Vale Mining Company Proposes Ending Emergency Aid to Victims of the Brumadinho Disaster in Minas Gerais

Hearing on Emergency Aid Will Take Place Between Today and Tomorrow, and Those Affected by the Disaster in Brumadinho Are Already Speaking Out Against the Mining Company

One year and nine months ago, an environmental crime occurred in the Paraopeba area, caused by the rupture of the Córrego do Feijão dam in Brumadinho, in the state of Minas Gerais. A new conflict arises between Vale and those affected by the crime regarding emergency aid. The affected individuals have already begun to express their opposition to the mining company, which intends to end the aid.

See Also Other News of the Day:

• ABB Giant Hires Engineer, Technical Inspector, Logistics Analyst, Manager, and More
• Mining – Minas Gerais Expected to Attract Investments of US$ 12.5 Billion
• Leading Company in Paper and Pulp Production, Klabin is Hiring Mechanics, Operators, Maintainance Workers, and More on This Day 21

Since February of last year, the mining company Vale has been instructed by the judiciary to make monthly payments to Brumadinho residents and to those living within 1km of the Paraopeba Riverbed. Now, the company has proposed a plan to cancel this payment, which will be gradually reduced until April 2021.

The proposals will be on the negotiating table at the mediation hearing at the Belo Horizonte Forum, from October 22 to 23. If no agreement is reached, Judge Elton Pupo Nogueira will decide.

Vale’s proposal is to pay the last installment on October 25 to those affected who, since December 2019, have only received 50% of the aid.

For residents of the neighborhoods Córrego do Feijão, Parque da Cachoeira, Alberto Flores, Cantagalo, Pires, along the banks of the Córrego Ferro-Carvão, and for people participating in support programs developed by Vale, the aid would be gradually reduced until April 2021, when it would end.

Reduction Plan:

• Those receiving 50% will receive their last installment on October 25;
• Starting in November, for four months, those currently receiving 100% will receive 75%;
• Starting in March 2021, those currently receiving 100% will receive 50%;
• In April 2021, they will receive 25% of a salary, which will be the last installment.

The Public Defender’s Office and the Public Ministry propose the following: a monthly minimum wage for adults, half the wage for teenagers, a quarter of the wage for each child, and a basic food basket for each family. Affected individuals must demonstrate economic losses, increased expenses, community collapse, or impaired economic activity.

Aedas, the State Association for Environmental and Social Defense, stated in a note that “This proposal for temporary economic support took into account the criteria presented by technical advisory services and was built together with the affected individuals. The proposal from the ATIs was also formally submitted to the process in its entirety.”