THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DISASTER AND THE “PRIVATIZATION” OF MINING REGULATION: REFLECTIONS ON THE TRAGEDY OF THE RIO DOCE BASIN, BRAZIL ^*

A CONSTRUÇÃO DO DESASTRE E A “PRIVATIZAÇÃO” DA REGULAÇÃO MINERAL: REFLEXÕES SOBRE A TRAGÉDIA DO VALE DO RIO DOCE, BRASIL

In this paper, we present an interpretation of the Samarco/Vale/BHP Billiton disaster, which highlights the relations between State, market and civil society and the rearrangement of environmental regulation of the mining industry in Brazil. We discuss the mutually constitutive changes in the roles of the State and of private companies, with emphasis on environmental and social dimensions, revealing the selective exclusion of civil society from the process. Based on document analysis and direct observation, we analyze regulatory forms related to environmental licensing and monitoring of Samarco’s operations, as well as management of impacts of the disaster in the Rio Doce basin, with the establishment of the Renova Foundation. Results are consistent with the hypothesis of a mix of weak and private regulatory standards (self-regulation), integrating ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ dimensions, which add corporate forms of private and public regulation to the process of institutional dismantlement.

Key words:
mining; regulation; state-market relations; disaster; Samarco