It's the first time Álvaro Azevedo returns to his home after the intense floods which are considered the worst climate tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul. The radiology technician looks sadly at the destroyed, muddy and overturned furniture.
Asked how he felt, Álvaro directs his outrage at politics. “Minimal state, maximum tragedy,” he sums up. The town of Eldorado do Sul, where he lives, was almost completely submerged by water.
“The minimal state allowed mud to reach my house. It was a lack of supervision, prevention and investment by the public authorities that allowed this disaster to happen,” he said.
For him, a strong state could reduce climate change consequences and better protect the population. “A state that doesn't monitor or reinforce prevention measures is a state that abandons its people,” he said.
Climate change affects the left and the right
“The consequences of climate change don't care if you're left-wing or right-wing,” Azevedo added, water lapping at his knee.
Álvaro believes that the Brazilian left has been negligent on environmental issues in the past, but he focuses his criticism on the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).
“When he [Leite] destroyed the Forest Code, he did so following [former president] Bolsonaro's environmental policy. They left the cattle through here too,” he said, referring to the infamous statement by former Bolsonaro’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles about using the pandemic as a smoke screen to approve anti-environment measures in Brazil.
Besides Salles, the radiology technician also alludes to the 480 changes and cuts made by the Leite government to Rio Grande do Sul's Environmental Code. This was revealed by Brasil de Fato Rio Grande do Sul in a news story published on May 4 this year.
"Eduardo Leite followed Bolsonaro's environment policy", said Álvaro Azevedo, a victim of th floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul / Vitor Shimomura/Brasil de Fato
Álvaro blames the failure of water pumps in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul’s capital city), whose mayor is Sebastião Mello (Brazilian Democratic Movement), as one of the factors behind the disaster. “The mayor himself admitted that they only had four water pumps to get the water out of the city,” he laments.
Contacted by Brasil de Fato, Porto Alegre city hall said that, last Friday (31), it had increased the number of water pumps in operation to 15. The Leite administration replied that the changes to the Environmental Code protected the Pampa biome and increased the power of environmental inspection. Other issues cited by the Rio Grande do Sul government can be read at the end of this news story.
Same water, different social classes
Álvaro said he has some money saved to pay for new furniture and to clean the house. “But I know there are people facing a much worse situation. A poorer person, with no financial reserves, will be totally dependent on the state,” he said.
This is the case of Ana Rute Bittencourt, 52, who lives a few meters from Álvaro's house. She is a manicurist and lives with her husband, children and a grandson. After the flood, her only stable source of income is the Family Grant Program (known in Portuguese as Bolsa Família).
With a microwave found floating, Ana Rute Bittencourt heats up food for her family / Vitor Shimomura/Brasil de Fato
The water rose equally for the two residents of Eldorado do Sul, but the consequences were felt very differently.
While Álvaro, the radiology technician, took refuge in his sister's house in Porto Alegre, Ana Rute and her family went through an ordeal searching for a dry place to stay.
First, the manicurist and her family spent five days sheltered in a school, which was also stormed by water. “We left the place with water up to our waists. We put our things in the car, but even the car floated away,” she said.
Afterwards, they all camped out with other families on the BR-116 highway, near Eldorado do Sul. “It was total chaos on the highway. It was like a movie. We could see the Army rescuing people using boats,” she said.
"A wealthy family saved us”
Ana Rute reported some relief when she and her family were taken off the roadside by a wealthy family from Porto Alegre.
“This family took care of us as if we shared the same blood. I'll never forget what they did for us. They gave us food, shelter and, above all, hope,” said the manicurist.
Back in her muddy house, Ana Rute heats up the little food in the fridge in a microwave recovered from the water. “We found it [the microwave] floating. My husband picked it up, I washed off all the mud and it still works,” she explained.
“Those who have money can get back on their feet more quickly. Poor people depend on donations and the goodwill of others. The government needs to look at us more,” the manicurist told Brasil de Fato.
"Those who have money can get back on their feet more quickly" said manicurist Ana Rute Bittencourt / Vitor Shimomura/Brasil de Fato
The other side
Regarding the changes to the Environmental Code, the Rio Grande do Sul government added that the criticism did not go into the merits of the changes, which included the possibility of benefiting entrepreneurs with good environmental protection practices, simplifying licensing for low-impact activities, mechanisms to protect small farmers, as well as improving the public use of conservation units.
The Eduardo Leite administration also stated that it had implemented plans for investing, preventing and adapting to climate change. “From 2023 to 2024, the state committed BRL 579 million (US$ 109,4 million) in resources to deal with natural disasters,” said Rio Grande do Sul's communication secretariat.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
