Both candidates in Brazil's October presidential election are campaigning on multi-billion-dollar data centers, and Peter Millard said the reason is that most of the country's data is processed abroad.
In the United States data centers have become something politicians defend rather than promise. In Brazil the left and the right are competing to be seen bringing them in, for opposite reasons: sovereignty on one side and investment on the other.
"Most of, I think, 60% of Brazil's data currently gets processed in the United States."
Millard reports from Rio de Janeiro for Bloomberg and covers Brazilian business and politics, including the energy and infrastructure investment behind the data-center push.
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Here are the 3 takeaways that matter.
👤 Guest: Peter Millard, Bloomberg's Rio de Janeiro correspondent, who covers Brazilian business, energy and politics
🎙️ Host: Ed Ludlow, who anchors Bloomberg Tech from San Francisco
📰 Published: 1 September 2026 on YouTube (Bloomberg Tech)
🔴 YouTube | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 2 min
Key Takeaways
Data centers are a campaign asset in Brazil and a campaign liability in the US midterms
Lula's argument is sovereignty: Millard put 60% of Brazil's data as processed in the United States Washington coming out against the popular Pix payment app sharpens the point
Bolsonaro backs the same buildings for a different reason — inbound investment and efficiency
Brazil's technology industry is deliberately refusing to take a side It wants its projects to survive whichever candidate wins
1. The Data Sovereignty Case
Ludlow set the contrast: data centers are politically divisive in the US midterm campaign and not in Brazil's presidential race.
Millard said the underlying issue is where the country's information physically sits. "Brazil, like many countries apart from the United States, there's an issue of data sovereignty."
He put a number on the dependence, with a hedge on it. "Most of, I think, 60% of Brazil's data currently gets processed in the United States."
That is the case President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government is making to voters — that Brazil needs data centers so Brazilian data is processed in Brazil
A live dispute with Washington gives the argument an example. "And the Trump administration has come out against one of the apps, the popular payment app, Pix." Millard said Pix is very popular in Brazil. "People want to keep that and they want that data processed here in Brazil." Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, run by the central bank, and is used for everyday transfers and retail payments
2. Both Sides Run on It
The right-wing candidate is making the same promise on different grounds. "And the other side, Flavio Bolsonaro, he's used data centers in his campaign as a way to bring in investment and similar to Trump, he supports AI as a way to modernize the economy and improve efficiency."
Ludlow's framing was that both candidates are treating the buildings as central to their pitch to bolster Latin America's largest economy ahead of the October vote
3. Industry Stays Neutral
Ludlow asked whether it is clear which candidate Brazil's technology industry is backing.
Millard said the industry's strategy is to be invisible in the argument. "They don't want to side with one candidate or the other."
The reason is continuity of projects rather than indifference. "They would be very interested in steering clear of the political debate so that they can pursue their projects no matter who wins."
Bonus Insights
Ludlow introduced the segment by contrasting how the same investment plays in different societies and economies, and returned to the US case immediately afterwards, where voter anger over electricity bills and water use is putting politicians on the defensive even in data-center strongholds like Virginia and Texas
Millard's bottom line is that Brazil's election has removed the political risk from data-center investment rather than adding to it, because sovereignty and investment are arguments that happen to point the same way.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Pix (Brazil's instant payment system, run by the central bank; Millard said the Trump administration has come out against it and that Brazilians want its data processed at home)
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