Tajani Comes to Brazil to Praise Italian-Brazilian Roots

Speech in Buenos Aires

Before landing in Brazil, Tajani was in Buenos Aires, where he spoke about "common roots" and a friendship "without equal" between Italy and Argentina. The South American country has more than 1 million recognized Italian citizens and approximately 20 million descendants, according to data cited by the minister in his remarks.

The tone of the speech, marked by affectionate references to Italian immigration and the contribution of descendants to Argentine cultural formation, drew attention for contrasting with recent restrictions imposed by Italy itself on those seeking to recognize citizenship through Italian ancestors.

Arrival in Brazil

This Wednesday, Tajani lands in São Paulo to continue his South American tour. Brazil is home to the largest community of Italian descendants outside Italy: more than 32 million Italian-descendant Brazilians throughout the country, according to Italian diplomatic data.

The jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Italy in São Paulo also concentrates a significant portion of this community, given the historical importance of Italian immigration in the state, one of the main destinations for migratory flows between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The magnitude of these numbers is closely followed by those covering Italian citizenship in Brazil, since a large part of this descendant population seeks, or has sought at some point, formal recognition of their link with Italy.

The Citizenship Contradiction

Tajani's discourse on cultural rapprochement takes on delicate contours when confronted with his recent political actions. It was the government of which the minister is a part that issued the decree that reformed the rules for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent, the so-called iure sanguinis.

The measure, informally named Decreto Tajani, was converted into Lei nº 74/2025, in effect since May 24, 2025. In practice, automatic recognition of citizenship by descent ceased to apply, as a general rule, to those born abroad beyond the second generation — that is, it became restricted to children and grandchildren of Italians. The previous model historically allowed great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and even more distant generations to apply for citizenship provided that an unbroken blood tie was proven.

The new legislation restricted access to citizenship by descent, limiting in general the automatic right to children and grandchildren of Italians, with specific exceptions.

The law provides for specific exceptions to this general rule, but outside these specific cases, the path became considerably narrower for millions of descendants scattered throughout Brazil and other South American countries.

This change has been closely monitored in the Italy news sections of the portal, as it directly affects entire families who had already begun, or planned to begin, the recognition process.

Objective of the Visit

According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tajani's trip to Brazil aims to strengthen the "historical, cultural, and human bonds" between the two countries. The agenda includes meetings with the Italian community in São Paulo as well as commitments of an economic nature, aimed at deepening commercial and institutional relations between Italy and Brazil.

The contrast between the discourse valuing Italian-Brazilian roots and the legislation that made access to citizenship difficult for much of this same community should continue to be a topic of debate among descendant associations and media outlets covering the issue, both in Brazil and in Italy.

For those following daily life for those already living in the European country, or planning to move there, the portal maintains coverage on life in Italy, with practical information on documentation, housing, and integration.

Tajani's passage through São Paulo is expected to extend for several days, with repercussions anticipated in both Italian and Brazilian press, given the symbolic and political weight of the visit at a time of tension between diplomatic discourse and legal changes that directly affect the Italian-Brazilian community.

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Source: Italianismo