“The Hidden Italy Connection”,

One of the arguments that underpin this book holds that the economy cannot be considered in isolation from either society or politics. It does not have an independent rationality that can remain autonomous as a natural law that operates relentlessly on society, because it is a human science Economy and society have always been present in the business exchanges and investments between Italy and Argentina, in a history formed by millions of small biographies. The economy represents an expression, a chapter in that history, which unfolded with profitable results, even under the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. This normal continuity in the context of gross violations of human, social, economic, and political rights committed in Argentina is the focus of this chapter. For Italy, Argentina is not just another country: it is the country of emigration, the place where at least half of the population bears an Italian last name. What did Italy do during the dictatorship years? We could say it did little in terms of human rights, or worse, that it did business, or worse still, that it increased its economic relations.