The Mafia in the Italian Ethnic Press in Argentina

Abstract

Generally speaking, Italian migrations in Argentina are evaluated on the basis of their economic, demographic, and even cultural contribution to the local society. However, the most critical aspects related to the Italian presence—such as the mafias—in Argentina have traditionally remained neglected. Producing scientific knowledge on Italian mafias in Argentina represents a challenging endeavour, due to the relative lack of previous research on the subject, as well as reliable information sources. In order to contribute to overcome the existing knowledge gap, in this chapter an exploratory comparative analysis on how the Italian ethnic press dealt with the most famous mafia crime to present is provided. The goal is to explore the way in which the Italian ethnic press in Argentina positioned itself towards Ayerza’s case. Even if the very existence of mafia in Argentina was acknowledged, the evidence suggests that the Italian ethnic press in Argentina failed to configure a coherent and articulated anti-mafia discourse.