What is the main business of the Italian mafia?

At first, the Italian mafia mainly engaged in drugs, smuggling, human trafficking and other businesses.

At the beginning of the 9th century, Italian society was in turmoil, and Sicily, a "foreign land", was even more worried. As a result, in the idyllic citrus forest and lemon forest on the outskirts of the capital Palermo, some middle-aged men and landlords organized to provide protection for the local people from the harassment and oppression of the rulers. Later, driven by interests and power, this "defending" activity gradually deteriorated and evolved into a criminal organization that enforced the law privately. This is the predecessor of the Mafia.

From the end of 19 to the end of the 20th century, the Italian mafia flourished for more than 100 years, and four mafia groups appeared, namely "Our Cause" which occupied Sicily, "Camora" which ran rampant in Naples, "Glorious Society" based in Calabria and "Holy Crown of Unity" in Puglia. From the street to the national superstructure, mafia forces came into being.

Just as the opening remarks of The Godfather: "Behind the great wealth lies evil". Through drugs, smuggling, human trafficking and other businesses, the mafia has also accumulated a lot of wealth. Mafia will take bloody revenge on "ignorant" parliamentarians, journalists and citizens, and the perpetrators will basically not be punished.

In the past, gangsters were both perpetrators of violence and "defenders of order". As gangsters, cruelty is not only their way of survival, but also their way from prosperity to decline.

Changes in values and beliefs within the organization have also accelerated the decline of the mafia. Most people no longer stick to honor, faith, loyalty and strict rules and regulations for "our cause", but try their best to make money for "my wallet" as soon as possible. If the mafia was regarded as a "lifelong career" in those days, most people are only "part-time" now.

"Today's members are greedy and indulgent, and even bully some foreign workers like street hooligans to gain benefits, which completely violates the image of the mafia." An old Italian man, who asked not to be named, said that he was really ashamed of today's mafia, and the precepts they had sworn to defend were now worthless. In today's Italy, with the gradual improvement of the political system, the mafia gradually lost this stage.