In this week’s issue: The most important facts of the week. Bolsonaro’s congressional coalition. How Brazilian markets performed this week. The “new” heads of Brazil’s Congress.
The week in review
- Brumadinho 1. The number of victims of the Brumadinho dam collapse has risen to 115 (71 of which have been identified) — 248 people are still reported missing. Vale, the owner of the dam, was aware that a potential failure would have such a devastating effect, but elected not to remove its cafeteria and administrative facilities from underneath the dam — and directly in the path of the avalanche of spilled iron ore tailings.
In 2015 and 2016, the mining giant cut spending on safety by 44%. After crashing by 24% on Monday, Vale stock bounced back in the following days, thanks to a rise in iron ore prices.
- Brumadinho 2. Two engineers who attested to the dam’s safety and three Vale employees responsible for getting it its permits were arrested. The case’s judge said that the documents of a December inspection couldn’t be truthful, as a safe dam would not collapse overnight. Nothing has happened to the company’s board, but experts say they could be charged...