'Argentina has non-negotiable sovereignty over the Falklands', country's new right-wing president Javier Milei declares

[u/457655676]

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/javier-milei-argentina-falklands-sovereignty/

[u/tobe01]

From the article: "Mr Milei, 53, said in the debate: "We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels."

[u/__Hello_my_name_is__ → u/tobe01]

"Give us the Falkland Islands!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleaaase?"

"No."

"Welp we tried everything, guys. Diplomacy just doesn't work!"

[u/Thue → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

I assume that after having fought and died in the Falklands War, it is completely unthinkable for any British government to give up the islands. From a PR perspective, there are no way to spin that.

[u/nagrom7 → u/Thue]

What makes it worse for PR is that the people in the Falklands overwhelmingly prefer to be part of the UK than part of Argentina. They did a referendum several years ago about whether or not they should stay in the UK, and over 99% voted to stay (literally 3 people voted 'no'), which is as close to a unanimous vote as you can get in these kinds of things.

[u/KhenirZaarid → u/nagrom7]

And of the three who voted 'no' one did it as a joke to be funny, one did it as a joke to piss off his wife, and the last one made a mistake on their ballot and had intended to vote 'yes'

[u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In → u/KhenirZaarid]

I 100% assumed the 'no' votes were from people you'd politely call 'local characters'

[u/WoodyTSE → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

The town mentalists

[u/TeaLightBot → u/WoodyTSE]

They'll be the next presidents

[u/Trips-Over-Tail → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

I assumed they were from people who had to stand next to the guy wearing a full Union Jack suit and could not bring themselves to have any more in common with him than they absolutely had to.

[u/TheLoneWolfMe → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

One did It as a joke apparently.

[u/MolhCD → u/KhenirZaarid]

lmao there's so little votes to "no" they tracked them down to ask why

[u/AntikytheraMachines → u/MolhCD]

4 people claimed to have voted no. One guy voted yes but claimed to have voted no just to piss off his wife.

[u/deathschemist → u/KhenirZaarid]

all of which are very british things to do.

[u/RogerSterlingsFling → u/deathschemist]

Only missing some one voting for Boaty McBoatface

[u/Notoryctemorph → u/nagrom7]

The only argument Argentina has for sovereignty over the Falklands is being geographically closer to them than Britain

First discovered by the British, first settled by the British, held for the longest time by the British by a factor of 10, currently held by the British, and even during the brief time period when the British didn't own the islands, Argentina still didn't, because Argentina wasn't independent from Spain yet.

It's absolutely baffling that Argentina is still hung up over these tiny islands in the middle of nowhere that they have no historical relation to and have never owned.

EDIT: Ok technically it was first settled by the French, but the first British and French settlements were set up within a year of each other so... ehh

[u/Xanadoodledoo → u/Notoryctemorph]

Damn, I was gonna say “what about the natives?” But turns out, there weren’t any. No colonialist baggage! (Except with other Europeans)

[u/Drunky_McStumble → u/Xanadoodledoo]

Technically, that means the descendants of the original British colonists are the indigenous islanders.

[u/StickyWhiteStuf → u/Drunky_McStumble]

Not technically. They are, the Falklands are as British as Berlin is German

[u/Cacophonous_Silence → u/StickyWhiteStuf]

Yep, there's literally no valid argument to the contrary

People make the culture. The culture mainly descends from Britain. The islands are British.

[u/HBlight → u/Cacophonous_Silence]

Im Irish and even I'm like "They got that island fair and square" It's like.. literally the only time they ever did. How the fuck does Argentina not only lose the war soundly, but pick a fight the only time a massive asshole is in the right.

[u/Tasgall → u/Cacophonous_Silence]

They're British isles, you say.

[u/RedHotChiliCrab → u/Xanadoodledoo]

Even if there were native Falklanders, they still wouldn't be Argentinian.

[u/woadhyl → u/RedHotChiliCrab]

And argentina still wouldn't care if there were pre british natives. They would still claim its theirs.

[u/BambooSound → u/Xanadoodledoo]

Even if it were inhabited, it's hardly like Argentina's a bastion for indigenous people's freedoms.

Argentina's a Spanish colonial project that went independent.

[u/BuffaloCorrect5080 → u/Xanadoodledoo]

There's a lot of penguins but noone can tell if they speak Spanish or English

[u/The_Flurr → u/Xanadoodledoo]

The Falklands belong to the penguins damnit.

