The unbearable lightness of aluminum: the social and environmental impacts of Brazil's insertion in the primary aluminum global market/ A insustentavel leveza do aluminio: impactos socioambientais da insercao do Brasil no mercado mundial de aluminio primario

This article assesses aluminum production in Brazil and its social, environmental and public health impacts. The effects of the aluminum production chain challenge the idea of sustainable growth affirmed by business groups that operate in the sector. This article upholds the theory that the insertion of Brazil in the global aluminum market is part of a new configuration of the International Division of Labor (IDL), the polluting economic and highly energy dependent activities of which--as is the case of aluminum--have been moving to peripheral nations or emerging countries. The laws in such countries are less stringent, and similarly the environmental movements and the claims of the affected populations in the territories prejudiced in their rights to health, a healthy environment and culture are less influential. The competitiveness of this commodity is guaranteed in the international market, from the production of external factors such as environmental damage, deforestation, emissions of greenhouse gases and scenarios of environmental injustice. This includes undertakings in the construction of hydroelectric dams that expose traditional communities to situations involving the loss of their territories. Key words Primary aluminum industry, Environmental impacts, Environmental justice O presente artigo procura discutir a producao de aluminio no Brasil e seus impactos socioambientais e a saude publica. Os impactos da cadeia produtiva do aluminio colocam em xeque a ideia de crescimento sustentavel difundido pelos grupos empresariais que atuam no setor. O artigo defende a tese de que a insercao do Brasil no mercado global do aluminio faz parte de uma nova configuracao da Divisao Internacional do Trabalho (DIT), cujas atividades economicas poluentes e altamente dependentes de energia, como o caso deste metal vem se deslocando para nacoes perifericas ou emergentes, onde muitas vezes as legislacoes sao menos austeras, do mesmo modo como sao menos influentes os movimentos ambientalistas e as reivindicacoes das populacoes atingidas nos territorios afetados em seus direitos a saude, ao ambiente saudavel e a cultura. A competitividade desta commodity e garantida no mercado internacional, a partir da producao de externalidades como os danos ao ambiente, desmatamentos, emissoes de gases do efeito estufa e de cenarios de injustica ambiental, como tambem nos empreendimentos de construcao de barragens hidreletricas que expoem comunidades tradicionais a situacoes que envo