The Environmental Disasters of Mariana and Brumadinho and the Brazilian Social Environmental Law State

Abstract

The disruption of a mining tailings dam in Mariana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on November 13, 2015, ignited the alert for safety issues involving mining activity in Brazil. Even after this accident of huge proportions, Brazil experienced a new dramatic event with the rupture of a dam in the city of Brumadinho, in the same state of Minas Gerais. From these two episodes, the general objective of the present study is to analyze the incompatibility between the preservation of the environment and the economic development of the country in order to identify the Brazilian Social Environmental Law State that fails in its objective of preservation or the developmental state that favors economic growth at any cost. It emerged from the research carried out that the actions (and omissions) of the Brazilian public power in relation to the mining activity show a fundamental preoccupation with the economic development to the detriment of the aspects of environmental preservation and social quality. The methodology used to develop the research was the inductive method operationalized by the reference technique, categories, operational concepts and bibliographic research.