A call from Malvinas to Milei government: Do not step back from our sovereign rights

With the arrival to power of Javier Milei, the foreign policy of the Argentine Republic is being completely reconfigured. One of the issues that was believed to have the total consensus of Argentine society and politics, that referring to Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, has become more important than ever before – or after – the Falklands War in 1982. , a war conflict that pitted the South American nation against the United Kingdom, in question. The imperialist power, which with the support of the United States and Chile was the winner of the armed conflict, has maintained since January 3, 1833 the usurpation of the Malvinas Islands with the British population and their descendants.

We have traveled to Ushuaia to interview the veteran of the 1982 war and current Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs, Daniel Arias, to learn how the decisions made in recent times by right-wing and far-right Argentine governments have affected us. It should be noted that Ushuaia, known worldwide as the southernmost city in the world or the city at the End of the World, is the capital of the Malvinas Islands and in its streets both the memory and the certainty that the islands are Argentine are kept alive.

Photo: Welcome sign to Ushuaia, capital of the Malvinas (Micaela Ovelar)

About the Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs

In 1979 Daniel Arias entered the Mechanics School of the Argentine Navy, and in 1982, when the conflict with the United Kingdom began, at the age of 19 he was assigned to the Destroyer ARA (Argentine Republic Navy) Piedrabuena, escort of the ARA Manuel Belgrano, a light cruiser that, on May 2, ’82, was attacked and sunk outside the exclusion area previously established by the British Navy. The warship ARA Piedrabuena was also subject to the same attack by the English navy, but was not hit by the missiles. The Destroyer Piedrabuena managed to rescue 277 Argentine soldiers alive, who were taken to the southernmost city, 770 were the survivors of the ARA Belgrano, which had a crew of 1,093 people on board.

In 1984, Arias decided to leave the Argentine Navy (discharged) and settle in the city of Ushuaia. According to our interviewee, “there have been many veterans of the last war in Argentine territory who have chosen Ushuaia as their permanent place of residence.” Together with many of them, for 40 years he has been working to consolidate the Malvinas Ex-Combatants Center and other spaces to preserve and safeguard the history and defense of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands for future generations. “Many people, including many Argentines, think that the history of the Falkland Islands began in 1982, and that is not the case, our history begins before 1500, before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers.”

Currently, Arias is Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs of the Municipality of Ushuaia.

Photo: Daniel Arias, former Malvinas combatant and Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs (Micaela Ovelar)

The Malvinas Question and the Foreign Policy of the Argentine right

Arias told us that: in the past, several right-wing governments in the southern country carried out actions to “de-malvinize” Argentine foreign policy, that is, they tried to make society forget that there was a war, that there is a military base. of the United Kingdom in Argentine territory, that this is equivalent to ceding sovereignty and leaving the door open to NATO. “The war is something of the past, that is what they want us to think, but here in our country there was a war and it has left consequences (…). Despite all attempts at the government level, the Malvinas Cause is increasingly consolidated more in the Argentine collective consciousness, even in the youngest who did not live or remember the conflict,” said the veteran, while proudly remembering that a stanza of the last soccer song, which says: “… of the kids (boys) of Malvinas that I will never forget…”.

The Argentine soccer public has dedicated several provocative songs to the English, and the origin of that rivalry has its starting point in the Malvinas.

Alfonsín-Menem: Madrid Agreements I and II

Returning to the issues of foreign policy itself, we have to point to the Madrid I and II agreements, which were initiated during the government of Raúl Alfonsín, the first president of the return of democracy, and concluded during the neoliberal government of Carlos Menem. These treaties, upon approval of the British Investment Guarantee Law 24,184, implied the total submission of Argentina to the economic interests of the United Kingdom over the Patagonian region (Argentina and Chile), as well as to English control over the natural resources of the Malvinas. and adjacent islands. Arias regrets the terrible consequences that the Madrid treaties have brought for Argentina, especially in economic matters, in the areas of fishing and oil, a region that is rich in both.

Macri: Foradori-Duncan Agreement

In 2016, during the government of Mauricio Macri, not only were the Madrid Treaties I and II ratified, but progress was also made in alliances that were even more detrimental to Argentina. The agreement – according to legalistic custom – took as its name the surname of those responsible for the foreign relations of both States. In that sense, it was first known as Malcorra (Argentina) – Duncan (United Kingdom), and, when Malcorra left Macri’s government, it was renamed Foradori-Duncan. It should be noted that the government of Alberto Fernández has repealed these legal instruments that are harmful to the southern country.

In this regard, the Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs is categorical: “These agreements have been disastrous for Argentina and have pursued the de-malvinization of Argentine foreign policy. The Malvinas cause must continue to be a State issue, regardless of the political orientation of governments, which are passengers.

