FSFLA is the Latin American organization
member of the international network of FSFs,
Free Software Foundations.
Our mission is to defend the rights and freedoms of software users and developers, to fight for your freedom to run the software you use for any purpose you wish, to study its source code if you wish and adapt it to do what you wish, and to copy it, distribute it and publish it when you wish, with or without improvements you may have made. This way, you, we and everyone can use computers in freedom.
When you permit others to trample your freedoms over some software you use, the harm isn't limited to you. Without resistance, they will extend their power over you and everyone.
It's a social problem, curable with your help, rejecting non-Free Software and replacing it with Free Software. Stand up for your freedoms: try to resist the control imposed on us through the software we use.
The more people resist,
the more people will be Free, and
the more people will be free to be Free.
For your own good, and
in solidarity to all,
choose freedom.
Richard Stallman in Brasil
Brazil, November, 2012—Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software social and political movement, again honors us with his presence in Latin America, this time in Brazil. The event that brings him to the region is CONSEGI, the Free Software and Electronic Government International Congress, that this year will take place in Belém, Pará, from December 3 to 7. Thanks to support by CONSEGI organizers and sponsors, we could schedule, in Goiás, in the Federal District, and in São Paulo, other speeches by the president of our sister organization, the original Free Software Foundation (FSF). The speeches are all non-technical and open to the general public; for some, prior registration is required.
Access to the Source Code of Imposed Tax Software
Brazil, October 2012–Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB for short), the Brazilian public administration office in charge of federal taxes, has ignored for years its obligations of transparency and of respecting taxpayers' software freedom. However, because of a recent federal law that sets deadlines for them to respond to citizens' requests for information, and penalties if they don't, they resort to lies and distortions to avoid public scrutiny and to impose their anti-democratic policy.
Free Software Events
These events respect your freedom and will, therefore, promote only free software and the philosophy of users' freedom to control their computing. Enjoy them! You may also wish to contact the coordinators to help in their organization.
IRPF-Livre 2011: Death and Taxes
Brazil, April 25, 2011—Last week, billions of people around the world celebrated their faith on a Nazarene liberator and his miraculous victory over death. On the 21st, Brazil also remembered the death of Tiradentes, martyr for the country's independence, who survived only in memories and in history books. Our gift, hereby announced, doesn't contain Easter Eggs, that symbolize rebirth, resurrection or the creativity of computer programmers, but it has to do with one of the two certainties in life. Although it doesn't avoid death, it enables escaping from an unfair tax charged by the Brazilian government in the form of freedom. We offer IRPF-Livre, 2011 version, a Free alternative to the illegally privative software imposed on Brazilian taxpayers to prepare their annual Income Tax returns (IRPF).
FSFLA's petition for Canaima GNU/Linux to be Free
The Venezuelan Presidential Decree 3390, specifically in articles 2 and 7, explains and backs up the reasons why the Venezuelan state should develop a Free Software distribution. Canaima GNU/Linux is this distribution, so it ought to be a Free distribution, without parts that threaten its users' freedoms.
Linux-2.6.36-libre: turning Linux's Free Bait into Free Software
Cyberspace, November 8, 2010—Linux hasn't got any Freer between the Linux-2.6.33-libre announcement, back in March, and the present announcement, that marks the release of Linux-2.6.36-libre. Linux now contains more non-Free Software, and more drivers in its Free core that require separately distributed non-Free Software to function. The welcome news is that Open Source advocates have joined the Free Software Movement in denouncing the practice of Free Bait or Open Core.
IRPF-Livre 2010: Free as Always, Sooner than Ever
Brazil, March 1st, 2010—It's with great pleasure that we announce the release of the 2010 version of IRPF-Livre, a Free implementation of the program to generate natural people's income tax returns. For the first time since we started the campaign against “Imposed/Tax Software” (“Softwares Impostos”), in 2006, we publish the Free version before Receita Federal publishes the proprietary one, that it traditionally publishes in flagrant disrespect for essential freedoms and fundamental constitutional rights of Brazilian citizens and taxpayers.
