internet access, uses and appropriations by different populations in Latin America. The correlation between nequalities in access and economic disparities is not sufficient to define or explain the region’s complexity. In an attempt to avoid economic and technological determinism while simultaneously visualizing the general picture of the internet in Latin America without disregarding its finer grain idiosyncrasies, the text is organized in three sections. First, a brief overall picture of the global position of Latin America with respect to the internet. Second, a discussion of three profiles of internet penetration and appropriation vis a vis similar local socioeconomic conditions. Third, qualitatively significant examples of the forms of use and appropriation of the internet in Latin America.
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Notes
- 1.
GNI per capita is the gross national income, converted to US dollars using the World Bank Atlas Method, divided by the midyear population (The World Bank, 2008).
- 2.
E-readiness ranking is a weighted collection of nearly 100 quantitative and qualitative criteria, organised into six categories measuring various components of a country’s social, political, economic and technological development. The categories are “Connectivity and Technology Infrastructure”; “Business Environment”; “Legal Environment”; “Government Policy and Vision”; “Social and Cultural Environment”; Consumer and business adoption (EIU & IBM/IBV, 2008, pp. 22–23).
- 3.
Amongst the categories used to derive the e-readiness index is Connectivity and Technology Infrastructure, which “measures the extent to which individuals and businesses can access mobile networks and the internet, and their ability to access digital services through means such as digital identity cards”. Penetration and affordability are key metrics, use of secure servers and the commitment of the country to implementing digital identity cards are also taken into account (EIU & IBM/IBV, 2008, p. 22). In 2008, the e-readiness ranking covered 70 countries and did not include Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
- 4.
In this text the term “telecentre” is used to designate points of access to computers and the internet that are either free or charged, but are non profit making. Related terms such as infocentres and community digital centres, are used to refer to telecentres that are so named by a specific project or initiative.
- 5.
By “cybercafe” we refer to private locations that provide charged public access to the internet to make a profit.
- 6.
These figures are for non-profit points only.
- 7.
AcessaSP is the São Paulo State Government digital inclusion program.
- 8.
Since 1999, Plataforma Lattes (http://lattes.cnpq.br) integrates and makes public the vitae of Brazilian researchers. In 2008, it has been integrated with several other scientific networks. Since 2006, the complete texts of all dissertations and theses defended in Brazil are obligatorily made public (http://www.capes.gov.br).
- 9.
Worth noting are the experiments of making documents and government reports available online in Chile (http://www.gobiernodechile.cl), Brazil (http://www.e.gov.br) and Mexico (http://www.gob.mx/).
- 10.
Delgadillo, Gómez e Stoll report the existence of power struggles between directors and local leaders, transforming telecentres into a source of personal gain through corruption or theft. They also mention rejection of the telecentre by powerful groups that felt threatened by its role as a meeting point and source of information outside of their control. “In Ecuador, for example, the men of a community forced the closure of the telecentre as a means of ensuring their power and increased the domestic violence practiced against the women of this community” (Delgadillo, Gómez & Stoll, 2002, p. 16).
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Fragoso, S., Maldonado, A.E. (2009). The Internet in Latin America. In: Hunsinger, J., Klastrup, L., Allen, M. (eds) International Handbook of Internet Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9789-8_12
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