It would be better to ask: why are we?
Where does the urgency to protest and fight against the actions of one of the most powerful companies in the world come from?
If we unite today, it’s because we already know firsthand what lies beyond Vale’s propaganda. If we organize, share experiences, and fight together, it’s because we realize that behind the company’s rhetoric lies its aggressiveness and destructive power. We know, for example, that the talk of “sustainability” attempts to hide the irreversible impacts on the environment; that the story of “social responsibility” is told to conceal the disrespect for the rights of communities affected by Vale’s projects; that publicizing the image of satisfied employees doesn’t erase the disrespect for labor laws or the intransigence and arrogance in dealing with unionized workers.
Behind the pretty picture sold on TV and in magazines, behind the company’s commitment to life and the country’s “development,” we find a transnational obsession with profit and the maximum concentration of wealth. We find disrespect, injustice, poverty, suffering, and death.
That’s why we are.
We are entire families who are disrespected, without access to some of the most fundamental rights;
we are workers exploited in iron, coal, nickel, copper mines;
we are trade unionists, environmentalists, feminists, politicians;
we are students, we are teachers;
we are indigenous, quilombolas, riverside dwellers, fishermen, peasants;
we are migrants, refugees, men, women and children torn from the ground that gave birth and fed their families;
we are deceived citizens, unemployed, slum dwellers, marginalized, sick;
we are landless, homeless, and jobless.
We are Brazilians, Chileans, Peruvians, Argentines, Mozambicans, Canadians, Indonesians… Outraged by the daily looting of wealth that belongs to our people.
We are all social activists seeking development that equally reaches all citizens and truly respects the environment, human rights, and the will of traditional communities.
And together we work on common tools and strategies to expose the real Vale, challenge its absolute power, and strengthen workers and all populations affected by its actions.
About the company
Which Vale do you know? Everyone’s seen the one in the advertisement. A company with smiling employees, working to promote the country’s “progress,” investing in environmental preservation and “development” for the Brazilian people.
But wait!… Is it really that cute?
What damage has Vale’s actions caused? What are the consequences for the region and local populations? What is the mining company’s stance regarding the demands of affected communities and unionized workers? What crimes have been committed in these cases?
And finally: how do high circles of political and economic power work together to ensure that gigantic undertakings are made viable at any cost, regardless of irregularities and rights violations?
These questions need to be answered before the next TV commercial!
CSOs 4 Tailings Justice 
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