Lula: Mariana agreement will assist exclusively disaster victims

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated on Wednesday, February 5, that the billion-dollar amounts involved in the Renegotiation of the Mariana Conduct Adjustment Transaction Term — signed in November last year, regarding the tragedy caused by the rupture of the Fundão Dam (Barragem do Fundão) on November 5, 2015 — will be used to assist the population affected by that environmental disaster.

“We made an agreement for BRL 170 billion: an additional BRL 132 billion, plus BRL 38 billion that had already been used — and these funds will be used exclusively to assist the victims of the Mariana disaster”

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Republic

“We made an agreement for BRL 170 billion: an additional BRL 132 billion plus BRL 38 billion that had already been used — and these funds will be used exclusively to assist the victims of the Mariana disaster,” said the President. The statement was made during an interview with radio stations BandNewsFM BH, Mundo Melhor, Governador Valadares, and Itatiaia.

“These agreements result from a lot of hard work by the Federal Government, by the Attorney General's Office (Advocacia-Geral da União/AGU), with a lot of dedication from the Office of the Chief of Staff (Casa Civil) and from the Ministry of Finance (Ministério da Fazenda). The agreement is in place. Now we need to put the agreement into practice, because it will be paid in installments — and we even need to create a Mariana committee to manage this money. It will be managed by the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social/BNDES), but the decisions will be made by the individuals who were victims of the disaster. This was only possible because this government does not want to fight. This government wants to negotiate. This government wants to give back to the people the peace of mind that they lost a few years ago,” he continued.

BR-381 – In another part of the interview, the President spoke about the work that is beginning on BR-381, a highway for which a concession project was developed and signed with the Federal Government, to be managed by Concessionária Nova 381.

“This is the infamous Death Highway [‘Rodovia da Morte’]. Tomorrow [February 6], Minister Renan [Renan Filho, minister of Transport] will be with Minister Alexandre [Alexandre Silveira, minister of Mines and Energy] in Minas Gerais to definitively announce the beginning of this work — already contracted for BRL 9 billion so that, in a few years, we can deliver this perfectly duplicated highway, with all the necessary lanes, with all the necessary viaducts, so that the people of Minas Gerais may learn to call it the ‘Life Highway’ and forget the name ‘Death Highway’.” Lula also spoke about a stretch of the BR-381 between Belo Horizonte and Caeté which will be the responsibility of the National Department of Transportation Infrastructure (Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura de Transportes/DNIT).

“We took over this stretch because it caused some confusion in the bidding process. So the Minister of Transport made a commitment that the DNIT will carry out this work. Tomorrow he will be in Ipatinga, along with Alexandre Silveira, to announce the beginning of the work. The companies will take care of a 343-kilometer stretch. DNIT will take care of another stretch which goes from Belo Horizonte to Caeté — this is very important. In other words, we will take responsibility. I want to visit Minas Gerais and I want to go on the 381 so that people know that there will be nothing to prevent us from building this highway to provide peace of mind to the people of Minas Gerais.”

NO PRIVATIZATION – Lula explained that the work on the roads that cross Minas Gerais do not involve any type of privatization. “There is no privatization. There is a concession for a certain period,” he observed, referring to the 30-year concession agreement signed with the Nova 381 Concessionaire.

“We used to say that it was for privatization when the government charged a concession fee. In other words, it was almost as if the government sold the road to a company, which paid a sum of money, and then whoever won the bid would set the price of what they paid in tolls. That is not what will happen. There is no concession. Our focus is on the road user, who will have a road with low tolls and a quality road,” continued the President.

“I am aware of what we are doing in Minas Gerais. Of the BRL 140 billion invested in the PAC, BRL 35 billion were invested by July 2024. We will give Minas Gerais what it deserves,” concluded Lula.