Un modello italiano per l’economia nel Brasile di Getúlio Vargas: la «Carta del Lavoro» del 1927

Abstract

Corporativism was one of the characteristic elements of the Italian fascist State, which through it intended to connect again with the Italian medieval tradition. Oscillating between history and «invented tradition», the corporativism of the fascist government proposed a solution to the economic crisis of the Thirties and an alternative to both the liberal and communist State, i. e. a «third way».The present text synthetically describes the origins, evolution, and structure of Italian corporatism, with special attention paid to the «Carta del Carnaro» of 1920, the document which prepared the way during the short adventure in Fiume of Gabriele d’Annunzio. As a model of economical gestion denying the struggle of class, in the age of dictatorships, corporatism spread both within and outside Europe. The analysis focuses on Brazil during its transition from the «República Velha» to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas, which started in 1930 and lasted until 1954, although with some institutional changes. Within the political movement of this time, called «Integralismo», the philosopher Miguel Reale (1910–2006) advocated a democratic corporativism. The Italian corporatist model is reflected in some parts of the huge «Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho», enacted by Vargas in 1943. It is a clear example of the social legislation accompanying several dictatorships of the 20^th century, whose consequences were felt in Brazil long after the fall of Vargas’ regime. The «Consolidação», however, referred only to the urban workers, while Brazil was a prevalently agrarian society. It is therefore necessary to pass in review the measures in favour of the urban and agrarian workers taken by the governments of Juscelino Kubitschek (1902–1976) and of João Goulart (1919–1976), as well as, finally, the protection accorded in 1964 to the agrarian workers by the «Estatuto da terra».