2023-12-05 19:54:37
Fishing, the main source of survival for the region’s populations, has been suspended for an indefinite period.
By: Redacción PSTU Brasil
Braskem’s predatory exploitation in Maceió, which has already devastated five neighborhoods (Pinheiro, Farol, Bebedouro, Bom Parto and Mutange) and evicted more than 60,000 people from their homes, is also a serious threat to the environment.
Since last Thursday (11/30), the Mutange neighborhood has become a critical point, with the risk that mine number 18 collapses (there are 35 installed in the city), it could be affected by two other mines, opening a crater the size of the Maracaná, according to information from the Civil Defense. The agency also reported that the collapse of the mine is evolving and could occur at any time, so dozens of families had to hastily abandon their homes in the area that could sink. The evacuation was ordered by the court.
But this collapse in mine 18, in addition to directly affecting the population living nearby, poses a catastrophic threat to the environment. When the mine collapses, water from the Mundaú lagoon, soil and debris will flow into the crater. Contact with rock salt would cause the lagoon water to become salty and the entire mangrove area in the region could be affected.
As 60% of this rock salt mine is located in the Mundaú Lagoon, researchers from the Federal University of Alagoas (Ufal) collected water samples yesterday (2/12) to evaluate whether the sinking has already affected the lagoon. The Mundaú and Manguaba lagoons form the Mundaú-Manguaba Lagoon Estuarine Complex (CELMM), one of the most representative environments of the Alagoas coast.
Fishing suspended
Fishing, the main source of survival for the region’s populations, was suspended indefinitely. The Navy expanded the perimeter with buoys to mark the area.
The samples collected by the researchers will be analyzed at the Ufal Laboratory. The objective is to identify if there has been any alteration in the water. The report with the results of the survey must be completed within a period of two weeks.
In interview on the portal UOL, geologist engineer Regla Toujaguez, professor at the Federal University of Alagoas, warns about the imbalance in the region’s ecosystem. “When we break that ecological balance, we break the food chain,” she explains.
The teacher also mentions that it is impossible to predict the recovery time of the lagoon and the surrounding environment: “Nature works in its time.”
The population that lives on the shores of the lagoon is already suffering the consequences, since fishing activity is suspended. How will they live without fishing, their main source of income and survival? It is important to note that Braskem’s extraction of rock salt has already submerged around 17 hectares of mangroves. The risk of collapse of mine 18 only shows the degree of environmental destruction by Braskem.
This irresponsible behavior towards the environment caused a chlorine leak in 2011, which caused the poisoning of an employee and 129 residents of surrounding communities, in addition to an explosion that injured five employees.
However, Braskem’s crimes are not limited to Maceió. Last June, an explosion at the Braskem unit in ABC Paulista caused the death of two other workers. For years, workers fought to ban the use of asbestos (a proven carcinogenic substance) in Braskem factories. However, the final ban only came when, after much struggle, the Supreme Federal Court [STF] banned the use of the substance in the country. In Bahia, the Justice Department had to veto Braskem’s plans to build a port in an area with strong environmental impact.
Even with this history of environmental destruction and the current catastrophic situation in Maceió, Braskem participates in COP 28 and gives a conference on the environment. That’s nonsense! At the same time, it demonstrates that these spaces created by imperialism and its institutions will never take the necessary measures to solve the environmental crisis, since they are responsible for this crisis and its continuity.
Braskem needs to be punished in an exemplary manner and the victims must receive fair compensation
Braskem must be punished in an exemplary manner and guarantee fair compensation for all families. The federal government must intervene in this situation in Maceió, since nothing has been done so far.
Fishermen and shellfish farmers who live on the shores of Laguna Mundaú must be included in a social program that guarantees remuneration until environmental agencies authorize fishing again.
We defend that Braskem be expropriated, nationalized and administered by a commission made up of workers and the affected community.
The multimillion-dollar profits should be used to pay fair compensation, take concrete measures to stabilize Maceió’s soil, mitigate the effects on the lagoon and mangrove region, and restore the city’s infrastructure, destroyed by the sinking.
In capitalism, all economic activity is put at the service of profits. The life of human beings and the environment are secondary factors. There is no way out to reverse Brazil’s economic subordination and combat events like those in Maceió without overcoming this system in which few benefit from the suffering of billions.
Article published in www.opiniaosocialista.com.br3/12/2023.-
Translation: Natalia Estrada.
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