Approved yesterday, May 15, in the Italian Senate, the decree that modifies the recognition of Italian citizenship generated revolt among Italian descendants. The new rule, originated from Decree-Law 36, still needs approval from the Chamber of Deputies to become final.
And now everyone is looking for someone to blame.
The measure drastically restricts the right to transmit citizenship through direct descent, affecting millions of Brazilians. The name of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, however, does not appear in the text of the decree or in the main discussions. There was also no public statement from him before the vote.
Salvini recorded a video praising the diaspora, especially in Veneto — the political birthplace of his party, Lega. Despite this, he made no concrete efforts. He deceived allies such as the former Italian-Brazilian deputy Luiz Roberto Lorenzato and the businessman Marcelo de Carvalho, owner of RedeTV! and political activist, who hurriedly traveled to Italy to try to intervene.
According to Lorenzato, an amendment to remove the term “exclusively Italian” from the decree was almost filed. “There were three minutes left,” he said. The deadline expired, and the proposal was not even on the agenda.
Diaspora ignored
In practice, the vote was symbolic. The absence of members of the League, Salvini, and the low mobilization in the Senate — only 119 of the 205 senators voted — demonstrate the political disinterest in the issue. There were 81 votes in favor, 31 against. The opposition, if it had been present in force, could have blocked the decree.
The Italian diaspora, made up of more than 80 million descendants around the world, continues to be an uncomfortable topic for Italy. The country has never really come to terms with the exodus of its citizens. For 150 years, it has treated the issue as a minor one, sweeping it under the rug. Yesterday, the rug was pulled out along with the cause.
Collective guilt and widespread silence
The responsibility does not fall on figures like Lorenzato or Marcelo de Carvalho. Neither of them holds parliamentary positions. Without the right to vote, their actions, even if politically motivated, had no direct impact.
The truth is that neither the associations of Italians abroad nor the representative councils — like CGIE — managed to influence the decision. The community's mobilization, with protests and a petition with more than 110 thousand signatures, had only a symbolic effect. In fact, 110 thousand signatures in a universe of 30 million descendants in Brazil represent a paltry 0,37%. Not even the community itself was interested.
Those who could have intervened chose to remain silent. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni avoided addressing the issue publicly, for example.
Senator Francesca La Marca, elected abroad with votes from the Italian community and a member of the Democratic Party, did not even attend the vote.
The result? The symbolic sterilization of the diaspora. Millions of descendants no longer have access to citizenship through administrative channels, although the judicial route remains a possibility.
Blood inheritance
The Italian-Brazilian community does not need a law to confirm its identity. The blood inherited from immigrants who left Italy in difficult times carries the legacy of a real history, which the Italian State has now chosen to deny.
By maintaining citizenship as an exclusive privilege — and not as a historical right — the country demonstrates that it has not yet learned how to deal with its own diaspora.
And, in the face of all this, some still prefer to sit on the fence.
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