Argentina Stirs up Falklands Dispute

It is said that an Argentinian is an Italian who speaks Spanish and thinks he's English. However on one issue, the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, Argentinians are decidedly not English. They believe the islands belong to them, and it is a matter of national pride to pursue that claim. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has decided to raise this issue in the face of a British oil rig arriving to drill about 100 kilometers north of the islands. This is quite convenient for the Buenos Aires government as it diverts attention from the horrific mismanagement of the nation's finances.

It is an article of faith among Argentinians that the Malvinas are theirs and always have been. International law of territoriality does give them some small case. In the 1770s, the British estopped their claim, giving Buenos Aires the only active claim for a few decades. However, the British came back after the defeat of Napoleon, and they have maintained active occupation ever since. Were one a judge at the International Court of Justice, one would probably find Britain's claim to be superior. The Falklanders certainly feel that way, and what else is self-determination about other than living under the government one wants?

Argentina has ruled out military force, and wisely so. There is no point in losing a second war over these sheep-infested islands. However, the Fernandez government has opted to put together a coalition of Latin American states to put diplomatic pressure on Britain. Mexican President Felipe Calderon claimed Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala, Bolivia and Venezuela had all backed Argentina's opposition to the drilling. And of course, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is making a big anti-gringo, crypto-fascist stand. He said, "Look, England, how long are you going to be in Las Malvinas? Queen of England, I'm talking to you. The time for empires are over, haven't you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine people." Agreed -- imperialism is a spent force, so why does letting Argentina rule people in the Falklands/Malvinas who don't want that differ from any other form of imperialism?

Here's the real ugly secret -- Argentina is effectively broke. President Fernandez "wants to transfer around $6.6 billion from the country's foreign reserves -- currently just below $48 billion -- to a fund to make debt payments coming due this year" according to Reuters. This has already caused the head of the Argentinean central bank to resign, and the courts have, thus far, held that she can't do this.

Meanwhile, inflation is running at about 20% a year. Rain is ruining the crops; soy beans are rotting in the fields. While the government is not responsible for the weather, it has done little to mitigate the situation. Moreover, for a nation that grew rich on beef, Argentina's total cattle herd has fallen to 50 million head from around 61 million in 2007, according to the Argentine Rural Society, a landowners group. The economy is imploding, the government has replaced technocrats with party hacks, and so, the obvious thing to do is complain about the Falklands.

It will be interesting to see if President Fernandez merely rattles sabers or whether she has an interest in fixing her country's own problems. If she were truly visionary, she'd send an Argentine oil rig to drill for oil as well. Were she to find any, her problems would be solved.

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