“Uncelebrating” the Rio Doce disaster: tactics, performances and frames

Abstract:

Social movements and civil organizations were excluded from the governance system for the reparation and compensation of the damages caused by the Rio Doce disaster. In response, they promoted a wave of protest beginning in 2015. How were the tactics, performances and frames adopted during this protest cycle related to each other and how did they change over time? How did protesters publicly express and dramatize their demands for reparations? To answer these questions, we combined the Protest Event Analysis (PEA) with a comprehensive study of the frames and performances presented during extra institutional events reported by the media in the state of Espírito Santo from 2015 to 2019. We paid particular attention to activities taking place during each November, when the anniversary of the disaster is “uncelebrated”. The results indicate that tactics, performances, and frames are interrelated and vary longitudinally in response to the reaction of authorities and opponents in the context of ongoing political contention. They also change in accordance with the “taste in tactics” of the predominant actors in the cycle of protest.

Keywords:
tactics; performance; frames; protest events; Rio Doce disaster