[u/derkonigistnackt → u/Notoryctemorph]

It's been 40 years of brainwashing. We have a little military march that we have to sing at school about it and all. Every president after the military government has to habe that stance or people call him a traitor. I would really like a time machine to ask regular Argentinians before 1982 if they've ever even heard of the "Islas Malvinas". The war was a last haymaker of the military government to try to stay in power, and it's been used as a tactic to distract people from a horrible economy ever since.

[u/gourmetguy2000 → u/derkonigistnackt]

It's a shame as we used to have good relations with them. Their beef is Aberdeen Angus and we taught them how to raise them

[u/Bucen → u/Notoryctemorph]

I was visiting my argentinian friends earlier this year and the countries obsession with these islands is insane. They already have so much land that they don't use, why do they want more. They also keep going how it belonged to them original while that is a thing 400 years in the past (and also Argentina didn't exist back then, but they don't care), and how the geographic location demands ownership. And when I said: and what do you want to do with the people who actually live there? "Just get rid of them".

"malvinas belong to us" is written on every bus, sprayed on every wall, and is said in every political speech.

[u/eyebrows360 → u/Bucen]

And there's the real reason their leaders keep harking on about it - it energises the idiot masses and allows the leaders to bend that support to achieving whatever goals they actually have. A time as old as tale!

[u/Tailcracker → u/nagrom7]

The people aren't a consideration for Argentina, they wouldn't care if even 100% of the people identified with the UK because its the land and surrounding territory they really care about. Funnily enough there happens to be a fair amount of oil and natural gas in the area near the Falklands and Argentina wants it (As does the UK obviously)

The Falklands government has contracted several companies for oil and gas exploration but Argentina keeps kicking up a big fuss about it every time they try, calling it "illegal" and saying the exploration licenses are invalid because the Falklands government is illegitimate.

Argentina passed a law a while back which basically says that hydrocarbons belong to the province they're found in or to the nation if the oil wasn't in an identifiable province. They then used this law a few years later in 2015 to get a court order passed in their own courts to sieze some assets (Worth about $150m) from these companies in Falklands territory as they see it as their own territory. Its not really clear if Argentina actually enforced this court order but the UK foreign office had to get involved on behalf of the companies and I imagine the UK military would have retaliated if Argentina had tried to take the assets by force.

Argentina have also filed a lot of lawsuits against the drilling companies in UK courts over the past 10 years claiming that the companies are taking resources from Argentinian territory and that the "Riches" are being stolen from the Argentinian people. I imagine that even though oil may not have been the reason the Falklands conflict started, it's probably a major reason why it still persists today.

[u/apr400 → u/nagrom7]

Amusingly, 13 of the registered voters were Argentinian.

[u/JegElskerGud → u/nagrom7]

The Falklanders themselves are overwhelmingly of British heritage. Why would they want to be ruled by a foreign people with a foreign language?

[u/stevepremo → u/Thue]

I can see one way it might happen: if the local population petitioned parliament to secede from the UK and join Argentina, had an election, and voted for Argentina, and parliament went along with it. I also believe that there are snowball fights in Hell, that pigs fly, and that monkeys fly out of my butt.

[u/planck1313 → u/stevepremo]

The islands are not part of the UK. They are a British overseas territory. The attitude of the UK is that the local people can decide what relationship, if any, they want with the UK. The local people voted overwhelmingly about ten years ago to become self-governing but stay a British territory.

[u/Xanadoodledoo → u/planck1313]

I wonder what it’s like living there? Their population is smaller than my tiny home town. Where do they get their groceries?

[u/pbjork → u/Xanadoodledoo]

I've been there. March of 2020. Airport has one commercial flight a week that flies into the military base about an hour out of town. There wasn't tons of options. But a grocery store, hardware store, electronics store, pubs, restaurants, and a hospital all within walking distance if you were in Stanley. Cruise ship tourism and fishing are the major industries. All of their Internet comes from one satellite dish. I spent about 15 pounds a day on internet while I was down there for work. Other than that very rural lots of sheep (600,000 sheep to 2,000 people) and cows on farms. And the penguins were awesome.

[u/essaysmith → u/pbjork]

So the same price for internet as Canada, got it. Of course, we only have one satellite dish too.