Take your freedom back, with Linux-2.6.33-libre
Cyberspace, March 1st, 2010—Linux hasn't been Free Software since 1996, when Mr Torvalds accepted the first pieces of non-Free Software in the distributions of Linux he has published since 1991. Over these years, while this kernel grew by a factor of 14, the amount of non-Free firmware required by Linux drivers grew by an alarming factor of 83. We, Free Software users, need to join forces to reverse this trend, and part of the solution is Linux-libre, whose release 2.6.33-libre was recently published by FSFLA, bringing with it freedom, major improvements and plans for the future.
Argentine peace
FSFLA is accused of acts in Argentina that are incompatible with our values and public commitments. The accusations are misdirected: they were first raised more than 4 years ago, against a few people who later came to be FSFLA founding members but are no longer in FSFLA. We cannot judge the dispute between others, but if we had existed then as today, we certainly wouldn't have behaved as alleged. We shall never recommend that Free Software speakers avoid a venue where they will be welcome and listened to, and we shall never try to divide a project committed to the values of the Free Software Movement.
Caracas Declaration
This document springs out of the first meeting of Free Software Foundation Latin America members, who in Caracas, Venezuela, met at the Fifth National Congress on Free Software and decided to compose this declaration. It contains a set of impressions and positions about community, educational and political aspects, in which the primary focus given to the document is promoting Freedom values over technology and ethical values of practical ones.
IRPF-Livre 2009: The struggle against “Softwares Impostos” goes on
The deadline to turn in income tax returns to Receita Federal do Brasil is approaching. RFB wants you to prepare yours using a trojan horse it created and controls. FSFLA, once again, offers a solution: IRPF-Livre 2009.
Copying and Sharing in Self Defense
Based on the widely-recognized and seldom-disrespected human rights to enjoy and memorize works of art one can access, and to grant and accept access to them, this article claims legitimate rights to preserve access to works, to convert works to different formats and media, to download and to upload works on the Internet, and to receive and to share works in P2P networks. The full enjoyment of these human rights amounts to self defense against the constant attacks to them.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the GNU project
Few people had access to computers back when Richard Matthew Stallman realized the then-nascent software industry was adopting a business model based on denying software users their four essential freedoms, and that he could do something about it. Today, millions of people, businesses and governments run the result of the efforts to preserve and defend their freedoms he started 25 years ago, but few even know about the GNU project. Let's celebrate the accomplishments, and spread the word!
DMCAnada: DRM versus society
Subject: DRM versus society
From: Alexandre Oliva <lxoliva@fsfla.org>
To: Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca, Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca, Verner.J@parl.gc.ca, pm@pm.gc.ca
Cc: anti-drm@fsfla.org
Organization: FSF Latin America
Be Free from Imposed Tax Software: IRPF-Livre 2008 liberated
Campinas, Brazil, April 25, 2008—FSFLA is honored to announce the availability of a completely Free program to prepare Natural Person's Income Tax (IRPF) returns for 2008 in the standards set by the Brazilian Receita Federal. It's a major step with regards to transparency, safety, freedom and respect to the taxpayer, on whom the non-Free Software IRPF2008 was imposed by Receita Federal.
stdlib: FSFLA's Workgroup for Free Open Standards
FSFLA has launched a workgroup to promote the adoption of Free Open Standards, including in international and Latin-American national standardization bodies, and the rejection of non-standard file formats and of proposals of standards that do not qualify as Free Open Standards.
FSFLA confirms presence at FISL 9.0
Brazil, March 13, 2008—One of the greatest Free Software events in the world is coming up: the ninth edition of "Fórum Internacional de Software Livre", to be held on April 17-19, 2008, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As expected, FSFLA will be present, and it hopes to count on your help!
FSFLA board member requests source code of Brazilian tax software
Brazil, February 18, 2008—Last year, FSFLA supported the release, as Free Software, of the Brazilian income tax software distributed by Receita Federal. We are already working to make it happen earlier in 2008, but Receita Federal insists in breaking the law and disrespecting citizens, taxpayers and Free Software developers.
On the constitutional preference for Free Software
Law number 11871 of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), published on December 19, 2002 is known as the Free Software Law, despite the fact that it does not define Free Software and apparently uses it as a synonym with open software. This law is being challenged on constitutional grounds, under case number 3059/03.
A Freedom Festival & Free Software and The Matrix
This is the material FSFLA has prepared and offered to FLISoL organizers and attendants.
Last update: 2012-11-29 (Rev 9283)