Brazilian federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) declared support for the candidacy of former pilot Emerson Fittipaldi to the Italian Senate, in a video published on Instagram this Thursday (25). The record was released by Luis Roberto Lorenzato, who is running for re-election to the position of deputy in Parliament.
The legislation of the European country dedicates three seats of Congress to Italians living in South America – one senator and two deputies. In general, the favorites are from the Italian-Argentine community.
The next election was brought forward to the next day 25 of September, after the dissolution of the Parliament provoked by the resignation of the prime minister Mario Draghi. In Brazil, completed ballots must be sent to consulates by the 22nd.
“I recommend to Senator Emerson Fittipaldi, three-time Formula 1 champion [ele é bicampeão da categoria]a person known throughout Brazil, and for a federal deputy, to continue this work of connection between Italy and Brazil, my friend Roberto Lorenzato”, says the son of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the recording.
Fittipaldi, 76, ran for the far-right Brothers of Italy party, the favorite to lead the general election and name the new prime minister. The party currently has 24% of voting intentions, according to the poll aggregator of the website Politico. If the victory is consolidated, the nominee for the post of prime minister should be Giorgia Meloni, defender of conservative flags and self-styled “woman, mother and Christian”.
With some connection to symbols and theses associated with fascism, the Brothers of Italy would lead, in the event of victory, the first ultra-right government in Western Europe since the Second World War.
In an interview with Veja last week, the former pilot said that, if elected, his objective will be “to change the fascist image that [Jair] Bolsonaro has in Europe”. “I need to tell people that Brazil is a free country, that it [o presidente] never ended democracy,” he added.
THE Sheet looked for the ex-pilot and Roberto Lorenzato, but could not get in touch.
Fittipaldi’s main proposals — who was born in Brazil but has an Italian father and a son living there, pilot Emmo Jr. — are mainly related to the link between Brazil and Italy. He defends, for example, the right to blood of Italian citizenship, called “jus sanguini”, today contested by politicians identified with the left, who press for the “jus soli”, or right of the soil (when nationality is attributed to the place of birth).
Fittipaldi also wants to accelerate the process of automatic recognition of Italian-Brazilian and South American diplomas in Italy, establish a reciprocity agreement for categories such as lawyers and journalists and create an international university. “I have already put on paper several proposals, and all of them aim to promote actions related to Brazilians who have strong ties to Italian lands, culture and sport,” he told Il Giornale.
In addition to the Italian-Argentines, the former pilot will have as his competitor the former minister, secretary, councilor from São Paulo and ambassador Andrea Matarazzo. The politician, who launched himself for the Socialist Party, criticized Meloni in a recent interview with Sheet.
Descendants of Italians can vote or apply as long as they have citizenship, recognized regardless of generation.
