Spring restoration and environmental (in)justice: The case of rural producers in Galiléia/MG

Abstract

The current article considers in a particular way the spring restoration process in Renova's Program 27 implemented in Galiléia, as part of fulfilling the Conduct Adjustment Transactional Term (CAAT) signed in March 2016, four months after the disaster resulting from collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana/MG. The paper aimed at evidencing the conflicts present in the dynamics of the territorialities established in P27 by rural producers, the Prosecutor's Office and Renova. To this end, we used spring restoration in the municipality of Galiléia/MG as framework. Through a literature review, as well as documentary analysis of the CAAT that established P27, we identified and analyzed the main actors and natural agents present in spring restoration in the program, performing a synthetic and global analysis of the conflict. All of the aforementioned under the historical, geographical and environmental contexts of the territory, against the background of environmental injustice. From this study, we understand that implementation of the program gathers diverse actors, who have different types of relationship and interests with the springs and marked power asymmetries. These power disparities of the actors involved and the discourse and the legal modality used to manage the issue act in favor of the companies and neglect the rights of the rural producers that joined the program, as well as of the entire population affected. In this scenario, there is certain repetition of socioenvironmental injustice patterns that date back from colonialism and are perpetuated to the present day.