The idea of Latin America in Italian fascist thought (1922-1943)

• Grant number: 24/22118-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: April 15, 2025
• End date: February 14, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Theory
• Principal Investigator: Alvaro Gabriel Bianchi Mendez
• Grantee: Alvaro Gabriel Bianchi Mendez
• Host Investigator: Salvatore Cingari
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università Per Stranieri Di Perugia, Italy

Abstract

The present project aims to investigate the construction of the idea of Latin America in the political thought of Italian fascism (1922-1943). The first hypothesis is that throughout the ventennio, fascism constructed an idea of Latin America within fascist thought, and this idea was neither fully formed at its inception nor was it ever unequivocal. The second hypothesis is that the fascist perspective on our continent simultaneously assumed three points of view: that of italianità, latinità, and romanità. These perspectives took on different emphases over the years, adapting to fascist foreign policy, culminating in the idea of Latin America as part of the political-cultural space of the empire. The research and documentary analysis of fascist newspapers and magazines aims to identify the multiple voices and conflicts surrounding the idea of Latin America.