The points of the Foradori-Duncan agreement were born practically entirely from a letter that the then British Prime Minister, Theresa May, sent to her Argentine counterpart, Mauricio Macri. According to the press at the time, Macri “accepted all of May’s demands and thus confirmed his submission to the colonial occupation.” The signing of said instrument meant for the United Kingdom to economically, militarily, geopolitically, and geostrategically enjoy the Malvinas, islands, and adjacent maritime areas.

Photo: Poster in the center of Ushuaia (Micaela Ovelar)

Milei, synonymous with submission and admiration to colonial powers

During the last presidential debate, Javier Milei once again declared his admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who gave the order to sink the ARA military cruiser Manuel Belgrano, which was outside the exclusion zone. Furthermore, the current Argentine president has expressed – on several occasions – that he feels very identified with Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan. Milei’s alignment with the United States and the European power is total, in fact, the libertarian leader made his first international trip to the United States, his admiration for another imperial and colonizing power, the State of Israel, is also known, to the point that The current Argentine president plans to convert to the Jewish religion.

Arias recalls that, in the Falklands War conflict, the United States did not respect the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR), according to which an attack on an American nation represents an attack on all the states that make up the American continent. The United States not only did not feel attacked, not only did it not defend Argentina, but it aligned itself with the United Kingdom. Since then, the TIAR, approved by the Organization of American States (OAS), has become obsolete. 

Chile did not respect the TIAR either, in this case, the narrow trans-Andean country feared for its territorial integrity, if Argentina had won the conflict, that would put Chilean interests in the Patagonian region in a delicate place.

It is important to note that – unlike Milei – the majority of Argentine society, especially the Malvinas ex-combatants, consider Thatcher an enemy of the southern nation and directly responsible for the human losses during the conflict. Milei seems to have forgotten something that is always present in the city at the End of the World: in 1982, the port of Ushuaia was used for military purposes, in its docks the cruiser ARA Manuel Belgrano, the Destroyer ARA Bouchard and the Destroyer ARA Piedrabuena, these last two military vessels rescued the crew of the downed cruiser. This city has a strong sentimental and historical connection for the former combatants of the Falklands War. There is no way Milei’s sayings can go unnoticed.

Geostrategic importance of Ushuaia and the Malvinas

Ushuaia is the capital of the Malvinas, this has been reflected in the Constitution of the Argentine Republic, which established that the southernmost city in the world would be the capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands. Malvinas is one of the islands in the South Atlantic. In addition, Ushuaia is the gateway to Antarctica, from its ports the ships that carry out visits and expeditions to the white continent depart.

The British Empire, maintaining the usurpation of the Malvinas, seeks to obtain natural resources, and also seeks to ensure control of the Atlantic-Pacific bi-oceanic passage (Strait of Magellan), but also geostrategically, in a new attempt at imperialist expansion. , seeks to enforce its future rights to a part of the Antarctic territory, through the occupation of the Malvinas and adjacent islands, which belong to the Argentine Republic. In this particular, it is known that wars in the future will revolve around water, an abundant resource in Antarctica.

Diplomatic path to conflict resolution

“Since January 3, 1833, Argentina has never ceased to diplomatically claim in international forums the British usurpation of the Malvinas and adjacent islands. Another important milestone has been United Nations Resolution 2065, which recognizes the situation of colonial occupation of the Malvinas Islands. As Jonatan Bonetti, son of a former combatant in the Malvinas War and member of the “Thinking Malvinas” Museum, maintains, the UN does not make a statement about whether the Islands belong to one country or another, but rather recognizes the existence of a sovereignty dispute between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom, while inviting the parties to resolve the dispute through dialogue and peaceful agreement. This Resolution is also known as “the Ruda allegation”, the surname of the Argentine ambassador at the United Nations, José María Ruda, who presented and defended the Argentine position, which was widely supported.

Last thoughts 

The Secretary of State for Malvinas Affairs of Ushuaia, Daniel Arias, made a call to President Javier Milei and the Argentine Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino: “I ask you not to go back on our sovereign rights over the Malvinas Islands. On the contrary, we must move forward. so that this can be resolved through diplomatic means.” The wish of every war veteran is to see the Argentine flag fly in the Malvinas Islands, Arias concluded.

For its part, the current management of the Argentine Government and State – through Presidential Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 70/2023 and the “omnibus” bill – endangers Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, Patagonia and Argentine Antarctica, and other territories of Argentina. Milei’s interest in Patagonia and Antarctica is to open avenues for free market investments and offer these strategic territories to transnational foreign capital.

Photo: Heroes of the Malvinas Plaza, Ushuaia (Micaela Ovelar)