The environmental disaster of Mariana and the krenaks of the Doce River

Abstract

The article proposes to present a reflection on Brazil's biggest environmental disaster, which occurred in Minas Gerais, in November 2015, and the consequences to the Krenak people, that has an ancestral link with the Doce River, the largest of this river basin. The whole area has been highly impacted by the unprecedented leakage of iron mining tailings. The disaster points to another one of the socio-environmental conflicts directly experienced by indigenous people who, more often, own proper development concepts, but suffer the effects of the economic projects of which they are allied. The aim of this article is to verify whether indigenous concepts regarding development put into question those experienced by majority societies, and if a conceptual modification is possible regarding the idea of development prevailing in these larger societies, since the indigenous thought. The investigation is part of the problem permanently sighted in countries that have indigenous populations, which seek to maintain their traditional ways of life, while they are impacted by economic development policies, which do not lead them into consideration in decision-making. The conclusive idea of the article is to initiate a discussion about the concept of development for the indigenous people, and how much it relates to the one understood as sustainable development, as well as addressing the issue of corporate responsibility for environmental disasters and their prevention. The method used was the deductive for the support of exploratory research-bibliographic.