Brazil's Courts of Accounts Congress tackles Brumadinho dam disaster

The IV Congresso Nacional de Comunicação dos Tribunais de Contas was held on 3‑4 August in the historic city of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. The opening plenary featured Edilene Lôbo, substitute minister of the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, who warned that democratic institutions depend on truthful communication.

A key panel, “Jornalismo Investigativo e Responsabilidade Socioambiental diante da Urgência Climática,” brought together journalists Lucas Ragazzi (O Fator) and Murilo Rocha (Band Minas), authors of the book *Brumadinho: a engenharia de um crime*. They discussed how investigative reporting can aid audit bodies in preventing future mining disasters, citing the 2019 Brumadinho dam collapse and the earlier Mariana tragedy. The panel emphasized the need to translate technical data into accessible content and to strengthen collaboration between the press and control institutions. As Rocha said, “O livro nasceu da necessidade de um trabalho de maior fôlego sobre uma grande tragédia humanitária.”

Representatives from Ibraop, including director Fernando Morini and communication adviser Janayna Cajueiro, highlighted the institute’s role in auditing socio‑environmental impacts of large projects and promoted the use of simple language and artificial‑intelligence tools to improve public outreach.