In November 2004, Bellanet Latin Ameica and the Caribbean began work on a project with the objective of obtaining an overview of how Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) is being used and produced in this region, as well as what are the common agendas that bring diverse groups and organisations together around “Free Software”? This project is supported by PAN-Americas http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-2707-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

We approached the free software community with the notion to not only collect data and answers, but also with the idea that they could help generate the questions that would be most useful, relevant and appropriate for them. This was a participative investigation and therefore, our participation was also important. In the process of understanding the community, we integrated ourselves into it, by attending and utilising its spaces of interchange and by supporting its common initiatives. The following are some of the lessons that we have learned till date.

FLOSS, a social movement
From the onset of the project, a constant need to generate knowledge regarding free software from a perspective of social research was felt. The literature reviewed, allowed us to determine the economic, legislative or technical character of many of the existing materials. For that same reason, we maintained a perspective of understanding about how FLOSS is impacting the region in the formulation of technological alternatives oriented towards social change.

From this perspective emerged one of the first elements of the dialogue with other stakeholders in the region, that is, the need to orient the research towards the ‘movement’ working with FLOSS in the region. The ‘movement’ encompasses the groups, organisations, and institutions who from very diverse perspectives and positions, support and participate in the adoption and the development of free technological alternatives. The interest would then be to focus the study towards FLOSS as a theme that by its very characteristics allow it to generate a social movement around it, rather than towards the study of FLOSS as a technological phenomenon.

Some of the characteristics of FLOSS that generate the organised social movement around it are linked with the growing (although still very limited) access to information and communication technologies, the acquisition of technological user skills by some of the key sectors (for example, social organisations and universities) as well as the recognised need to take control of the language to allow for the transformation of the technologies, for the technologies to begin responding to their own needs.

Like many other social movements, the movement around FLOSS finds its origin in the surrounding conditions and realties of the region.

• The structural tensions that are prevalent have an impact in concrete interests of a group of individuals and organisations. In the case of FLOSS, a large diversity of groups have seen their economic, political and social interests limited by conditions that favour a monopoly of knowledge products, in particular, software. The huge costs incurred for the acquisition of software, the intellectual property schemes that make it difficult for a large portion of the population to create new knowledge, and the exclusion of marginalised groups due to their irrelevance in the market, are some of the prevailing structural tensions that have created the FLOSS movement.
• There are deficiencies in the abilities to confront these conflicts. The existing structures are not adequate to be able to develop concrete proposals for confronting these types of conflicts, or the organisations and individuals do not have sufficient knowledge in order to do it. Particularly, in a theme that is identified as merely technical, or very related to the intricate legal system of each country, the movement around FLOSS has begun to cover an area that until now has been explored but not put into practice. Concepts such as knowledge products, ‘copyleft’, the freedom to share and to create in the community, are all being related to everyday life and have started direct action from groups and individuals.
• In the case of the movement around FLOSS, groups and individuals come from varying and diverse fields. Some come from a technical background, which enables to produce better software through a collaborative model and the free distribution of the results. Others, who come from social and economic development backgrounds, identify with FLOSS as a key way to promote more equitable and sustainable societies. Others view FLOSS as an opportunity to generate income through a competitive business model when confronting the monopolistic forces in the market. From diverse interests, personal approaches and mystics, the groups and individuals form a community of abundant political and ideological diversity.

A social movement, such as the movement around FLOSS, attempts to identify a collective identity and finds its bases in pre-existing networks in diverse sectors. For the purpose of our research, we chose to include and to differentiate the various sectors. National and local governments, private enterprise, civil society organisations, and user groups and developers of FLOSS were grouped for the purpose of investigation.

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