[u/DOUBLEBARRELASSFUCK → u/stevepremo]

I also believe that there are snowball fights in Hell, that pigs fly, and that monkeys fly out of my butt.

I strongly question the first two of these, but on the third, you are an expert and I am not.

[u/GAdvance → u/Thue]

I think the people of the UK would be more likely to give up several actual mainland British cities than the Falklands.

Wed trade Birmingham just for fun.

[u/Next_Grab_9009 → u/GAdvance]

Wed trade Birmingham just for fun

And it would be a damn good trade

[u/GAdvance → u/Next_Grab_9009]

Honestly we should give em it as a gesture of good will

[u/Next_Grab_9009 → u/GAdvance]

I'll even help them saw it off and attach it to the fleet of boats to pull it across the Atlantic.

[u/Lostinthestarscape → u/Next_Grab_9009]

You won't even have to, dude brought his own chainsaw.

[u/Keyndoriel → u/Lostinthestarscape]

Oh my God, it was his plan to have Birmingham all along!

[u/InformationHorder → u/Next_Grab_9009]

I'm aware it's a bit of a joke to bag on Birmingham, but what's the reason why it catches so much flak from you guys?

[u/will_holmes → u/InformationHorder]

I got to watch the light evaporate from someone's open eyes as they were knocked out cold on the top floor of a double decker bus in Birmingham, after they got into an argument with another guy because they lit up a cigarette. I can still see his vacant face if I close my eyes.

It's mainly because the architecture is a bit ugly in places.

[u/Tsquare43 → u/InformationHorder]

I think Ozzy Osborne called it the "Detroit" of the UK.

[u/AlanFromRochester → u/Tsquare43]

and Ozzy is from Birmingham along with the other original Black Sabbath members so presumably he knows what he's talking about

[u/jay1891 → u/AlanFromRochester]

He called it Detroit due to it being a strong working-class City not anything to do with it being a shit hole because it was the industrial heartland of the UK for over a century.

[u/IAmA_Little_Tea_Pot → u/InformationHorder]

It's the Mos Eisley of the UK

[u/buncle → u/IAmA_Little_Tea_Pot]

We shorten it to Moseley.

[u/Next_Grab_9009 → u/InformationHorder]

My mate was there for a night and had his car completely stripped. In a secure car park. Slightly taints ones perception of a place.

[u/Robobvious → u/Next_Grab_9009]

And how do you feel about Stoke Newington?

[u/IMSAfan23 → u/GAdvance]

I swear I really badly want some only from to UK to do like an ELI-5 ten words or less bio on the top 10 biggest cities in the UK

I always wonder that

[u/SlitScan → u/IMSAfan23]

sure I'll Go

1 London, Banks and insurance.

2 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

3 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

4 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

5 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

6 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

7 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

8 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

9 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

10 Doesnt matter, broke former industrial town

[u/SafetyDanceInMyPants → u/SlitScan]

Doesn’t at least one of those need to be “broke former industrial town with a football club?”

[u/AwkwardSquirtles → u/SafetyDanceInMyPants]

Every town has a football club, it goes without saying.

[u/EarthMarsUranus → u/IMSAfan23]

You'd be opening a debate on what the ten biggest cities are but doing first ten that come to mind-

1) London. Expensive, financial hub, touristy.

2) Manchester. Football, home of industrial revolution, now mini London (without tourists)

3) Birmingham. Lot of people. Speak slowly. Not much else. Grey.

4) Liverpool. Beatles. Speak quickly. Beatles. Traditional crime. Beatles.

5) Glasgow. Football riots, whisky, lager, likely to be punched in face by future best friend

6) Edinburgh. Posh, expensive, whisky, tourists expect Nessie to be playing bagpipes on the royal mile

7) Cardiff. Hosted the FA cup final for a bit and couple of Dr Who's filmed there. Nothing else of note.

8) Newcastle. Way aye mon. Indecipherable drunk locals who are great fun and women wearing very little even when it's bloody freezing.

9) Leeds. Students. Not bad but not great. Kind of like a big service station in between Manchester and Newcastle.

10) Bradford. A council estate that Leeds didn't want to claim so somehow got to be its own city.

Honorary mention- Belfast. Shows up in a lot of police dramas. Otherwise associated with the troubles. Cool accent.

[u/planck1313 → u/Thue]

It's not up to the British government anyway. The Falkland Islands are now self-governing except that they have delegated foreign affairs and defence to the UK. The only way the islands become part of Argentina is if the people of the islands decide to join Argentina.

