Google Brazil CEO’s message about Lula da Silva’s labor reform

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – One of the main proposals studied by economists linked to the Workers’ Party (PT) for the campaign of former president Lula da Silva, who allegedly leads the polls in the race for the presidential office, is to promote a kind of “review” of the labor reform, approved in 2017.

There is not yet a consensus about the depth of such a proposal within the party. Still, it is known that the main target will be to promote changes in the labor relationship between digital platforms such as iFood and Uber and their service providers. Today, there is no formal link between these parties.

Asked by VEJA about how the eventual change in rules could inhibit innovation in the country, the president of Google Brazil, Fabio Coelho, asked for “dialog” between the government, regulatory agencies, and the companies that are part of the sector.

“Whatever the elected government, we will work to help our society and maintain dialog. Dialog is part of the understanding of the discussion. It is clear that when the new one arrives, it causes some rupture in the existing model. If you make it the same as what was already there, you will be limiting innovation and reducing the competitiveness of that environment.

Many problems in Brazil can only be solved through innovation. Innovation is producing deep social transformations in the Brazilian state. Nobody will solve a problem in a community in Maceió sitting in an office chair in the United States. Therefore, we need to have innovation,” said Coelho.

The executive cites the work promoted by the technological giant to “accelerate” startup companies in Brazil and says that it is a “lie” to point out that big techs do not pay taxes in the country. “In our startup acceleration space in São Paulo, we accelerated 300 companies in six years. These are national companies; some have even become unicorns. I am pro-innovation. I think that the discussion about regulation for the sector should always be seen with an eye to dialog,” he reiterates. “For a long time, it was said that big techs didn’t pay taxes. It is not true. A lot of taxes are paid in Brazil.”

Although he does not express what he thinks about how the working relationship between mobile apps and their service providers should be, Coelho affirms that it is possible to find a regulation that encompasses the interests of traditional companies and companies arising from the “new economy” – he cites Uber in the United States as an example.

“Dialog is what helps build a solution, which will be a point of balance compared to the current model. It is clear to me when I see that in the United States, you can get a cab using the Uber app. So, it is possible to find solutions, to find paths through dialogue. This discussion doesn’t work with polarization,” he concludes.