Coding Free Software, Coding Free States: Free Software Legislation and the Politics of Code in Peru.

Part of a special section on anthropological research on free software or open source software in widely disparate social spaces and global locations. In December 2001, a legislative proposal was introduced to the Peruvian Congress that would have authorized the use of free software on government c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anthropological Quarterly Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 531 - 546
Main Author: Chan, Anita
Format: Article
Published: George Washington Institute for Ethnographic Research Summer 2004
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Part of a special section on anthropological research on free software or open source software in widely disparate social spaces and global locations. In December 2001, a legislative proposal was introduced to the Peruvian Congress that would have authorized the use of free software on government computers. The introduction of what was tagged the Law for the Use of Free Software in Government Agencies added Peru to a growing number of countries pursuing legal means for the adoption of free software by government. Similar measures had begun in other countries, but it was Peru alone that managed to become the focus of international public attention. Details are provided of how Peru's proposal and its congressional author became prominent players in the global movement for free software.