Ending Microsoft FUD: An Interview with Peruvian Congressman Villanueva

Dee-Ann LeBlanc, Linux Today and Stacey Tipton, Spanish.com

[ Linux Today expresses its thanks to Spanish.com, which provided
professional translation services in the course of this interview.
A Spanish version of this story can be found at Pimiento
Linux. -ed.]

In the course of everyday business and politics, once in a while
something truly significant happens. At such a time, ordinary
letters become roadmaps for change, and a politician from a small
mountain province in Perú can become a hero to those
who believe in a cause: both amongst his countrymen and around the
rest of the world.

On March 21, 2002, the General Manager of Microsoft
Perú, Juan Alberto González, wrote a
letter to Peruvian Congressman Dr. Edgar David Villanueva
Nuñez regarding an issue near and dear to
Microsoft’s heart–or perhaps more appropriately, an issue that had
the powers at Microsoft rolling their eyes in disbelief. The now
infamous letter expressed Microsoft’s concerns about Bill Number
1609, Free Software in Public Administration, which is currently
under discussion in Perú’s political and intellectual
circles.

When reading the Microsoft letter in its original or translated
form, most open source advocates can easily note that it’s full of
the usual Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) tactics used
throughout time by big business to keep people afraid of going with
anything but their big solution. No surprise there. However, try as
advocates might, no one has been able to clearly and succinctly
explain why many of Microsoft’s and other companies’ assertions
were incorrect… until now.

Peruvian Congressman Villanueva’s reply, written on April 8,
2002, has raised him practically to folk hero status amongst the
open source community almost overnight. With eloquence and a strong
attention to fact and detail, this letter manages to point by point
rebut the many incorrect and even conflicting assertions made by
González. Dr. Villanueva uses a matter-of-fact
approach that simply tells it like it is, and is difficult to argue
with–especially since the letter contains a reminder of
Microsoft’s own conviction of software piracy in France in 2001,
which had until now escaped the attention of the North American
press.

Reactions to Congressman Villanueva’s letter are appearing far
and wide, as well as speculation about whether the letter is real
or not. Linux Today tracked down the story behind the
letters, and took a look at how open source has captured mainstream
attention in Perú.

A Bit of History

Villanueva has been aware of open source software and its
benefits for almost six years. When he was mayor of Andahuaylas, a
small province in south-central Perú, he wanted to
modernize the computer systems used by the municipalities. He
quickly discovered that purchasing enough licenses from
international computer companies was simply not possible within the
economic limitations of Perú’s economy. Even worse,
licenses expire, and if one cannot afford the initial licenses,
then renewing them every one or two years is certainly not
realistic.

Rather than stopping there, Villanueva began researching
alternatives. It didn’t take long to come across the open source
and free software movements. The more he learned about these
movements, the more he thought that “people with limited resources
but surely with a lot of intelligence and capability,” would
benefit from focusing their energies in this direction.

And the benefits aren’t limited to the initial setup and use, he
discovered. Later on, as platforms and programs need to be updated
or altered, his own citizens could do the work rather than paying
for another round of licenses for an upgrade or new version.

Peruvian Bill Number 1609, Free Software in Public
Administration

Villanueva was actually involved in creating Bill Number 1609
before being elected (in August 2001) to the Peruvian Congress to
represent the area of Apurimac–a small region in south-central
Perú containing seven provinces, including
Andahuaylas. Once elected, he began working with his advisors on
ways to expand Perú’s technological base and draw
youth into technology fields: something Villanueva sees as key to
Perú’s future economic growth. This work led to Bill
Number 1609, which was presented before the Peruvian Congress in
November 2001.

In summary, this Bill states that all areas of the Peruvian
government would be required to make use of open source software
(with the term strictly defined within the bill) except in specific
cases where a mature enough open source project is not available.
The Bill only affects the government’s systems and does not
restrict commercial entities from participating, as long as the
software they offer is open source–or for educational institutions
that may require some particular proprietary software for research
or other purposes. All other institutions, companies, and so on
within Perú could still purchase whatever software
they please.

The largest barrier Villanueva has faced was broadening
awareness of the problem he’s trying to address. As with many
aspects of open source, the answer to this need has come in the
form of grass roots efforts. Early in Linux history, university
students were the people most aware of the upstart operating system
and its benefits. The same is proving true in Perú
now. According to Villanueva, Peruvian university students hear
about Bill Number 1609, and in turn speak to their parents,
relatives, and friends, thus speading the word. It does not hurt
that some of these people happen to be Peruvian Congressmen or
other officials.

Once they heard more about Bill 1609, Peruvian Congressmen and
other officials came to Villanueva to ask for invitations to his
next talk on the subject, often at their children’s request, thus
setting up a growing cycle of knowledge about open source and its
benefits. Adding further to the university push is the largest
technical university in Perú, the Universidad Nacional
de Ingeniería (National University of Engineering). On
February 14, 2002, this respected Peruvian institution added its
own hefty voice in support of the initiative–something Villanueva
takes as a source of pride.

