Title: Just water under the bridge: a Bourdieusian view about Samarco sustainability narrative before and after an ecocide episode

Authors: Paula Piassa; Jacques Haruo Fukushigue Jan-Chiba; Rafael Borim-de-Souza

Addresses: State University of Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil ' State University of Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil ' University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract: In this research, we have aimed to interpret, through Bourdieusian sociology, narratives of and referring to Samarco Minerações S.A. on sustainability before and after the ecocide in the city of Mariana, state of Minas Gerais, Southeast of Brazil. We have chosen this mining company because of the Fundão tailings dam on November 5th, 2015. We have done documental research with Samarco's sustainability reports, social media pages and videos from its YouTube official channel, and articles from two Brazilian media communication vehicles – Carta Capital and Estadão. Through narrative analysis, we have found that Samarco's narrative represented a different construction, intended only to hide the harmful effects of destructive development. Carta Capital has implemented a critical narrative regarding the sustainability of Samarco. Estadão has sought to narrate through a bias delimited by the set of sectors of society and by the government and a large part of the Samarco's representative agents.

Keywords: Bourdieusian sociology; sustainability; ecocide; narrative analysis; organisations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2023.128638

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2023 Vol.22 No.1, pp.23 - 45

Received: 06 Dec 2021
Accepted: 20 Jul 2022
Published online: 31 Jan 2023 *