[u/Eoganachta → u/planck1313]

And looking at the past referendums held there, they're not going to be asking to join up anytime soon

[u/burnabycoyote → u/Eoganachta]

1513 voted to stay with UK, but 3 voted (in effect) to join Argentina.

Yet the wishes of the 3 were not respected. The UK rode roughshod over the democratically expressed wishes of the minority and imposed its oppressive colonial agenda.

[u/Bad_Speeler → u/burnabycoyote]

Also remember there were more than 3 Argentinians eligible in that vote so some of them also wanted to be british

[u/DowningStreetFighter → u/Bad_Speeler]

Very sensible chaps.

[u/mrrooftops → u/DowningStreetFighter]

el chapos.

[u/skipperseven → u/burnabycoyote]

Seriously though, apparently two were joking and one made a mistake. Somewhere on Reddit I saw an interview with one of the alleged jokers.

[u/TrekkiMonstr → u/burnabycoyote]

I read an article about that, they interviewed the three and asked them why, I think at least one said it was a joke. Lizardman's constant lol

[u/GIANT_BLEEDING_ANUS → u/Eoganachta]

Wow, I find it hard to believe that Chester Wellington and his wife Margaret Huffington, native falklanders for centuries would choose to stay with the UK instead of Argentina

[u/Jjex22 → u/GIANT_BLEEDING_ANUS]

Well yeah, I mean it’s literally the point isn’t it? those are the people who’ve been there hundreds of years… there are no indigenous people… how about we let them decide? It’s crazy I know.

If you want to arbitrarily pick a year from a couple of hundred years ago and redraw all the borders to that, an awful lot of people are gonna be pissed about it. Argentina want the world to be specifically between their independence from Spain and when the Brit’s retook the islands. So the US would have to give quite a bit of land back to Mexico in this plan too, and the Brit’s would be re-colonising half the world.

You know what? That might be a stupid idea

[u/burst__and__bloom → u/Jjex22]

They're indigenous, the Falklands were uninhabited prior to European settlement. This is like the only one where you can say "yeah, such-and-such Empire was here first."

[u/deathschemist → u/Jjex22]

the descendents british settlers on the falklands, by virtue of being literally the first people there, are the indigenous falklanders.

[u/LordOverThis → u/Thue]

It's not just that. Essentially everyone on the islands is of British descent and considers themselves British. Ceding them to Argentina would be like the US deciding to acknowledge Canadian sovereignty over Wisconsin and the U.P.

[u/Juviltoidfu → u/LordOverThis]

Wisconsin, hell no, I like cheese too much. Michigan's Upper Penninsula? Ok, we'll pay them $15 to take it but not one penny more.

We'd still have 50 states, so we don't have to change much, Congress wise.

[u/ignost → u/Thue]

The UK is used to losing its colonies. In fact, those I have spoken to don't view the loss of the colonies in the American war of independence as that big a deal. Not talked about in school that much, etc.

The UK was ready to sign the islands over. The problem is the islands really don't want to be under Argentinian control, and successfully lobbied in the UK against it. Even today it's basically unanimous. 99.8% want to remain with the UK, and that's with sovereignty on the table.

[u/doublestitch → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

In 2013 the Falkland Islands held a referendum: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?"

92% of eligible voters participated.

Yes: 1,513 (99.80%)

No: 3 (0.20%)

Not a whole lot of people live there. But they're very sure about what they want.

[u/WTFvancouver → u/__Hello_my_name_is__]

"I'll be your friend"

[u/bumboclawt → u/tobe01]

Sounds like a non-issue to me then

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/bumboclawt]

Basically every Argentinian leader post war does this level of posturing in regards to the Falklands, it's far from unprecedented and has negligible odds of turning into anything more serious.

[u/enonmouse → u/tobe01]

That an impressively empty promise... that is some fine politicin

[u/Bluemikami → u/enonmouse]

Every time there’s some big issues with Argentina, they resort to talk about the Falklands. Never fails

[u/IterationFourteen → u/Bluemikami]

As an outsider with no dog in tue race it looks a bit embarrassing.

[u/HipLounge → u/IterationFourteen]

He’s confirming the status quo, it’s a reassuring stance that the future president is not all that crazy and revolutionary as the campaign persona.

