IL POTERE DELLE IDEE Tra fascismo ed imprenditoria italiana in Brasile

Abstract

From the end of the nineteenth century and until 1975 it is estimated that about one and a half million Italians arrived in Brazil, of which about two-thirds settled in the state of São Paulo. Italian immigration to Brazil was strongly encouraged by several factors: the desire to find fortune overseas, the will of the Brazilian government to europeanize their territory, the need for manpower after the abolition of slavery and many other factors that united interests, policies and economies of both countries. Brazil being a very large country and considering that relations between Italy and Brazil began at the end of the nineteenth century and continue still now, this research will be concentrated mainly in the State of São Paulo and in the time span that includes the beginning of Italian emigration to Brazil, and then stop mainly in the fascist period. Mussolini became interested in the Brazilian territory as an important resource, because the figure of Italian managed to gain a prominent position abroad. This migration to Brazil allowed many Italians to redeem themselves and become successful entrepreneurs, thus attracting fascist interest. The promotion abroad of a rich and powerful image of Italy governed by Mussolini was one of the primary objectives of the propaganda machine of the fascist regime. The main recipients of this promotional strategy were foreign elites and Italian immigrant communities. With this research I investigate how fascism and entrepreneurship are related in the Brazilian context. I argue that fascism had the need to rely on powerful Italian entrepreneurs who emigrated to Brazil to promote the dissemination of its ideas. I have relied on numerous historical books dealing with the Italian emigration to Brazil and on various documents focusing on fascist foreign policy. As for Italian entrepreneurship, I focused on several Italians who found luck in São Paulo and helped the fascism policies diffusion, such as Francesco Matarazzo and Rodolfo Crespi.