06/19/2024 – 23:39
During a ceremony held this Wednesday (20) for the Magda Chambriard assumes the presidency of Petrobras, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the privatizations of large companies in the country. He directly cited Eletrobras and Vale. According to the president, the two could be working alongside Petrobras as drivers of the Brazilian economy.
Eletrobras was privatized in 2022 by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. On that occasion, new shares were issued, reducing the Union’s participation to less than 50%. Vale was sold in 1997, when the government led by Fernando Henrique Cardoso negotiated shares with a group of private companies and pension funds.
“We could be better. We could have Eletrobras on our side, which was the largest energy company in our country. We could have Vale on our side, which was privatized and raffled off to different funds. And there’s no owner for you to talk to,” she said.
Lula criticized the mining company’s behavior in the reparation processes for the tragedies it caused in recent years in Minas Gerais. In 2015, a Samarco dam – a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton – collapsed in Mariana, leaving 19 people dead and causing damage to municipalities throughout the Rio Doce basin. In 2019, the city of Brumadinho witnessed the biggest labor accident in the country. The rupture of a Vale dam, in addition to the environmental impacts, cost 272 lives, the majority of employees of the mining company itself or contracted outsourced companies.
The topic was addressed by the president amid the negotiations to renegotiate the repair agreement of the tragedy that occurred in 2015. The model implemented, involving the creation of the Renova Foundation to manage reparatory measures, is considered unsuccessful not only by the federal government, but also by the governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, the Public Ministry and entities representing those affected . More than eight years later, more than 85 thousand cases are being processed in the Brazilian Judiciary, including public civil actions, collective and individual actions.
In search of a solution to this judicial liability, negotiations to renegotiate the agreement have been going on for more than two years. A new agreement has come up against the values offered by mining companies, considered insufficient until now. The last proposal they presented, under analysis by the other parties, involves the transfer of R$82 billion to governments over a 20-year period, in addition to measures to be paid directly by the mining companies. The Union and the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, however, requested in their last statement in the process the payment of R$109 billion, with deposits over 12 years.
“When I say that there is no owner to talk to, it is because, since the disasters at the Mariana and Brumadinho dams, compensation for those people has not been paid. They are waiting for houses and compensation for the damage. A good, large company needs to have someone in charge so that things can work properly. My mother said that dogs with too many owners die of hunger because everyone thinks the other one gave them food and in the end no one gives them food. So a company where no one is in charge often does not fulfill that social role that is important to fulfill,” said Lula.
Wanted by Brazil Agency, Vale informed that it will not comment on the president’s demonstration. According to data from the mining company, R$37 billion was allocated to repair and compensation actions related to the tragedy that occurred in Mariana. Of this amount, R$14.29 billion would have been used for compensation and R$2.82 billion for emergency financial aid. Regarding the tragedy in Brumadinho, Vale claims that, since 2019, 16,394 people affected by it have concluded civil and labor compensation agreements, generating payments totaling R$3.7 billion.
#Lula #regrets #private #Eletrobras #demands #Vale #repair #tragedies