The billionaire owner of Starlink and SpaceX, Elon Musk, came to Brazil this Friday (20) and met with President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), with whom he discussed investing in fast internet for rural schools in the Amazon.
“His arrival is a milestone for all of us Brazilians, a sign that he believes in Brazil and wants a partnership,” Bolsonaro said at a press conference, adding that “we are very interested in the partnership” with Musk.
Communications Minister Fábio Faria accompanied the president at the press conference and highlighted that “Elon Musk would never come to Brazil if he did not have the concrete objective of doing what he promised: connecting schools and protecting the environment”.
Bolsonaro also stressed that the billionaire’s passage through Brazil serves to inspire young people and that this partnership can help fight deforestation and fires.
“We are going to show that the Amazon is preserved. There are burning niches, irregular deforestation, but his participation with his satellites will help preserve, but also develop. It is an area rich in biodiversity and mineral wealth”, he highlighted.
As explained at the press conference, the exploration of lithium or niobium was not discussed at this meeting. In addition, future meetings between teams from both sides will define the values and other details of the investment.
Asked if there is any fear in the use of satellite images in the Amazon, Fábio Faria replied: “what we want is for them to share all the information they already have with the government. They are giving up their sovereignty to us.”
During an earlier press briefing, Musk noted that Starlink, the company that will provide internet to rural schools in the Amazon in its investment project, “has a very strong privacy policy.”
Regarding the preservation of the forest, the billionaire said that, due to the size of the region, the amount of photos and videos needed is “enormous”, thus requiring connectivity to “effectively monitor it”.
Freedom of expression and Twitter
Jair Bolsonaro informou na coletiva de imprensa que a intenção de compra do Twitter pelo bilionário e possíveis mudanças na rede social não foram pautas da reunião, mas que entende que Elon Musk seja “a favor da liberdade total de expressão”. The president highlighted that it is necessary to repel, for example, pedophilia on the networks, but not other issues.
“For the rest, you criticize the Executive, Legislative, Judiciary, criticize you [se referindo a um repórter], in my opinion, as a journalist, there is no problem. And some want to advance in Brazil in this criticism,” Bolsonaro said.
“And there, in my opinion, it goes beyond the border of censorship. This we cannot admit, we do not agree. Many times you take down a page, demonetize yourself… who does this work? Why is a Power doing this without a law that guarantees it?”, he added.
Source: CNN Brasil
