The Alagoas government wants to turn the Braskema area into a park

Land subsidence affected more than 250,000 people; on Sunday (December 10) there was a mine rupture in Lagoa Mundau

The Alagoas government wants to expropriate the entire area of ​​the Maceio metropolitan area, which has suffered from subsidence caused by decades of rock salt mining by private companies. According to the state governor, Paulo Dantas (MDB-AL), the proposal, which is still under consideration, is to expropriate the area owned by Braskem and turn it into a state park.

“We talked with our technicians, with a government group, to expropriate all the crime-affected area in Braskem and create a big state park like Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo”Dantas said at a meeting this Monday (December 11, 2023) with secretaries of state and representatives of the federal government.

The meeting took place 1 day after the opening of one of Braskem’s mines will break. It was organized so that state, federal and municipal governments “pursue joint action” to combat land subsidence, which according to Dantas has affected, directly or indirectly, more than 250,000 people, leaving at least 40,000 displaced from their homes and commercial establishments in 5 districts: Pineira, Bom Parto, Mutange, Bebedura and Lighthouse.

In addition to the proposal to expropriate the area already identified as risky for accidents and create a park “Memory of Braskem’s Victims”Dantas again defended expanding the area under consideration to include at least 3 more districts. “Broadening the boundaries (from risk map) it is fundamental. Surroundings of Flex (Top and Bottom Flex)and also Bom Parta and the Marquis de Abrantes must be included in that region which suffered from this absurdity committed by Braskem.’– said the governor.

However, the governor’s proposal was not well received by the representative of the victims in the Braskem Working Group on Crime (Working Group), Alexander de Moraes Sampaio. He said he was not consulted beforehand about the plan and had no sense “It is understandable to support on behalf of the victims the proposal to expropriate the territory, which should not even have been transferred to Braskem”.

As the government (condition) does not discuss it with us, in the same way that the municipal authorities did not discuss it, at any time I feel obliged to publicly withdraw my participation in GT in order not to support what I was not invited to discuss on behalf of civil society”Sampaio said.

Alagoas State Attorney General Samia Suruagi said the state government filed the lawsuit to try to guarantee the owners of the affected residential and commercial properties the maintenance of the property, even though they had already signed agreements with the company and received a certain amount that would be considered moral compensation for the losses suffered . According to Samia, expropriation of the territory by the state would be the second option, if the court does not decide in favor of the victims.

“Braskem is obliged to return (in area) victims, because no one benefits from his own immorality”– said the prosecutor. “The question of expropriation would be a way of trying to reduce the damage (then) it would be a reward for Braskem to hurt and get out (to stay) with property of victims or municipalities”Samya confirms.

For the proposal of the governor Paulo Dantas and the federal deputy present at the meeting Rafael Brito (MDB-AL) agreed with the prosecutor’s statement. “In my opinion, Braskem has not yet compensated the family or the victims. The company bought people’s property. This is clear in the agreements she signed with everyone, including my father, who left his home as a victim of Braskem’s crime.” – he declared.

“The agreement he signed has 3 very clear clauses that the ownership of the property immediately transfers to Braskem’s assets. And so far there is nothing in the legislation that prevents the company from getting economic benefit from it in 20-30 years. If the court does not win the case (allowing) return of property (by former owner)for the state to alienate this territory for a ridiculous, symbolic price, so that there would be a square there.”said the deputy.

According to Braskem, since 2018, when the first cracks were discovered in buildings and streets, indicating that rock salt mining has left huge caverns underground in the surroundings of Maceio, residents and traders of approximately 14,500 properties have been included in the financial compensation program. and relocation support, in accordance with the agreement signed by the company with the MPF (Federal Ministry of Public Affairs); MP-AL (Public Ministry of Alagoas); Office of the Public Defender of the Union and Office of the Public Defender of Alagoas. In total, about 40,000 people were resettled as a precaution.

After permanently ceasing rock salt mining in May 2019, the company signed a 2nd agreement with federal and state lawmakers in December 2020, which provides for comprehensive repair, mitigation and compensation actions. The company said it has already paid 4.4 billion reais in compensation out of a total of 19,000 offers submitted by residents and merchants, which Braskem says represents 99.8% of the total.

UNDERSTAND THE MATTER

On December 1, the federal government declared a state of emergency in the city of Maceio due to land subsidence in the city’s neighborhoods. In total, the environmental disaster affected about 55,000 people – who were displaced – and 14,000 properties, all unoccupied.

Subsidence and the appearance of cracks in the ground were recorded in 5 districts of the Alagoas capital: Pineiro, Mutange, Bebeduru, Bom Parto and Farol.

The problem, however, is not new. In March 2018, residents of the Pinheiro neighborhood reported tremors and cracks in the ground. The same reports were repeated in 4 other districts of the Alagoas capital.

Since 1976, the company has been working in the region with the permission of the state authorities. Braskem drilled a total of 35 wells near Mundau Lagoon, but only 4 were operational in 2018.

Based on the reports, 54 specialists from the SGB (Brazilian Geological Survey) conducted technical surveys in the region. 1 year later, in 2019, it was concluded that the cracks and tremors were related to the mining operations carried out by Braskem. The environmental licenses were suspended, and in November 2019 the company announced the cessation of operations at the site. As a result, the wells were blocked and the inhabitants of the region were relocated across the village “Financial Compensation Program”signed between Braskem and government authorities.

On July 20, 2023, the company signed an agreement with the Alagoas City Hall that guaranteed the city 1.7 billion reais in compensation. According to a memo released by the city hall at the time, the resources will be used to carry out construction work and create a FAM (Resident Support Fund). Here is the full text of the agreement (PDF – 2 MB).

O Poder360 created an infographic with a chronology of events surrounding the case. Read below.


With information from Agência Brasil

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