[u/flamehead2k1 → u/Bluemikami]

Every time there’s some big issues with Argentina

When isn't there big issues?

[u/HipLounge → u/enonmouse]

What else is he supposed to say? Every Argentine president when asked this question can only say one thing. Realism is a bitch when it’s not in our favor.

[u/GrumpGrease → u/HipLounge]

If he is really the maverick he says he is, he should tell people the Falklands don't belong to Argentina and are a stupid distraction. Because that's the truth.

[u/ChallengeRationality → u/GrumpGrease]

That would be one unelected maverick

[u/HipLounge → u/ChallengeRationality]

Curious if milei actually calls himself a Maverick? I’m having John McCain flashbacks

[u/PotentialNovel1337 → u/HipLounge]

I'm having Top Gun flashbacks.

[u/acqualunae → u/GrumpGrease]

That would be political suicide for a matter that has no weight for Argentina beyond chauvinism. There is a line between being a maverick and being stupid.

[u/DubC_Bassist → u/tobe01]

What do the people living in the islands think at this point?

[u/spear117 → u/DubC_Bassist]

Considering they speak English and are descendants from British people and follow British costumes and in he last referendum only two people voted for joining Argentina...

[u/Throawayooo → u/spear117]

And they admitted they did that as a joke lol

[u/we_are_devo → u/Throawayooo]

they really like empanadas

[u/Alichforyourniche → u/Throawayooo]

Imagine nobody else voted? That would have been a laugh.

[u/Sleyvin → u/Alichforyourniche]

Brexit in a nutshell.

[u/TheDarkLord566 → u/spear117]

They didn't vote to join Argentina. They voted to not continue the Falklands' status as a British Overseas Territory. Three people voted to not continue the status, and they interviewed two of them. One of them did this as a joke, the other wanted an independent Falklands. Neither wanted to join Argentina.

[u/Auto_Pie → u/DubC_Bassist]

The actual populace themselves have a high standard of living and are unlikely to want their struggling neighbours suddenly poking around

[u/inko75 → u/DubC_Bassist]

well, they're all brits and when they did an election with the poll question, 99.8% voted to stay in the UK. three people voted against.

[u/SteveFoerster → u/inko75]

And apparently two said they were joking and one clicked the wrong button or something, so it was de facto unanimous.

[u/nagrom7 → u/DubC_Bassist]

Last time they asked them about a decade ago, 99.8% wanted to remain part of the UK.

[u/Special-Market749 → u/DubC_Bassist]

The British found the islands uninhabited. The only people living in the islands have always been British. The only reason Argentina claims anything is because of its relative proximity. They have no historical or cultural claim.

[u/Everestkid → u/Special-Market749]

That's not quite true. There were various colonial powers on the Falklands, including the French and the Spanish. The US had de facto control over them at one point.

Argentina inherited Spain's claim to the islands upon them gaining independence in the early 1800s. Then the UK asserted their sovereignty over the islands in 1833 after Argentina appointed a governor to the islands. Then literally next to nothing of importance happened there for just under 150 years.

So yeah, other than the 2 months where they were occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War, the islands have been a British territory for almost 200 years.

[u/Stock-Eye-8107 → u/tobe01]

"Recover"?

[u/Intruder313 → u/tobe01]

Can’t recover what was never yours

But at least it’s ’diplomacy’ instead of invasion

[u/Wise-Yogurtcloset844 → u/Intruder313]

Well, "war is continuing diplomacy through other means" as they say.

[u/Njorls_Saga → u/Wise-Yogurtcloset844]

They tried it that way once. It didn’t go well. It would go worse a second time.

[u/MagicStar77 → u/tobe01]

Wait, didn’t he praise GB Falklands before getting presidency? I remember reading how he praised and said it belongs to the UK?

[u/SkylineReddit252K19S → u/MagicStar77]

No, he said he likes Thatcher which is far from the same thing.

[u/El_Chanate]

All Argentinians presidents since the war have said this.

[u/pixi_bob → u/El_Chanate]

But this one has a chainsaw

[u/Br0nnOfTheBlackwater → u/pixi_bob]

Never bring a chainsaw to a naval battle.

[u/Calavant → u/Br0nnOfTheBlackwater]

Unless you are either Doomguy or Ciaphas Cain. Hint: This fellow isn't.

[u/CramConnosoiur → u/Calavant]

CI-CI-CIAPHUS CAIN! HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!

