A panorama of Mariana and Brumadinho disasters: what do we know so far?

Resumen

In 2015, the Fundão dam of the company Samarco (controlled by Vale) collapsed, causing a huge wave of mud, causing 19 deaths and becoming the biggest environmental disaster in Brazil. As early as 2019, a new dam rupture took place, with Vale as the responsible company, with around 270 fatalities. Both disasters brought numerous social, environmental and financial problems. This study aims to analyze the impact of environmental disaster of Brumadinho and Mariana on Vale and Samarco Financial Statements, specifically the problems related to provisions, contingencies and environmental processes. The method employed with the case study was a content analysis, and data collection was carried out from Financial Statements, Reference Form and the company’s press channel over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2019. Among the main results, we observed that in 2015, the Mariana dam collapse may explain the significant increase in the coming years regarding deposits and provisions for environmental actions filed against Samarco and Vale. In 2019, it is observed that the amount moved to judicial deposits increased 45 times compared to the previous year. Considering this fact, there is a need for studies that contribute to the transparency of actions for the victims, communities affected by the tragedy, disregard of those involved and the environment, since this is not the first disaster caused by this company.