Brazilian bishop on impact of catastrophic Brumadinho dam collapse

Mass for victims of Brumadinho disaster, Buenos Aires cathedral, Argentina, August 2019

Source: London Mining Network

In recent weeks, Dom Vicente Ferreira, Catholic Bishop of Brumadinho in Brazil, was in Europe speaking about the continuing impacts of the catastrophic tailings dam collapse there in January 2019, which killed 272 people. The iron ore mine at Brumadinho is owned and operated by a Brazilian mining company, Vale, in which British investors Aviva, HSBC, Legal and General, and others, have investments. Dom Vicente was accompanied by Rodrigo Peret of Catholic organisation Franciscans International.

Both are members of the Latin American organisation Red Iglesias y Mineria (Churches and Mining Network). This is an inter-church network of grassroots church workers and community members in mining-affected communities throughout the continent. It has developed an extremely strong critique of the mining industry, especially multinational corporations, denouncing the extractivist economy and calling for complete disinvestment from the mining industry.

They held meetings with Church officials and organisations in Rome and with the United Nations in Geneva, with MEPs in Brussels and with MPs and a number of organisations in Germany and Austria.

London Mining Network representatives met with them when they were in Brussels on 6 March. LMN has worked with the Churches and Mining Network since the Samarco tailings dam disaster in November 2015. In August 2019, LMN researcher and trustee Andrew Hickman attended the Churches and Mining Network's annual assembly in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to strengthen links between our organisations. Afterwards he was hosted by Churches and Mining Network members while visiting communities in Brazil affected by the Samarco and Brumadinho waste dam collapses and by the Minas Rio iron ore mine (owned by Anglo American).

At a gathering of organisations in Rome involved in the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation movement in the Catholic Church, Dom Vicente made a number of points.

He said that the tailings dam collapse at Brumadinho was a crime. The reconstruction of communities devastated by the tailings dam collapses is not just about money but about human values. Capitalism kills people: "We are colonised by the multinationals." Multinationals think only about shareholders. But "we need to think and listen to communities and those affected by this crime. We need to listen to the indigenous people too." There are still eleven families that have not found the bodies of their missing relatives. "We have to solve this situation together, we cannot give in to the culture of saying that all is well." Brumadinho is not just a local problem, but a global one.

Dom Vicente noted that in the document Laudato Si - on care for our common home, published in May 2015, Pope Francis had made strident criticisms of an economic system that is devastating ecosystems and creating massive injustices.

Dom Vicente said: "We are all responsible together to look after our creation, a responsibility that has been given to us by God. I realise it is not easy to listen to a bishop who is talking about crimes. Bishops are not just there to be in their churches, we need to live and suffer with our people. I cannot remain silent with so much pain and suffering. I find it difficult to talk about this crime and also to talk about hope. It is not easy to get the balance between prayer and action. We need to look at the gospel to guide us to this. We have to change how we relate to one another and how we relate to the environment.

"I bring my testimony, I bring my witness. I live in Brumadinho. I talk with emotion and passion of my people. I know that many families in Brumadinho are still suffering there. Depression is a big problem. There is a wound in their heart there. This wound cannot be healed with money. Our testimony is that we fight together. Please don't forget to pray for us, for me, for Rodrigo, for my brothers and people in Brumadinho… also those that are working for a better world. Don't forget to pray for the victims. They are the new martyrs. Please pray, especially in this time in Lent, for a better future."

Rodrigo Peret added: "It is crystal clear in Brazil that the government is connected with multinational corporations. Governments (including Brazil) are depending on mining. The economy is dependent on mining. What is the future in Brumadinho? It is dependent on mining companies. We call this a crime, because people die, because people are exploited.

"The dam when it was ruptured, the canteen and everything was in the shadow of the dam. Mining has grown in our territories and the people are living in the shadow of mining.

"We will find an answer by the people fighting these realities. We will find solutions by working with the people who are stepping out from this model. We are starting a movement for the people and their right to say 'no'. We need to work alongside these people. We are following what Pope Francis is saying to us regarding changing how we are living…."

"We cannot reduce this issue just to tailings dams. Tailings dams exist because mining exists. We need to remember all of the issues around mining. Extraction (and growth) has tripled, but the population has only doubled. Most of the waste and consumption is in the northern hemisphere. Legislation and standards are useful, but it is not a solution to the bigger picture. It is not enough just to change the standards, we have to look at the whole system."

Dom Vicente warned against trusting the mining companies: "I have seen that after the crime of Brumadinho, the mining companies have split communities. Communities no longer trust the mining companies. We watch the company's people every day say that 'we are repairing and giving compensation'. No, this is not the reality. It is just that they are fixing their own industry and repairing the extractive capitalist model. The communities are still divided. Many of my church brothers in Brazil say 'the multinationals are repairing the situation'. If you go to Brumadinho, however, you will see that the people are still suffering. I see this exploitation and I too am shocked. This system killed 272 people."

During discussions with LMN in Brussels, Dom Vicente and Rodrigo spoke about the role of 'money politics' in Brazil. They see the Brumadinho disaster as a metaphor for an extractivist system which benefits the rich at the expense of the poor, with suffering left behind. Apart from the deaths of 272 people, including many mine workers, huge numbers of survivors are suffering - rates of depression and suicide in the area have increased massively. Those who are responsible for the deaths at Brumadinho must be brought to justice. As well as this, at least 40 other tailings dams in Brazil are at risk of collapse.

They said that the Churches and Mining Network has good relationships with other activist and social networks, particularly MAM (Movement of People Affected by Mining), MAB (Movement of People Affected by Dams) and MST (Movement of People Without Land). There are many NGOs in the region, but a global presence and awareness is needed to stop this happening again, they said. The work of the church in Brumadinho is aimed at strengthening affected communities. The church has decided 'not to compromise' with Vale. Vale is trying to dominate and construct the only narrative. They use the media to do so. They are intervening in local organising to divide people; they are even trying to divide the church. But Dom Vicente and his team will continue to support local people in their struggle for justice, whatever the cost.

LMN intends to continue supporting the Churches and Mining Network in their support for mining-affected communities.

LINKS

Churches, Mining abd Brumadinho: https://londonminingnetwork.org/2020/03/churches-mining-and-brumadinho/

London Mining Network - https://londonminingnetwork.org