[u/PoopingWhileRunning → u/Calavant]

Ciaphas Cain

The man is just trying to enjoy his vacation at one of the Imperium's quietest and most isolated backholes. It's only natural that some chaos cult would spring up to disturb him.

[u/Zedrackis → u/PoopingWhileRunning]

This should be a dark tide dlc.

[u/Flatus_Diabolic → u/Calavant]

Or Ash Williams.

[u/titaniumhud → u/Flatus_Diabolic]

Groovy

[u/JulianZ88 → u/titaniumhud]

I watched Evil Dead and Army of Darkness during Halloween, those movies still slap, cheesy but good.

[u/popojo24 → u/titaniumhud]

I know Ash was first, but I only hear Earthworm Jim

[u/wimpyroy → u/pixi_bob]

Oh in that case he has my vote.

[u/lilrabbitfoofoo → u/El_Chanate]

He's playing all the hits...

[u/Longhag → u/El_Chanate]

His hair and leather jacket is reminiscent of that period too.

[u/mysorebonda]

This has been Argentinas stated position for years . Nothing new is being said

[u/alex_0-]

For those unaware. It is written in their constitution that the Falklands are a part of Argentina so asking him that question was a trick question.

He is a big Thatcher fan and one of the first things he tweeted out after winning was this

https://x.com/margbarrusiye/status/1726676098472403138?s=20

[u/ward2k → u/alex_0-]

He also came out and said that they (Argentina) had lost the war so could only hope to get the islands back democratically

Honestly it's probably the closest an Argentinian president can come to just saying "we don't really care about the Falklands"

Edit: The actual translated quote for anyone interested

Mr Milei, 53, said in the debate: "We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels."

[u/fulaghee → u/ward2k]

This is it. He's required by law to say that the islands are Argentinian. But from all the things that he's required by law to say about the subject he chose to say the mildest.

[u/Key_Inevitable_2104 → u/ward2k]

Wasn’t Argentina a dictatorship during the war?

[u/MoreGaghPlease → u/Key_Inevitable_2104]

Yes, the war resulted in the downfall of the Argentine military junta and transition to democracy

[u/MoreGaghPlease → u/ward2k]

For those unfamiliar, the residents of the island are like 99% in favour of continued British status. Argentina’s claim is based on the fact that they briefly seized control in 1829 before being ousted by the US about a year later and then retaking it again in 1833 before being ousted by the UK a month later. The islands had no permanent indigenous population and seems to have been devoid of people when settled by France in the 1760s (though there is some evidence that it was historically visited by the Yahgan people, many centuries before)

[u/ProbablyNotMoriarty → u/MoreGaghPlease]

I would be too if my choices were between Britain and Argentina. One is, for now, a stable democracy and leading world power. The other hasn’t had a stable government or economy for 50 years and is mired in spiraling inflation.

[u/Sr_DingDong → u/ward2k]

There's no 'back' though. They never had it.

I reckon the UK has more of a claim to France than Argentina does to the Falklands.

[u/Ambitious5uppository → u/Sr_DingDong]

Given the proximity. And which has existed longer...

The UK has more claim to Argentina than Argentina has to the Falklands.

If their argument is that 'it's really close by'... Well, close works in both directions haha.

[u/Reapper97 → u/alex_0-]

He is a big Thatcher fan and one of the first things he tweeted out after winning was this

https://x.com/margbarrusiye/status/1726676098472403138?s=20

That's not true lmao

[u/spacecatbiscuits → u/alex_0-]

Mr Milei, 53, said in the debate: "We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels."

But Diana Mondino also said that the will of the Falklanders themselves must be respected.

"In such a process we can’t leave out those people who live in the Islands, we must include the interests of people living in the Island," she said.

A statement on the Argentine government’s website says: "The recovery of these territories and the full exercise of its sovereignty, respecting the way of life of its inhabitants and following the principles of International Law, constitutes a permanent and irrevocable objective of the Argentine people."

Man says completely reasonable thing.

Media posts a load of horseshit.

So the usual then.

[u/HowVeryReddit → u/alex_0-]

I hadn't considered before how hilarious it was for an Argentinian to love Thatcher, ooooooh that is exquisite.

[u/_nicocito → u/alex_0-]

It is not true that he tweeted that. That's an altered image. It's as simple as going through his profile on twitter to see that he did NOT tweet that.