Not that all is a bed of roses, of course. Microsoft
Perú is, naturally, quite against any legislation that
requires that an open source solution be chosen for government use.
Villanueva points out that there are also various politicians in
Perú who disagree on a variety of points in the Bill,
either from their close ties to Microsoft or other proprietary
software companies, or perhaps simply from the all too human fear
of charting the unknown.

It’s the politicians’ concerns that Villanueva is working hard
to soothe. After all, he stated, Perú cannot allow
special interest groups–economic or otherwise–to prevent it from
adopting a law that the people and government want, and that he
honestly feels will help in both Perú’s economic
conditions and security of the state.

Writing the Letter

Villanueva was expecting the letter from Juan Alberto
González, General Manager of Microsoft
Perú. In fact, he’d requested it. As with any attempt
to bring something new into law, the Peruvian Congressman had held
meeting after meeting with institutes, organizations, corporations,
and anyone else who has had an interest in seeing the Bill succeed
as is or seeing changes made to it.

During this series of meetings, Villanueva repeatedly spoke with
people from Microsoft. “They have come to give us a series of
suggestions, and have given their opinions to us. We have received
them, as I’ll say again, democratically, and even more, waiting for
them to convince us otherwise … that is to say, if they could
convince us that our bill was wrong,” Villanueva said.

However, during the meetings the Peruvian Congressman and his
associates did not feel swayed.

In order to further the process and ensure that all of the
issues had been properly thought out, Villanueva requested that
Microsoft Perú submit their observations, arguments,
and concerns, in writing. However, as many have already seen, the
written version was no more convincing than the spoken
arguments.

Villanueva is, however, ultimately a lawyer rather than a
computer expert. While he penned his now famous reply letter
himself, he also had a team of technical experts checking every
little fact to ensure that his technical points were as solid as
both his legal and political points. Thus, his letter was both
eloquent and full of solid information, which at the very least
forced people to think before they attempt to rebut its points.

Reactions and Fallout

Villanueva knew that taking on Microsoft Perú was
quite a step, but did not expect the reaction he’s received from
the open source community. “I [have] receive[d] tons of letters
from various parts of the world. I am extremely surprised,” he said
when I asked about the level of reaction he’s garnered from outside
of Perú. His support amongst his fellow Peruvian
congressmen continues to grow, and there is even an alternative
Bill on the floor from the Vice President of the consumer
protection commission–and this second Bill also has Dr.
Villanueva’s signature.

The Congressman is getting more and more caught up with the open
source and free software movements as time goes by. Villanueva was
once invited to an event in Columbia where he was to meet with the
Free Software Foundation’s Richard Stallman, and to his great
disappointment this event had to be cancelled. He added as an aside
that he hopes to meet Stallman at another international event–and
hinted that perhaps someone over at the FSF might pass along the
open invitation.

In the meantime, Villanueva and his supporters feel that the
Bill Number 1609 may only be months away from approval. The Bill’s
chance of succeeding grows as international momentum builds behind
them. That momentum can certainly help, Villanueva added, as those
within Perú and without can help by writing articulate
letters to any number of agencies in Perú, including
Congressmen, the Commission of Education, and the Consumer
Protection Commission, on both the freedoms of open source and the
practical nature of how the Bill might benefit Perú,
its government, its people, and its technology industry.

Perú’s youth continue to approach Villanueva,
offering to march in support of the Bill: “It is the youth that
needs to drive its creativity, its intelligence, its intellect …
there are many young people that can create their own employment
through [the use] of free software.”

Now this humble Peruvian Congressman from the Andes, “armed with
only his sense of reason, or at least with the truth,” finds
himself being invited to run for office from Argentina to Miami
because of a single letter he wrote to a single person at a single
corporation in defense of a single Bill.

When asked if there was anything he would like to add,
Villanueva showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was the
author of the letter: “I’d like to say to the people who are
interested in free software, and also [those interested in]
proprietary software, that really we should have a market economy;
but a market economy where it isn’t ruled by monopolies or
‘Leo-polies’–where you don’t have a situation where one guy is the
Lion and leaves the Rat role for the others. So, that it [is] open,
that it [is] democratic, that there [is] real competition, and that
above all people are allowed to participate in technology. This is
what I’m interested in, the philosophy that drives me, and as I’ve
mentioned, I am a person that sees the enormous need for the youth
to be brought closer to technology.”

Related Links:

Congress of Perú
http://www.congreso.gob.pe/

Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Education)
http://www.minedu.gob.pe/

Consumer Protection Commission (Defensa del Consumidor y
Organismo Reguladores de los Servicios Públicos)
http://www.congreso.gob.pe/organizacion/comisiones.asp