Resumo

On January 25th, 2019, the tailings dam of the Córrego do Feijão Mine, owned by Vale S.A., in Brumadinho-Minas Gerais, broke, causing the leakage of 12 million cubic meters of tailings. 272 people died and 3 are still missing. 48 municipalities were affected by river pollution. To repair the effects of the tragedy, in February 2021, an Integral Reparation Agreement was signed between the company and the government. However, due to problems since its elaboration, the agreement has been shown to be insufficient to solve the problems faced by the population.

Starting from the research question “Has the Integral Reparation Agreement been able to provide quality solutions for the population affected by the Brumadinho tragedy?”, this work aims to analyze the construction process and the text of the agreement, in light of theoretical references on intersectoral relations, governance and socio-environmental tragedies and the guidelines of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations. It also seeks to bring to light the voices of the community about the reparation process.

The theoretical review is transdisciplinary and involves: the Epistemologies of the South, proposed by Sousa Santos, the Curse of Natural Resources, by Auty, Gudynas’ Neoextractivism, new perspectives on stakeholder theory, by Colvin and colleagues, the dialogue between mutuality and morality in companies, proposed by Rangan, Wicked Problems (by Rittel and Melvin and contemporary theorists) and the Management of Common Goods (Hardin and Ostrom). Brazilian legislation and conditions for Comprehensive Reparation, proposed by the UN and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights were also studied.

The work adopts a qualitative approach, examining aspects of the social process, such as experiences and aspects of the participants’ imaginary, the articulation of social processes and their meanings. Data were collected through bibliographic research - from the text of the Integral Reparation Agreement, articles, manifestos and documents published by collectives, social movements and associations of those affected - and by non-participant observation at community meetings. The analysis was divided into two stages: the text of the Agreement and the counterpoint of the voices of the community.

The data show that, contrary to theoretical definitions, the population was not the protagonist in the construction of the agreement. The document, elaborated without the participation of the community, contains contradictions within the text itself - the theoretical bases for the construction of the process were not taken into account in several of the determinations. The fragility in construction has given rise to problems that have been afflicting the population over time, in a constant process of revictimization.

The Integral Reparation Agreement in the case of the Brumadinho tragedy characterizes an attempt at a linear solution to a wicked problem - which, by nature, does not admit this type of solution. Given that it was not, demonstrably, an accident, the situation is characterized as a result of the actions of a free rider and its consequences. The Agreement sets up a top-down solution, which is inefficient, as demonstrated by the literature, because it does not offer those affected the possibility of organizing themselves and leading the solution to problems.

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