[u/dysfunctionalpress]

he's kinda right- their level of sovereignty over the falklands IS non-negotiable...they have none.

[u/JoeCartersLeap → u/dysfunctionalpress]

What's funniest about this to me is that it's probably the one bit of Britain's colonial history that is actually morally and ethically justified - there were no indigenous natives on the islands, and the Brits were the first human beings to land there.

It's literally the healthiest and most positive example of colonization in Britain's history, and they want to try to attack it for being unjust. It's hilarious.

[u/Optix_au → u/JoeCartersLeap]

As it was the first time, just to distract the people from their government's corruption. "Look over there!"

[u/AvatarOfMomus → u/Optix_au]

The funniest thing about this is if they declared war over the Falklands in the next six months the Tories would probably give this idiot an award...

[u/diff-int → u/AvatarOfMomus]

The Tories would fucking love them to have another pop at the Falklands. Falklands war 2.0 is probably literally the only possible way they could get re-elected

[u/TheKnightsTippler → u/JoeCartersLeap]

Also the Argentinians themselves are largely descended from European colonisers, and part of their claim to the Falklands is based on Spain, a European colonial power, granting it to them.

They seem to conveniently forget that though when they want to play the coloniser card.

[u/Caelan05 → u/TheKnightsTippler]

this, Britain gets all the shits for there empire but no one talks about the Spanish empire that ruined south America and the French empire who colonized the majority of north America

[u/rafucalsmithson → u/Caelan05]

Yeah, the people who's ancestors never even left Britain, and still live there themselves, getting lectured over colonialism by the descendents of colonists, who are living in a colony and benefitted from colonialism is a bit rich isn't it?

[u/Ambitious5uppository → u/JoeCartersLeap]

The funniest part of Britain's colonial history for me, is that when Britain first started to explore the northern territories of Australia, they met a native who spoke English...

He had never heard of Britain, but he had done trade with Singapore and learned the language there.

[u/JernejL → u/Ambitious5uppository]

I would like a source on this.

[u/TheNewGildedAge → u/JoeCartersLeap]

I've read about colonialism in depth for like ten fucking years at this point. I still have no idea what actually constitutes morally just land ownership for a large group of people.

It seems to be some combination of who is indigenous + who has lived there the longest + who is there most recently + how close it is to the rest of your land + who bought it + how people feel about it right now lol + the positioning of the stars + sunspots

[u/kaitco → u/TheNewGildedAge]

You forgot about the moon’s alignment.

[u/ChasyLainsJellyHatch → u/dysfunctionalpress]

Yeah. But please, if you must, try again.

[u/Ampatent → u/ChasyLainsJellyHatch]

The Falkland Islands are an incredibly vital seabird sanctuary and nesting area for species of the Southern Ocean. It would be best if people weren't lobbing bombs at it for the sake of national pride.

[u/DOUBLEBARRELASSFUCK → u/Ampatent]

Oddly enough, the extensive mint fields laid during the conflict have served to aid in that preservation. The birds aren't heavy enough to set off the mines, but humans are kept away from the nests because they, interestingly enough, are.

[u/tsrich → u/DOUBLEBARRELASSFUCK]

Mint fields sound delightful

[u/KhenirZaarid → u/tsrich]

Exploding with flavour

[u/banjowashisnamo → u/tsrich]

I know! For a moment I thought the Falklands had a blossoming herb industry.

[u/DOUBLEBARRELASSFUCK → u/tsrich]

Shit.

[u/TildeCommaEsc → u/dysfunctionalpress]

You'd think a libertarian would leave it to the people who live there.

[u/kihraxz_king → u/TildeCommaEsc]

Libertarians only want gubment to leave THEM alone. OF COURSE it still gets to tell YOU what to do.

[u/clgoodson → u/TildeCommaEsc]

I’d think a libertarian would think up some stupid-as-shit theory for why they get to own the island personally. Libertarians are about freedom for themselves and fuck everybody else.

[u/BlowjobPete]

1. All previous Argentinian presidents have had the same viewpoint.

2. Milei only said this in a presidential debate in which the other candidate asked him for his position.

3. Because Argentine sovereignty over the islands is mentioned in the Argentine constitution.

4. And he immediately said if any attempts to regain sovereignty happen, they should be by democratic means.

At this point it's just so tired and transparent. A deceptive headline, top voted post on worldnews, completely devoid of any details that show this statement to be a complete non-issue. Do you posters not see how this site is influencing your opinion? How many other convenient half-truths have you upvoted and even worse, believed?

