Vai romper! : disputas de sentido e relações de poder em torno da barragem de rejeitos de mineração Forquilha III

Abstract

Amid the threat of new tailings dam failures in Minas Gerais (Brazil), this research conducts a case study around the Forquilha III tailings dam, owned by the mining company VALE S.A., and seeks to understand the discourses produced by the mining company Vale regarding the Forquilha III dam, and to identify how the legislative bodies of the municipalities of Ouro Preto and Itabirito, directly threatened by the imminent rupture, react and behave in the face of the problem and its controversies. The research adopts the relational approach of Communication within the complexity paradigm, influenced by pragmatist authors and connected to the perspectives of political ecology. Supported by an extensive literature review, descriptive statistical analysis, and semiotic analysis, the methodology is based on Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, using three sets of publicly available materials: i) sustainability reports, ii) records of meetings and public hearings in the municipal legislatures of Ouro Preto and Itabirito, and iii) press reports addressing the anticipated rupture of Forquilha III.