Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 4 February 2019

Deadly Brazil dam collapse was disaster waiting to happen

By ANNA JEAN KAISER en by Portuguese coloniz-
The Associated Press ers, translates to “General
SAO PAULO (AP) — Lax reg- Mines.”
ulations, chronic short staff- More than 300 mines em-
ing and a law that muffled ploy thousands in the state,
the voices of environmen- often in poor, rural areas.
talists on mining licenses Civil society groups often
made the devastating col- struggle to achieve basic
lapse of a dam in south- guarantees.
eastern Brazil all but des- For instance, Tomas’ group
tined to happen, experts has long fought to prevent
and legislators say. mining projects from con-
The failure of the dam taminating drinking water.
holding back iron ore min- “Minas Gerais has a cen-
ing waste on Jan. 25 un- turies-long history of being
leashed an avalanche of lenient with the mining sec-
mud that buried buildings tor. It’s cultural,” Joao Vi-
and contaminated water tor Xavier, a state deputy,
downstream. told The Associated Press.
But one of the cruelest “The industry creates a dis-
parts of the tragedy in Bru- course where they dangle
madinho is that it has hap- jobs and economic growth
pened before: In 2015, a in front of people, but they
mining dam burst about 80 Friends and relatives hold signs with the names of victims, during a march paying homage to the put profit over safety.”
miles (130 kilometers) away victims of a mining dam collapse a week ago, in Brumadinho, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. The CEO of Vale SA, which
in Mariana, in what is con- Associated Press owned and operated the
sidered Brazil’s worst envi- “It felt like it was just a mat- cess. significant protections, and Brumadinho mining com-
ronmental disaster. ter of time before some- And the danger remains many expect further weak- plex, acknowledges their
What’s more, it could hap- thing bigger would hap- widespread: A 2017 report ening under President Jair regulatory measures fell
pen again, as many Brazil- pen,” said Josiele Rosa Sil- from the National Water Bolsonaro, who has said short. Arrest warrants have
ian states and the federal va Tomas, the president of Agency classified more environmental regulation been issued for five people
government move to ease the Brumadinho residents’ than 700 dams nationwide hamstrings several indus- responsible for safety as-
regulation in the name of association. as at high risk of collapse, tries, including mining. sessments of the dam, in-
economic development. Problems that existed when with high potential for caus- But the politics that con- cluding three Vale employ-
In the three years since the the dams in Mariana burst, ing damage. tributed to the collapses ees. Vale was also involved
Mariana rupture killed 19 like dramatic short-staffing, In fact, some fear the risk in Minas Gerais are much in the Mariana rupture:
people, the regulation of have persisted, while a new may only increase. Envi- more local. For centuries, The dams there were ad-
the industry has gotten less, law has reduced the say of ronmental groups accused the mineral-rich state has ministered by the Brazilian
not more, rigorous in Minas environmental groups in the previous Congress and revolved around the min- giant and Australia’s BHP
Gerais state. the project licensing pro- president of rolling back ing industry — its name, giv- Billiton.q

Salvadoran front-runner seeks to end corruption, violence

By MARCOS ALEMAN lems. Bukele, 37, made his dals and neither has been
Associated Press political debut in 2012 as a able to stem gang vio-
SAN SALVADOR, El Salva- small-town mayor with the lence.
dor (AP) — A former mayor now-ruling Front, known as “I came to vote because
of El Salvador’s capital was the FMLN, and won elec- I want the country to
making a strong run Sunday tion in the capital three change, because we are
to end a quarter century of years later, automatically tired of so much corrup-
two-party dominance in making him a potential tion,” said Estela Henriquez,
the crime-plagued Central presidential contender. 27, at a polling place in the
American nation. But his frequent criticism of capital. More than 4,500
Polls ahead of Sunday’s the leftist party’s leadership election observers, includ-
vote showed Nayib Bukele led to his expulsion, and he ing representatives of the
ahead of the Nationalist wound up as the unlikely Organization of American
Republican Alliance’s Car- standard-bearer of a small States and the European
los Callejas and former For- Presidential hopeful Nayib Bukele and his wife Gabriela gesture conservative party known Union, were on hand.
eign Minister Hugo Martinez at a polling station as they are surrounded by the press while as the Grand Alliance for El Salvador is small both in
of the Farabundo Marti Na- voting in the presidential election in San Salvador, El Salvador, National Unity, whose ini- size and population, with
tional Liberation Front, as Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019. tials — GANA — mean just 6.5 million people. Close
well as a minor-party can- Associated Press “win” in Spanish. to a third of its households
didate. jobs, with crushing crime posed creating economic The FMLN and the conser- live in poverty, while the
But he could fall short of at the top of the agenda: opportunities and restoring vative Alliance, known as World Bank says per capita
the 50 percent needed to Roughly 67,000 Salvador- social values to dissuade ARENA, have dominated income is $3,560.
avoid a March runoff. ans belong to gangs that Salvadorans from engag- Salvadoran politics since Salvadorans searching for
All four candidates have terrorize their communities ing in criminal behavior. a 1992 peace deal that a better life have joined re-
promised to end corrup- via extortion, murder and Turnout appeared to be ended a brutal civil war. cent caravans of migrants
tion, stamp out gang vio- other forms of violence. heavy in early voting, with But both parties have been trekking through Mexico to-
lence and create more The candidates have pro- no reports of major prob- stained by corruption scan- ward the U.S.q