Law guarantees that 50% of the resources are allocated directly to the most mining-affected communities, and that funds are set aside for investment in economic alternatives to mining dependence. The new law makes provisions for municipal community oversight over implementation.

Article translated from original Portuguese. Credit: Justica nos Trelhos, https://justicanostrilhos.org/primeira-lei-no-brasil-que-garante-a-participacao-popular-na-gestao-dos-recursos-da-cfem-e-aprovada-em-municipio-maranhense/

The municipality of Itapecuru Mirim, in Maranhão, approved the first municipal law in Brazil that guarantees the direct participation of communities affected by mining in the management of money collected by the Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration (CFEM) in the municipality.

Law number 1601/2023, approved on June 1st of this year, creates the management council for deliberation and control of the resource with the participation of society and guarantees that 50% of the resource is allocated directly to the most impacted communities. The use of transparency in the process and the investment of municipal power in economic alternatives to dependence on mineral exploration in the region were also highlighted.

The drafting of this law came from the union of impacted communities along the Carajás Corridor together with Justiça nos Trilhos (JnT), a work that has been built through meetings, state seminars and training on CFEM. The drafting of the bill was assisted by jurist Marlon Reis.

Itapecuru is 122 km from the capital São Luís and is crossed by the Carajás Railway (EFC), which is 892 km long and transports iron ore from Canaã dos Carajás, in Pará, where extraction takes place, to the Ponta da Madeira port, in São Luís. Along this route, mining logistics impacts more than 100 communities in both states, bringing social and environmental violations.

Considering that mineral resources such as iron are finite goods and the extraction of these minerals has serious consequences for the environment and the lives of traditional communities, Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration (CFEM) is not simply “compensation”, as the name. It is, in fact, an obligation of mining companies that extract goods from the Union, and they must do so seeking to cause the least possible environmental impact, based on law 13,540/2017.

Until 2017, only municipalities and states where mineral extraction took place received CFEM. As of law 13,540/2017, municipalities and states that do not mine, but are also impacted by mining logistics via the railway, warehouses, steel mills or ports, as is the case in Maranhão, began to receive CFEM. However, despite the law being created in 2017, it only came into effect in 2019.

Communities united by social control

According to popular educator at Justiça nos Trilhos, Valdênia Paulino, in most of the impacted municipalities the population is not even aware of this law, that is, they are not aware of the resources coming from CFEM. For her, the first work of Justiça nos Trilhos has been training communities regarding this law and how the population has the right to improve their lives through it.

“Our work has been to publicize this law by telling communities how this resource can be used and the need for its supervision. In this process, Justiça nos Trilhos has also encouraged the authorities of these municipalities to create laws that reinforce the transparency of the use and destination of this resource, as well as the participation of civil society”, explains Valdênia.

Since 2021, Justiça nos Trilhos, together with other partners, has promoted three statewide seminars to discuss proposed laws with the dissemination and participation of civil society in the fate of this resource. First it was in the municipality of Açailândia, then in Buriticupu and, finally, in May 2023, in Itapecuru Mirim, which led to the approval of the first municipal law in Brazil with this objective.

CFEM national law says that the resource cannot be used to pay employees, except education professionals, nor can it be used to pay municipal debts. And it recommends, in fact, that at least 20% be used in economic alternatives to mining activities. However, this is not always seen in practice. Communities monitored by Justiça nos Trilhos report the lack of health posts in their territories, as well as the absence of basic sanitation and schools.

“We know that the majority of mayors have used the resource to maintain the administrative machinery, to the detriment, of course, of the right that the most impacted communities would have to receive this resource within public policies that could benefit these communities”, assesses Valdênia.

What the municipal law establishes

Although it is not valid throughout the country, as it is only municipal, it establishes specific mechanisms that in practice allow communities to participate in the management of the resource, something that national law does not specify. Furthermore, CFEM national law 13,540/2017 does not detail how resources should be applied to create sustainable conditions that build alternatives to mining activities.

The Itapecuru Mirim law guarantees community participation, transparency and community management in relation to resources. It includes the minimization and mitigation of socio-environmental impacts caused by mining, in addition to the participation of at least three people from communities in an operational plan dedicated to CFEM matters created by several municipal departments. It also creates a CFEM Municipal Ombudsman’s Office, where people can make complaints, ask questions and propose suggestions.

According to jurist Marlon Reis, “Itapecuru Mirim’s municipal law can be seen as a way of complementing national law, establishing local mechanisms to ensure that CFEM resources are used in a way that benefits communities affected by mining, allowing participation of these communities in decisions about the use of resources”, he explains.

Power of choice

In 2021, the capital São Luís (MA), which leads CFEM collection in the State, received more than 115 million in CFEM resources and, in 2022, more than 79 million. Itapecuru Mirim, on the other hand, raised almost 7 million in 2021 and almost 5 million in 2022. Despite the high value, the communities do not see improvements in their territories.

According to popular educator Joércio Pires, from the Santa Rosa dos Pretos quilombo, the impacts of the Carajás Railway (EFC) are multiple: noise and air pollution and death in streams, in addition to cracks in houses due to the passage of trains. For him, this law is a desire of communities to be able to participate directly in these processes and enforce the rights of traditional territories.

“Historically, managers were the ones who defined what could be done in communities, what they wanted to do. They were unfinished squares, sometimes a space or a court that did not meet the needs of these territories, sometimes it was water, a flour house or something else that could be used collectively, in the territories’ own production”, says Joércio.

According to him, with bill 1601/2023, communities will be able to monitor this process of resource arrival, in addition to having a say in the implementation of public policies, guaranteeing autonomy and quality of life for communities.