According to information published today (30.May.2019) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Brazil fell by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2019 in relation to the previous three months.
This is the first negative result of the Brazilian GDP since 2016. The figures released by the IBGE point to the risk of Brazil again suffering from the recession (when the country registers two consecutive quarters of decline in economic activity).
According to the IBGE, the rupture of the Vale dam in Brumadinho (MG), and its consequent effect on the result of the industry is among the main factors that brought down the economic activity of the country.
This landslide of Brumadinho dam of Vale occurred on January 25. 244 people died. The tragedy was a direct result of the lack of public oversight and the policy of easing environmental licensing laws, which is widely advocated by the current government of Jair Bolsonaro and his Environment Minister Ricardo Salles.
Among other things, Salles favors "self-certification." This means that the company itself will inspect its dams without the need for any prior environmental inspection by the government agencies for certain types of projects. According to Exame magazine, "not even the worst socio-environmental tragedy in Brazil, provoked by Vale in Minas Gerais, made the minister change his mind."
Now, with the possibility of a new tragedy in the Upper South dam of the Gongo Soco Mine, in Barão de Cocais, Minas Gerais, which can break at any moment, it puts the lives of the region's inhabitants at risk, it can cause another immense disaster environmental and make the Brazilian economic situation even worse.
