There is no time to lose: MAB demands urgent approval of the National Policy for People Affected by Dams – PNAB

With one of the most conservative legislatures in recent years, the progress of the project seems to depend more on the organization and mobilization of those affected, than on the goodwill of parliamentarians.

Photo: Lidyane Ponciano

Text by Leonardo Fernandes, MAB Communication Collective

Events such as the dam breaks in Mariana (2015) and Brumadinho (2019) are unfortunate examples of the irresponsible ways in which those affected by dam projects in Brazil are still treated today. Without regulations that give legal certainty to those affected, they are at the mercy of the Judiciary’s interpretation of the extent of their rights.

For example, one year after the crime in Brumadinho, the affected populations are still struggling to win a fair financial reparation. While in the Paraopeba River basin the right to technical assistance in the territories was recently won, in Mariana and throughout the Doce River basin, this right was not guaranteed to all affected families. The discrepancy can only be explained by the legal vacuum that exists when it comes to the rights of those affected by dams in Brazil.

To end this situation and provide legal certainty to those affected, the Movement of People Affected by Dams – MAB – has been working on a bill for decades that would contribute to ensuring the rights of the populations affected by the construction of hydroelectric projects and by the waste tailings deposits of ore, or by the rupture of these structures.

Leandro Scalabrin, lawyer and member of the National Human Rights Council – CNDH, explains that the movement’s struggle has always been about guaranteeing the rights of those affected who have not been protected by the law. He recalls that in 1986 there was a milestone in achieving rights for those affected, when an agreement was signed between the Minister of Mines and Energy and those affected in the south of the country. The agreement guaranteed rights, such as the collective resettlement of the affected families. Since then, other initiatives have achieved both small advances and major setbacks, but until today there has been no legislation that addresses the issue.

Scalabrin says that with the privatization of the electricity sector in the 1990s, the situation only worsened. Until 2006, the CNDH created a special commission to investigate human rights violations in the construction of Brazilian dams. The report produced by the commission ended up serving as documentation for MAB to use to prepare the first proposal for a National Policy for People Affected by Dams. He reported that “This report found that one of the problems with the violations of rights of those affected is that there was no law to guarantee rights. And that, therefore, depended on the organization of those affected in each case, in each region, to gain more or less rights. This was causing unequal situations, sometimes involving the same company.”

 Little by little, with each small victory of those affected in their territories, the bill, now called National Policy of People Affected by Dams – PNAB, was consolidated. On June 25, 2019, the Bill (PL) was approved by the Chamber of Deputies, shortly after the conclusion of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of Brumadinho. Since then, the project has been stalled in the Federal Senate, where it is under the report of Senator Carlos Viana (PSD).

 The proposal provides, among other things, criteria for defining the spectrum of affected people, the responsibility of companies over the affected populations, the parameters for financial repair and construction of collective resettlements, and the recognition of the need for so-called “technical advice” for the territories affected by dams, who are responsible for collecting data and pointing out sustainable solutions.

 Tchenna Maso from the national coordination of MAB discusses how the proposal faces difficulties advancing in the legislature due to the strong lobby by large companies in the electric sector with deputies and senators.

 “They (the lobby of the electricity sector) question the level of participation that we want for those affected by dams in this process, in addition to proposals that are a little more radical about regional development plans,” he said.

 With one of the most conservative legislatures in recent years, the progress of the project seems to depend more on the organization and mobilization of those affected, than on the goodwill of parliamentarians. And there are plenty of reasons to mobilize. Iury Paulino, from the Human Rights collective of MAB, explains what changes would occure in the lives of those affected after the approval of this legal framework. He states: “It means to say that we can have a set of laws that will regulate the performance of corporations and large companies in these ventures. The text establishes a set of values and guidelines that do not only concern the right to property, but contemplate the right to life, the right to the territory, the right to the river, the right to water, the right to culture.”

 Local initiatives

 Within Minas Gerais, the State where the two largest socio-environmental tragedies in the country involving dams occurred, the State Policy of People Affected by Dams – PEAB – is also being processed in the Legislative Assembly, which was already approved in the first round. The proposal now needs to go through a second round of voting.

 Other similar projects are also being processed or negotiated in other states, such as Bahia, Ceará and Rio de Janeiro. In Rio Grande do Sul, the current governor of the State, Eduardo Leite (PSDB) revoked in 2019 Decree nº 51.595, of June 23, 2014, which instituted the Policy for the Development of Regions Affected by Hydroelectric Enterprises – PDRAEH, and the Policy State of People Affected by Hydroelectric Enterprises – PEAEH.

 Electricity Businesses are Already Activating Their Advertising

 If large mining companies and companies in the electricity sector dedicated all the resources they spend on advertising and materials paid for in the media,  the situation of those affected by dams would be different in Brazil. Recently, major media outlets published an article written by two “experts” who only attack the PNAB proposal.

 The text states, without providing precise data, that “it is undeniable that the text approved by the Chamber does not represent a feasible proposal, at least for the electricity sector.” The excerpt clearly demonstrates whose rights are being considered: companies in the electricity sector.

 The “experts” also affirm that the text of the PL is “broad and subjective,” not allowing the precise delimitation of the spectrum of those affected. Of course, they question any and all provisions of the law that allow the direct participation of the people actually affected by dams. And it ends with promoting true media terrorism, stating that the proposal “would affect the price of light,” since reparations for the affected populations would generate a “cost” for companies in the electricity sector. They conclude that this project, which aims to guarantee the rights of the populations that suffer from the construction or rupture of the dams, would be diametrically opposed to “national development.”

There is no doubt that it is about activating their propaganda machines, with the aim of defending only the interests of businesspeople, regardless of the rights of the affected populations. For MAB, no development project in the country can ignore the well-being, dignity and integrity of the working people.