Opinion: Mining in Brazil in the colonial times of 2021
Op-ed on the two years since the collapse of the tailings dam in Brumadinho
Article by Julia Neiva, Letícia Aleixo and Marina Oliveira originally published in Poder360:
“Serious environmental and social disasters, such as the collapse of the iron ore tailings dam in the town of Brumadinho (state of Minas Gerais), which occurred 2 years ago this Monday, January 25, are proof that Brazil has a mining model that employs outdated techniques and focuses on lowering costs at the expense of the safety of workers and the population that lives near the mines, including indigenous peoples and quilombola, traditional and rural communities. Brazilian mining policy, without exaggeration, resembles colonial times and raises questions that impact the core of our civilizational process: what cost is the country willing to pay to keep mining in the current state? How many more lives will be lost by this choice?”
