Name: Diovana Renoldi Vieira
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 26/04/2019
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Antonia de Lourdes Colbari | Internal Alternate * |
| Cristiana Losekann | Internal Examiner * |
| Daniela Zanetti | External Examiner * |
| Elda Coelho de Azevedo Bussinguer | External Alternate * |
| Marta Zorzal e Silva | Advisor * |
Summary: This dissertation aims to study the discourse of the Renova Foundation, in the context of the repair effort after the collapse of Samarco's iron ore waste dam, which occurred on November 5, 2015. Considered as the largest criminal socio-environmental disaster in Brazil's history, as well as the broad context of the extractive mining industry, the case disrupted ecosystems and the livelihoods of resident populations in the 40 municipalities directly impacted along the almost 700 km covered by mud that flowed from the Doce River reaching the coast of Espírito Santo (IBAMA, 2015). After the failure, a high number of players such as affected populations, responsible companies, government agencies found themselves compelled to interact while searching for the most appropriate intervention model for the rehabilitation of the socioenvironmental system. Such a scenario had been configured as a complex network supported by asymmetric relationships in material and symbolic resources. This symbolic field constitutes the locus of the analysis for this research, which focuses on the tension between the different forces and discursive narratives that constituted the social field post-failure, understood as an expression of power relations. As of March 2, 2016, the problem was governed by the rules imposed by the Transaction Agreement and Adjustment of Conduct (TTAC). This extrajudicial instrument established a complex system of governance to repair the immense damage caused by the disaster, in which the Renova Foundation stood out as the main institution responsible for the management and execution of the repair process. The research questioned the actions taken by the Renova Foundation as a protagonist in this relationship of forces, through discourse analysis of the institution, understanding the discourse as an element endowed with effects of power which contribute to the representation and meaning of the social world. The analysis was developed considering other data obtained throughout the research in order to emphasize antagonistic interfaces through the contrast between the narratives of the Foundation and those of the affected communities. As for the results, it is sought to emphasize aspects that highlight the importance of socially constitutive discourses in their character, which influence the maintenance of hegemonic power relations and, therefore, their effects on social structures, and discourse itself is the focus of the struggle for the articulation or disarticulation of such hegemonies.
Keywords: disaster; Samarco; Renova Foundation; discourse; power relations.
