When the immigrants were Italian, Brazil was a welcoming land.
History and tradition have fixed the first landing on a precise date: February 21, 1874, when the ship Sofia arrived in the South American country with 386 Venetian and Tyrolean immigrants.
It is under the sign of the 150th anniversary of Italian immigration that the president Sergio Mattarella will travel to Brazil between July 15 and 19, the first visit of an Italian head of state to the country since 2000, with Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
The trip includes a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on July 15, in Brasília, and takes place amid a particular coincidence: the Italian and Brazilian presidencies in the G7 and G20, respectively.
Mattarella's visit will be an opportunity to revive a traditionally intense dialogue between the two countries, but which has weakened somewhat in recent times due to several factors. Among them are the Italian and European gaze aimed more towards the east and the Mediterranean; cases such as that of former terrorist Cesare Battisti, with Brazilian resistance to extradition; and political and government events in both countries, including the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.
This also reflects positions that are not always aligned on international policy issues, such as the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.
On July 16, Mattarella will visit Porto Alegre, hit by floods that left more than 200 dead and missing in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as enormous economic damage – a stop strongly desired by the head of state.
The bond between Italy and Brazil continues through family ties and surnames. With exhibitions and events, the two countries celebrate 150 years of Italian immigration to the South American nation, which has always favored assimilation. The "jus soli" in effect in the country is the result of an imperial act by the Brazilian government in 1889: the mass naturalization of immigrants by decree. Today, Brazil is home to one of the largest Italian communities in the world, with more than 730 registered in consular records and 32 million people of Italian descent.
At each stage of the journey, Mattarella will meet the respective Italian communities. In São Paulo, on July 17, the president will visit the Immigration Museum and the Arsenal of Hope, managed by Sermig (Young Missionary Service) in Turin, which offers assistance to the homeless. A moment of strong symbolic significance: the two institutions are housed in a single structure, the former Hospedaria de Imigrantes do Brás.
Mattarella's visit to Brazil is also part of the policy of attention to Latin America, which in recent years has taken the head of state to Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. A legacy that could serve as a backdrop for his speech on July 18, when Mattarella will speak at the Brazilian Center for International Relations (Cebri), in Rio de Janeiro. The title of the speech: “An inclusive dialogue for an evolving international scenario. Partnerships and perspectives at bilateral, regional and global levels”.
Economically, Brazil is also an important partner for Italy: bilateral trade is estimated at US$10 billion and has potential for growth. During Mattarella's visit, scientific cooperation agreements will be signed between Italian universities and institutes and Brazilian schools and institutes. The last stop will be in Salvador, on July 19, with a visit to the Franciscan community of Betânia. (HANDLE)
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