SUPPOSED IMPACTS, REAL VIOLENCE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MINAS-RIO PROJECT

Abstract The article analyzes the environmental impact assessment procedure of the mine and the iron ore processing structure which integrate the Minas-Rio Project, a mining complex composed by mine - pipeline - port, whose facilities extend across two states in the Brazilian Southeast. The analysis aims at demonstrating, through a reading of the political rituals performed in the participative scene of the licensing process, how mechanisms used to “bend” environmental norms were articulated throughout the process, generating strategies and force-ideas which, in articulation, allowed the operation of the venture despite the notorious lack of knowledge/acknowledgement of the affected population.