Brazil’s government is pushing a digital sovereignty agenda that reduces the risk of being cut off from critical technology due to foreign sanctions, without pursuing autarky or isolation, Minister of Management and Innovation Esther Dweck said in a recent interview.
Four pillars of digital sovereignty
Dweck outlined four spheres: data sovereignty (knowing where data are stored and being able to access them), operational sovereignty (running systems not developed domestically even if foreign firms face sanctions), development sovereignty (building domestic digital technology), and governance sovereignty (subjecting digital assets to Brazilian law rather than foreign jurisdiction). She stressed that the goal is not to produce everything internally but to increase autonomy through strategic partnerships.
Data repatriation and cloud ambitions
In early 2026 the government asked the federal data processing agencies Serpro and Dataprev to repatriate government data stored abroad. After negotiations, Huawei agreed to host the data, prompting US cloud providers to follow suit. Despite these moves, more than 60% of Brazilian government data still reside in US‑based clouds such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Dweck acknowledged that domestic firms cannot yet replace the scale of the “giant tech” clouds, but expects a Brazilian‑government cloud to be operational within two years, backed by R$ 2 billion (roughly USD 400 million at recent rates) invested in physical infrastructure by Serpro and Dataprev.
International AI alliances
The administration also announced the purchase of a supercomputer for artificial intelligence work, to be supplied partly by US vendors and paired with a strategic agreement with Huawei. Brazil has joined Waico, a China‑led international alliance focused on AI rule‑making, while declining to join the US‑led Pax Silica initiative. Dweck denied that participation in Waico constitutes an alignment with China, saying Brazil helped shape the alliance’s text to align with United Nations principles on democratizing access to technology and solving concrete problems through multilateral cooperation.
Pix and financial autonomy
Dweck highlighted the Pix instant‑payment system as an example of digital public infrastructure that reduces reliance on US‑dominated financial platforms. She noted that US officials have previously cited Pix as a justification for tariffs, but affirmed that Brazil will not retreat from expanding Pix’s use despite potential retaliation.
The minister concluded that Brazil seeks to navigate between the United States and China by leveraging competition between the two powers to secure partnerships that bolster national autonomy without sacrificing engagement with the global digital economy.
Based on single‑source reporting from Folha de S.Paulo.