Rompimentos de barragens de mineração no foco do discurso: as tragédias de Brumadinho e Mariana sob o olhar do jornalismo brasileiro

Abstract

In this research, we propose to analyze, under the scope of French Discourse Analysis, highlighted statements (aphorizations) from texts (news, reports and interviews) about the dam bursts of Mariana-MG and Brumadinho-MG (Brazil), as published in two Brazilian newspapers of major circulation: Folha de S. Paulo, of national projection, and Estado de Minas, of regional projection. The corpus is a collection of aphorizations taken from these two newspapers in the period of 30 days following the dam collapses. All of them – related to subjects involved with the dam ruptures – are in direct speech presented in the form of titles, photo captions or in a paratextual position (intertitle), in proximity (or not) to their corresponding source texts. To analyze the statements, however, it was necessary to write about the mining activity and its implications on the use of dams, as well as the media repercussions of the collapses that happened in Brazil. We also went through a theoretical reflection of the media discourse itself, through the concepts of polyphony and aphorization, used as strategies to capture the readers of both newspapers. Finally, we analyzed five groups of aphorizations, selected according to the most recurrent interpretative frameworks: the testimonial frame, which originates from subjects aphorizing the events and/or the consequences they saw; the experiential frame, from subjects aphorizing the events they experienced, represented by the victims of the dam ruptures; the technical and governmental frame, from subjects aphorizing as the experts represented by the members of the executive, legislative or judiciary powers; the artistic-cultural and religious frame, from subjects that represent artists in general, priests or those whose statements have a religious theme; and lastly the actional frame, represented by subjects supposed to have some power to act on the events. This analysis helped us to understand how aphorizations are inscribed in non-textual enunciation. They not only guided us through the editorial lines of the newspapers, but also showed the ethe proposed by both of them as reference media. Folha de S. Paulo discusses the dam ruptures from a geographical, cultural, and socially more distant position from the affected locations. In addition, it keeps its objective ethos, even when it aphorizes statements from affected people. Estado de Minas, on the other hand, talks about the events as a regional newspaper (from Minas Gerais/Brazil). In this case, among the possible aphorizations, the newspaper privileges those that originate from the most vulnerable people as well as those that suggest social and political changes based on the dam collapses. It creates, then, a possibility to interpret its texts from the viewpoint of reducing great exploratory interests in the global market. The voices materialized through these statements evoke in the newspapers an effect of polyphony, a typical resource in the exercise of journalism. Such voices are placed in the thread of discourse so that each newspaper, taken as the main speaker, weaves with them relations of agreement, disagreement or (apparent) neutrality.