The drilling rig at the center of the dispute
Depending upon whom you ask, the latest flare-up of hostilities between Argentina and the UK over the control of the Falkland Islands (called the Malvinas by Argentina) is either: a) A calculated jingoistic frivolity designed by an increasingly unpopular president to distract the Argentine people from the real problems facing their country or b) The continuation an archaic British imperial system that has long since crumbled and is now making a predictable move to exploit the surrounding waters for oil.
There is, of course, a bit of bloody history behind the islands, which are jointly claimed by the UK and Argentina: (from the Christian Science Monitor)
It was nearly 30 years ago that Argentina occupied the Falkland Islands, attempting to reclaim by force the windswept archipelago that lies 300 miles off the coast of South America.
Argentine forces were handily defeated. But the South American nation has continued to lay claim over the islands, which they call the Malvinas, ever since.
Now the two nations are locked in a battle as British firms set out to begin exploring oil reserves this week in the South Atlantic. While no one expects a military showdown – some analysts dismiss the rhetoric as a political ploy by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s administration to detract attention from domestic woes – the potential of billions of barrels of oil has sparked one of the most tense disputes since the Falklands conflict of 1982.
“The Malvinas is an issue for many Argentines, it is part of the DNA of Argentines,” says Eduardo Diez, a foreign policy expert at the Argentine-American Dialogue think tank in Buenos Aires. “The Malvinas is still a nationalistic issue for many. … It’s also economical: there is really a lot of oil over there.”
And…if that wasn’t enough, Hugo Chavez also has an opinion on the Queen’s possession of what he views as South American territory.
On Sunday, Chávez 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 is over, haven’t you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine people.”
The dispute is being presented to the United Nations this week, which recognizes the territory as disputed and has passed resolutions urging the two parties to find a resolution. However, the UK is a permanent member of the security council, and thus has veto power over any resolution the UN may attempt to pass.
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BONUS: For our Spanish-speaking readers, the excerpt of “Alo Presidente” where Hugo Chavez tells the Queen of England that her empire is dead.
[Falkland Island: British oil drillers reopen dispute with Argentina | Christian Science Monitor]
[Oil drilling begins in Falklands | Al Jazeera]
[Hugo Chavez – "Reina de Inglaterra, devuelvele las Malvinas | Youtube]
