Brumadinho: victims demand transparency in program managed by FGV
The foundation was chosen through public notice
Léo Rodrigues - Agência Brasil reporter
News published by Agência Brasil on
25/01/2025 - 09:19
Rio de Janeiro
Exactly six years after the collapse of the Vale dam in Brumadinho (MG), the implementation of the Income Transfer Program (PTR), established by the reparations agreement and managed by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), has become the target of criticism from the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB). The organization points to a lack of transparency and considers the cut planned for March this year to be a mistake when all beneficiaries will receive half of the amounts paid so far. It also demands explanations about a clause that allocates a slice of the revenue from the program's resources to FGV.
The dam collapse, on January 25, 2019, released an avalanche of tailings that caused major impacts in the municipalities of the Paraopeba River basin. In all, 272 lives were lost, including two babies of women who were pregnant. The environmental and socio-economic impacts affected thousands of people in different municipalities in the Paraopeba river basin. As happens every year, various organizations representing those affected organize a series of activities to mark the date.
“The cut in the PTR is absurd because reparations are far from being completed. Vale hasn't cleaned up the river, it hasn't removed the tailings. No one can fish, you can't use the water for irrigation, for consumption, or, in short, for any use. Those affected can't resume their economic activity,” says MAB coordinator Guilherme Camponez. According to him, without their sources of livelihood, the families depend on these resources to buy necessities, such as drinking water and medicines. The extension of the program was one of the main demands raised by the MAB at a march held in Belo Horizonte on Friday (24).
The PTR was one of the measures included in the global damage repair agreement signed between the mining company, the Minas Gerais government, the Minas Gerais Public Prosecutor's Office (MPMG), the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), and the Minas Gerais Public Defender's Office (DPMG). In all, R$37.68 billion was earmarked for a series of agreed-upon measures, with R$4.4 billion earmarked for the PTR.
The global agreement established the program to replace the emergency aid that began to be paid by the mining company shortly after the tragedy. At the time, the benefit was set at a variable amount according to the age group of each person affected: one minimum wage per adult, half that amount per teenager, and a quarter for each child.
Initially, all residents of Brumadinho were entitled to the benefit, without distinction. In the other municipalities affected, aid was granted to people living up to 1 kilometer (km) away from the Paraopeba River channel. At the end of 2019, there was a change: the criteria for access to the benefit were maintained, but the amount was halved for those who did not live in communities directly affected by the tailings.
With the implementation of the PTR, some adjustments were made to the criteria. The amounts, however, were maintained. The MPF and the DPMG established the polygonal areas, which delimited the communities that have part of their territory within the criterion of 1 km from the Paraopeba river bank. This means that if a village had a point located within this distance, all its residents should be included as beneficiaries.
The gradual approval of new polygonal areas and the identification of the traditional communities affected led to the inclusion of more than 50,000 people. Adding those who had already been receiving payments since the implementation of the emergency aid initially paid by Vale, there are currently 154,964 beneficiaries of the program's resources.
The foundations for the creation of the PTR were laid with the signing of the global agreement in 2021, and FGV was chosen as the manager through a public tender launched by MPMG, MPF, and DPMG. Hiring an independent entity was a solution presented by the three institutions - which form the collegiate body responsible for overseeing the program - during the negotiation of the global agreement. They took into account criticism from those affected, who complained about Vale's power to decide who would be entitled to the benefit.
However, Guilherme Camponez says that the contract with FGV that was signed with the justice institutions was not preceded by any disclosure. Those affected were neither consulted nor informed of its terms. In the sixth clause, it was established that FGV would receive R$109.5 million to fund the execution of the PTR. In addition, the funds earmarked for the program would be deposited in a fund. FGV was granted the right to 12% of all income from savings accounts. Economists consulted by the MAB estimate that this amount has already reached R$40 million.
“There was a lack of transparency. Those affected had no part in anything, nor did they know when the contract was signed. We were never informed about it and there is nothing in the global agreement about it either. Today nobody knows the exact amount and what it will be used for,” he complains. FGV maintains a website with information on the PTR. It records that, until December 2024, the fund earned R$1.158 billion. But there are no details of the specific amount that would go to FGV.
Contacted by Agência Brasil, FGV said in a statement that it has already passed on more than R$3.6 billion to those affected by the PTR, classified as “the largest private income transfer program in Latin America”. According to the text, the application of the funds generated income that allowed the extension of the program's deadline, which was initially due to end in October 2025.
The FGV also states that it carried out a survey last year in which the effects of the PTR in the region were evaluated. “Among the indicators that show the positive socio-environmental impact are the improvement of 20% in health, 15% in infrastructure (urbanization and sanitation), and 25% in social assistance in the region after the tragedy, boosting sustainable development and the well-being of the affected communities,” says the note.
Camponez believes that it is unreasonable for FGV to receive a percentage of the income from the funds. He also calls for more transparency. “It's a non-profit institution. So what does it do with this money? Do you use it for some internal activity? Maybe. But not even that is reported. I think this is a reparation resource. It's a resource that should be used for reparations,” argues Camponez. He also recalls that the global agreement foresaw the hiring of an independent external audit to monitor the management of the PTR, which to date has not materialized.
Contacted by Agência Brasil, the MPF said in a statement that all the costs of hiring FGV are covered within the R$4.4 billion earmarked for the PTR. The text also adds that the program is currently undergoing an internal audit. “The external audit is in the process of being contracted,” the note concludes.
End in 2026
At the same time as worrying about the cut announced for March this year, the MAB fears the effects of the definitive closure of the PTR, scheduled for April 2026. Camponez doesn't believe the situation will be much different next year. In his opinion, the reparations process has been moving at a very slow pace.
“Without the PTR, families will be in a situation of food insecurity. Their income will be greatly reduced and this will affect the whole region because there will be indirect effects. There will be fewer resources circulating in the communities, which tends to generate unemployment. It's a big mistake to end the RTP, as well as being a violation of the rights of the people affected. Vale has to put more resources into keeping it running for as long as necessary.”
Camponez says that closing the RAP goes against the principles of the National Policy on the Rights of People Affected by Dams (PNAB), as Federal Law 14.755/2023 has come to be known. Sanctioned in 2023 by President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, its approval in Congress came after mobilizations by the MAB. Article 3 guarantees “emergency aid in the event of accidents or disasters, ensuring the maintenance of the standard of living until families and individuals reach conditions at least equivalent to the previous ones”.
In a statement, Vale stressed that the PTR was established in the global agreement as a definitive solution for emergency payments. The mining company considers that it has done its part since it has transferred the fixed amount. “Vale makes the payment and does not participate in the management of the resources or the execution of the program. In October 2021, the company deposited R$4.4 billion for this obligation and, since November 2021, the program has been implemented and is managed by the institutions of Justice, being administered by the Getulio Vargas Foundation. With the deposit in court of the amount corresponding to the PTR, Vale's obligation on the subject ended,” the text says.
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