Who is Matteo Salvini?

In the Northeast of Brazil, they say: "it's the lid and the basket"; it's a phrase used to describe equivalences between parts; it means that, being so similar, those involved complete and complement each other. Often, it's also said that it's "the hand and the glove" because supposedly distinct realities interact so well that they ultimately generate synthesis, unity. This is the basis and foundation of such reasoning.

Matteo Salvini is Jair Bolsonaro's "other" counterpart! And how well they communicate... It's impressive!

The current Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, 45, is an open and self-proclaimed fascist. In addition to being minister, he is also the deputy prime minister of an Italy mired in an unsolvable economic crisis.

He is the president of the very provincial 'Lega Nord' [Northern League] or 'Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania' [Northern League for the Independence of Padua]. The 'Lega Nord' is, in fact, a collection of tiny parties oriented towards right-wing and far-right ideologies. Not coincidentally, it was an auxiliary and fundamental force of 'Forza Italia', the party of the unmistakable Silvio Berlusconi.

Salvini is well known throughout Europe for his extreme nationalism, anti-immigration stances, and the ultra-liberal ideas he defends. He is, for example, against the European Union; considers the creation of the "euro" a "crime against humanity"; is a staunch Islamophobe; and his xenophobia is so extreme that it even shocks some within the Italian right wing.

A far-right politician; he opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and the legalization of soft drugs like marijuana. He calls himself a "defender of family values" (doesn't that sound familiar?).

In economics, he served to enthusiastically defend protectionism, especially for the Italian economy; in this regard, he brought important votes to the European Parliament concerning more and higher taxes on Chinese products and those from other regions of the world. It's like... "you free your markets!"

He is firm in his positions; inflexible on issues he believes in and pursues; an avowed anti-leftist and remarkably harsh with his adversaries; not by chance, he was nicknamed by his "Lega" supporters as "Il Capitano" (The Captain).

Matteo Salvini, through a flawed and improbable process based on vague and risky plea bargains, is the man who has just captured the left-wing militant Cesare Battisti.