From Minas to ruins: the remaking of memory and landscape in the post-Brumadinho disaster

Abstract

The collapse of the Vale dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, in 2019 is considered one of the biggest social and environmental disasters and work accidents in the country’s history. While victims were fighting for the right to reparation a year later, news began circulating regarding the construction of the “Memorial Brumadinho”, financed by Vale S.A. This article analyzes the relationships surrounding the construction of this memorial to question what is being proposed amid the catastrophe as “public memory” and how it connects to the landscape and local heritage. If the region where the memorial will be built is historically known for its long history of mining activity, with the memory around the activity classified as Brazilian Heritage in the early 20th century and valued since then, in contrast, we observe the specificities of the recognition of a “sensitive memory site” where suffering is the keynote of the current narrative.

Keywords
Public memory; Landscape; Mining; Social and Environmental Disaster; Difficult Heritage