STF marks judgment of action that blocks railroad in the Amazon

The STF (Federal Supreme Court) has scheduled a trial for the next 15th day of the action that paralyzes Ferrogrão, a railway project that connects Mato Grosso to Pará and faces resistance from environmentalists, indigenous leaders and the Public Ministry.

With investments estimated at R$ 21.5 billion and 933 kilometers long, the project was suspended by a March 2021 injunction that questions the alteration of the limits of the Jamanxim National Forest, in Pará, for the passage of the rails.

The injunction was granted by Minister Alexandre Moraes at the request of the PSOL. Two months later, the Federal District Attorney’s Office asked the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) to analyze the project’s concession model, as it involves the risk of providing public money.

The idea of ​​the railroad was launched at least seven years ago by the private sector and is of interest to multinationals such as ADM, Cargill and Amaggi. It gained strength during the Jair Bolsonaro government, who was willing to use funds obtained from the renovation of other railroads to make the project viable.

In defense of the railroad, the government says the project reduces the cost of transporting grain from Mato Grosso and has environmental benefits by replacing thousands of trucks that currently travel along the BR-163, the route used to transport production through river ports in Pará.

Counter pressure is not limited to Brazil. In August 2021, an international delegation of left-wing activists and politicians was in the country to question the project, which is seen as a “new Belo Monte”, in reference to the criticized hydroelectric dam granted by the Dilma Rousseff government, also in Pará.

In the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality that the STF will judge on the 15th, the PSOL argues that the alteration of the limits of the forest could not have been done by converting MP (provisional measure) into law and that these changes affect indigenous peoples of the region.

The injunction frustrated government plans to bid for the project, one of the priorities of former Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, still in 2021, and gave opponents of the work more time to question it.

In a request for a public hearing on the project in the Chamber of Deputies, federal deputies Joenia Wapichana (Rede-RR), Vivi Reis (PSOL-PA), Túlio Gadelha (Rede-PE), Airton Faleiro (PT-PA) and José Ricardo (PT-AM) also allege that there was no prior consultation with the affected indigenous peoples.

“Since the project was announced, indigenous peoples of the Xingu and Tapajós have demanded compliance with their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consultation about the project”, they say, citing a study by UFMG that would indicate greater impacts than those identified in the study carried out by the government.

“The Parna [Parque Nacional] de Jamanxim is one of the Conservation Units that suffers most from illegal deforestation and indigenous peoples are concerned and determined to fight for its conservation”, they continue.

In the hearing proposal, the deputies want to hear, in addition to indigenous leaders, economist Cláudi Frischtak, for whom the proposed model transfers billions of risks to the government, by offering concessionaires revenue guarantees or help in case of unforeseen expenses.

Of the BRL 21.5 billion in planned investment, BRL 8.4 billion would be spent to put the railway into operation. In return, the government committed to cover additional costs with resettlements and expropriations or with environmental constraints.

In the operational phase, the government would help pay operating costs and debt interest if there is a drop in demand for crop failure and if the branch of the Rumo railroad connecting Mato Grosso to the Port of Santos reaches producers before 2045.

This branch was tendered by the government of Mato Grosso in 2021, under the authorization model. There is still no date for the start of operations.

The Ministry of Infrastructure had not responded to the interview request until the publication of this text. In interviews on the topic Sheetministry representatives argue that the proposed model for the railroad has already been used in highway tenders in the country.

It also claims that there is no contribution of public money to the work. The government has already set aside R$2.2 billion paid by Vale to renew road concessions, to be deposited in an account linked to the concession to cover unmanageable risks.

This account would be necessary, according to the ministry, to fund any economic and financial rebalancing of the project, which could not be done by increasing tariffs during the construction phase or by extending the concession period, which is already 69 years.