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Study assesses impact
post-war Italian immigration

LUIZ SUGIMOTO

Read more: Giovanna and Giuseppe Facchinetti

Sand if it were pertinent and appropriate to choose what symbolized the destroyed Italy of the second post-war period, it would be the olive trees that take so many years to grow and produce, cut down by the Germans. They decided to avenge the defeat by undermining the civilian population, now with nothing to eat, their last source of bread. Olive trees and infertile fields in the south, broken industries in the cities in the north: deprived of 70% of production, companies could barely absorb the unemployed masses, nor could soldiers returning from the front from other battles.

Historian Luciana Facchinetti is the daughter of Giovanna and Giuseppe, witnesses of that purgatory and who sought in Brazil not paradise, but a place where they could simply work and start their lives over. The couple's statement is kept at the Imigrante Memorial, in São Paulo. Instigated by her parents' lives and by work at the Memorial itself, in which she helped digitize the Immigrant Entry Books from 1882 to 1907, the teacher turned to another of the institution's collections, 24 thousand files produced by CIME (Intergovernmental Committee for Migrations Europeans), to reconstruct the history of some characters and evaluate the influence of these immigrants on the development of Brazilian industry. She defended her master's thesis at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) at Unicamp, in February.

"They crossed the Atlantic essentially because of the destroyed country, but also because of the collapse of a dream. Raised under fascism, under Benito Mussolini's promise of a united, big and strong country, they were paid with counterfeit currency. They lost their childhood and part adolescence, they went through a lot of hunger", says Luciana. She recalls that, in addition to the global conflict, the population suffered a 20-month civil war between those who insisted on saving the Duce and the partisans (linked to the resistance). "In the testimonies it is common to remember that they had four enemies: the fascists and the Germans by day, the Partigiani and the American bombing at night. They didn't know which way to look, they were being shot at from all sides."

The Immigrant Memorial records the entry of seven Italians in 1870. Until 1913, the exact total was 1.291.280, a sea of ​​people that motivated countless studies on their contribution to agriculture, commerce and industry, mainly in the State of São Paulo, and above all for our cultural formation. In the following decades, the flow decreased sharply and was almost zero during the war years, with a certain intensity then resuming around 1950.

"I wanted to understand how these post-war immigrants, despite coming in smaller numbers, influenced the Brazilian economy", explains the historian. The interest is justified, as there was an important difference in relation to the patricians at the turn of the century: specialization. "If those who arrived before were 90% illiterate, those who came later were literate and almost all of them had some qualification", she adds. Qualification was an important criterion for approval by the Brazilian government, which encouraged industry and was not interested in receiving new waves of cheap labor.

Understanding of the craft - Luciana recalls that one of the bases of fascism is nationalism, a feeling that is difficult to impose on an Italy divided into many regions, each with its own dialect. "Mussolini saw literacy as a means of unifying the country, shaping citizen consciousness and transmitting his ideology, creating a generation of fascists throughout the territory. He forced families to send their children to school, at least until the fourth year of primary school" , account. Education, but up to a certain level, as the dictator reduced incentives for secondary education, closed technical schools and made higher education elite. He didn't want thinking beings.

So, how did the immigrant obtain his qualifications, the historian asked the interviewees, obtaining in response the corporatism of the profession that has prevailed in Italy since feudal times. "The children left school and went to learn a trade with a toolmaker relative, a tailor neighbor. Even those from the south, who represent 60% of my sample, had farming parents but learned to make bread, for example."

Thus, toolmakers, bricklayers, carpenters, mechanics, carpenters, bakers, drivers and barbers came to Brazil. They didn't have certificates, but they knew the job. Graduates such as engineers, highly specialized technicians and teachers also came. "A professor with important publications in the field of aeronautics, who for collaborating with the fascist regime ran out of space at the University of Rome, was authorized by the government to work at Embraer. It is worth noting that Italian engineers and specialists had an important participation in the construction of the first Brazilian plane, the Bandeirante", informs Luciana.

No bosses - Post-war immigrants would also have promoted innovations, as long as the Brazilian park offered conditions for the application of their knowledge. In the list of 16 interviewees, the researcher points out examples of this entrepreneurial spirit. One of them devised a steam iron project, which was unfeasible due to the lack of equipment. Another, a tailor, offered the design of a jacket to Pierre Cardim, who did not want to pay him royalties. Antonio Midea, a former bricklayer, is today the second largest businessman in the construction sector. Economist Edoardo Cohen became a renowned writer, actor and researcher. Luiz de Papaiz, who disallowed the use of the interview, made his name in the tools sector.

The success stories, however, do not reflect the full weight of these immigrants in the economy. "My father learned mechanics from my grandfather, a cable car technician, and carpentry from his uncle. He worked at Matarazzo to provide for his family, until he set up a carpentry shop. These people couldn't stand the idea of ​​being under the orders of bosses. Ninety percent of them created micro, medium and large companies, from bakeries to the metallurgical industry. They really wanted to make America. And Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina, after all, are also America"

Money remittances help with reconstruction

En the late 19th and early 20th centuries, waves of Italians came in large families, with an impressive average of ten children per couple. Among post-war immigrants, there were few families, with a maximum of four children. Single men and women made up the bulk of the contingent and the age range ranged from 18 to 50 years old, within the profile selected by the Brazilian government interested in qualified labor. The Italian government, unable to absorb so much labor, also welcomed the emigration of people seeking foreign currency abroad to increase domestic savings, contributing to the reconstruction of the country. After the United States and Canada, to the north, the countries most sought after by Italians were, in order: Venezuela, whose oil allowed good conditions for progress; Argentina, which welcomed not only workers but most of the fascism leaders; and Brazil, despite the restriction on communists, whose entry was controlled by Catholic priests, who were responsible for granting certificates of good conduct. Between 1946 and 1960, 110.932 Italians went to Brazil, 231.543 to Venezuela, 484.068 to Argentina and 504.449 to the United States and Canada. To give a dimension of this workforce, professor Luciana Facchinetti cites data from Constantino Ianni in his book Men without Peace: in 1962, for example, the remittances received in Italy from its emigrants from all over the world, and recorded in the balance of payments international contributions from the country, totaled around 550 million dollars; before, in 1961, the sum reached 450 million dollars. Hence, the revolt of immigrants at the prejudice they suffer upon returning to their homeland, or at the Italian government's attempts to suspend the pensions of those who remain abroad. "It's a fierce fight. They sent a lot of money for the reconstruction of Italy and they expect retribution, now that the country is in a healthy situation", says the researcher. Foot in the Boot - Luciana Facchinetti heard from Italian ambassadors recently that there are 63 million immigrants and descendants around the world, while Italy's population is 57 million. Brazil is home to 23 million, with the city of São Paulo alone home to 5,5 million. "In every five inhabitants of Brazilian territory, one has one foot in the boot", says the teacher, who lives in Tucuruvi, north of São Paulo. At the end of this interview, when coffee and cupcakes were being served, Mamma Guivanna suddenly entered the kitchen, supported by a walker and kisses and caresses from her daughter. She talked a lot, without realizing that the visitors didn't understand her language. In the space of 23 days, she lost Giuseppe, her companion on the long journey from the plantations of southern Italy, her other daughter Maria Elisa and also her lucidity. “For Italian women, losing children is unbearable,” says Luciana. "She wants to know if you've ever enjoyed the trees and the fresh air outside," she translates. Over the wall you could see the woods of the neighboring Clube dos Alemães - at the moment there was no room for irony - and Mamma Giovanna walked resolutely to the backyard, perhaps to smell the aroma of the olive trees.

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