The Brazilian politician competing with Emerson Fittipaldi for a seat in the Italian Senate

The Brazilian politician Andrea Matarazzo, from the family of businessmen who bear his surname in several countries, including Argentina, competes with former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi for the Italian Senate. The elections will be held on 25 September. The Italian parties have until August 22, Monday, to define their candidates. Fittipaldi is running for the far-right Brothers of Italy party.

He told the Italian press that he had made his decision after speaking with the party leader, Giorgia Meloni. Matarazzo was Brazilian Ambassador to Rome, Communications Minister in the government of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Minister of Culture of the State of Sao Paulo.

“I have to speed up my campaign because I compete with Fittipaldi. But it would be more difficult for me to have to drive a car at high speed than to be in the Italian Senate. For him I think it would be the opposite “, said Matarazzo, half joking, half serious in that interview with Clarione.

In the speech, Matarazzo, who is affiliated with the Italian Socialist Party, said that Italy can offer opportunities to students, professionals and retirees from South America. For this, there must be legislation and that is why the Senate seat is important. (The number of seats has decreased. Only one in the Senate and two in the Italian Chamber of Deputies for the region).

-Why did you decide to run for the Italian Senate? Will you represent Brazil or all of South America?

I will represent South America. I come from a family of Italian immigrants. And my coexistence with Italy has always been very great. We never let go of our roots. Naples, Castellabate, Verona… And I got even closer to Italy when I was ambassador of Brazil.

The connections

-And today, what are those ties with Brazil like?

-Today if we talk about the largest soy producer in the world, it is the grandson of an Italian immigrant, who lives in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The largest orange producer in the world is José Cutrale who lives in the hinterland of São Paulo, in Araraquara. And if we talk about the world’s largest producer of sugar and alcohol, it’s the Little Man, the grandson of an immigrant farmer. The largest petrochemical producer in Brazil is Lírio Parisotto.

-In education ..

-There are things and opportunities that if Brazilians and Italo-Argentines knew … For example, that they can enter schools there, directly. Italy is the gateway to the European economy. Italy is a country that is becoming big. In Rome, one in four Italians is over 60 years old. Brazil is still a young country. Sure there are Argentine, Brazilian and Venezuelan professions serving in Italy. And that they would be very well accepted, in demand in Europe.

-You say that, in the first place, there is little mutual knowledge …

– Small, no. Nobody. There are Brazilians who think that Italy is pizza and the Tower of Pisa. But it is true that Ferrari is also known, which conveys the question of the strength of technology. But, at the same time, there are Italians who do not do tourism in Brazil because they think they see snakes on the street and do not know the tourist infrastructure of Brazil. We have to prove that we have a good tourist infrastructure. That in relation to the economy. But personally, the Brazilian citizen could understand that Italian citizenship allows him much more than a passport. The Argentine was more interested than the Brazilians. The Argentines have it clearer than the Brazilians.

-How many Brazilians are registered today as descendants of Italians?

-About 430 thousand.

-And how many could there be?

-About 30 million.

The arguments

-What about education? Could you elaborate on the subject?

-Access to schools, universities. Italy sends funds to teach the Italian language in schools around the world. But a senator present at the (Italian) Congress who knows South America will be able to tell the Italian entities if the resources are reaching the correct entities. And if he is well invested. Furthermore, today there are more than 50 million Italians outside Italy. An Italy outside of Italy. It is important to say that in Italy there are universities, such as Bocconi, with the same level as Oxford or the London School of Economics, for example.

-What else could possibly be offered to the descendants of Italians living in South America and there in Italy?

-Many cities need inhabitants and some even offer houses. It could also be made easier, through legislation, for a person to receive a pension there. Laws that can facilitate this rapprochement of relations between countries. And more efficient communication so that South Americans know their rights and duties as citizens. One of them is voting. It can only be 30% of citizens who can vote vote. If this continues, there is a risk that representation (parliamentary in Italy) will be cut.

– Would the proposal that you receive the pension in Italy be only for Brazilians or for citizens of all South American countries (with Italian roots)?

– For all countries. What a Brazil. Venezuela and Argentina have, on the basis of legislation, a way to easily send the pensions of these citizens. There are also many opportunities in Europe for young people. We must do concrete and possible things to materialize.

– Do you think it is possible?

-You don’t need to promise impossible things. There are candidates who talk about free health care for (of Italian origin), but the health system in Italy is already difficult for Italians.

-About the students. What could the Senate propose in the event of an election?

– Study programs, free or paid scholarships from work which is also possible to do there.

-The number of seats in the Italian Congress decreases. One in the Senate and two in the House. And how many candidates are there?

-In Brazil. there are two nominations for the Senate. I don’t know the other countries in the region.

-Italy is in a truly unique political moment. Then the Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned and the congress was dissolved. You, if elected, will arrive at a very special political moment in Italy.

A very political moment of Italian parliamentarism. I think the most surprising thing is the radicalism of the right. And this is where the immigration problem comes into play. And this seems inconceivable to me. Immigration is important, obviously with rules. We come from immigrant countries. Xenophobia must be rejected. And to comment even more, you have to be there. The goal is balance and also to think that it is good for Italy and for Italians.

-How do you see Silvio Berlusconi today?

-Berlusconi has changed. He is an 86-year-old man, much more mature. And the representation on the right is Georgia Meloni.

-If Lula or Bolsonaro will be the next president of Brazil, does anything change? What would the dialogue with Italy be like if one or the other were chosen?

-Whoever is elected, it is an institutional position and we must always dialogue. And in the case of the Senate, the relationship is between parliaments and therefore also institutional.