[u/ukulele87 → u/BlowjobPete]

Simple minds need simple truths.
Always has been the case, dont waste your energy.

[u/ABitTooMeh]

The Falklands have been British since 1765. Argentina was founded in 1816.

[u/Cash_Prize_Monies → u/ABitTooMeh]

Argentina was founded in 1816.

The top half was.

Patagonia didn't become part of Argentina until the Conquest of the Desert in the 1870's.

[u/MaintenanceInternal → u/ABitTooMeh]

This really the only point that needs to be made.

Britain didn't have anyone there, but just because you pop out for a pint of milk doesn't mean Argentina can make claim.

[u/BeltfedOne]

Oh boy, are we going to do this again?

[u/xarsha_93 → u/BeltfedOne]

This has been the stance of every Argentine president since the war. It’s nothing new and I don’t even know why it’s a headline.

[u/Tomycj → u/xarsha_93]

serves to show how little reddit knows about what's actually going on down there

[u/LetsGetNuclear → u/BeltfedOne]

Margret Thatcher is rising from her grave. We can't tolerate that!

[u/Unhappy_Gazelle392 → u/LetsGetNuclear]

Somehow... Thatcher returned.

[u/heretic27 → u/LetsGetNuclear]

From the article

Argentina continues to dispute the Falklands' status, and previous president Alberto Fernandez called Britain's control over the islands an "anachronistic colonial situation".

In that context Mr Milei's position could be seen as relatively conciliatory. He even praised Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Conservative prime minister who launched the UK military response to Argentina's invasion.

Mrs Thatcher, still hated by many for ordering the navy to fire on the Belgrano warship, was described by Mr Milei as "one the great leaders in the history of humanity” during his campaign.

[u/NnyBees → u/BeltfedOne]

I'm so sick of these reboots.

[u/Gemmabeta → u/NnyBees]

The Empire Strikes Back was the best film tho.

[u/MikeHuntSmellss]

What falking islands? There's loads of falking islands!

[u/Russian_For_Rent → u/MikeHuntSmellss]

For the unaware

[u/AsgardWarship]

This is a non-story.

Every Argentine president since the war has said some variation of this. Falklands (or Malvinas) is still a major topic in Argentine national consciousness.

[u/Reasonable_Fold6492 → u/AsgardWarship]

From far right to the far left. Every Argentina wants falkland.

[u/AskerLegend]

Their country is suffering from hyper and uncontrollable inflation along with crippling food supplies, high unemployment and high overall poverty. But by all means focus on the falklands.

[u/Tollwayfrock → u/AskerLegend]

What's he supposed to do if someone asks him the question? Is the country getting worse in the 30 seconds it takes to respond?

[u/Thatcher_da_Snatcher → u/AskerLegend]

I mean I don't like the dude but the article says this was during a presidential debate. Does that not imply he was asked a question regarding the topic?

[u/ukulele87 → u/Thatcher_da_Snatcher]

He was, because he previously said he belived the people living in the falklands had right to self determination. Which its not a very acceptable position for a president to have, he said what he said trying to backpedal because it would have costed him votes.
Please, dont listen to idiots living in the other side of the world who dont know shit about our country. This guy its shit and most people know it, but 55% belived it was the lesser shit.
Take the word of 55% of people who live in this country and not an idiot with a liberal arts major that its on the verge of a mental breakdown because he has 8% anual inflation. And probably has a persecution fetish or is opressed in some imaginary way.

[u/EmilioNoCaprio → u/AskerLegend]

Lol front page of their playbook. Avert attention away from the corruption you’re involved in by convincing people there is an outside force they really need to be concerned about.

[u/Icefrog1 → u/EmilioNoCaprio]

This literally didn't happen. He is focusing on the immediate problems. The other candidate pressed him on the Falklands issue and even accused him of not caring about them, this was more than a week ago. This is a clickbait headline.

[u/cadaada → u/EmilioNoCaprio]

from the corruption you’re involved in

the guy isnt even in the government yet and already involved in some corruption case? tell me more

[u/CanadianRoyalist]

There are three things in life that are certain. Death, taxes, and that the Falkland Islands will remain British.

[u/lpfbs]

2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum

Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?

​

Yes - 1,513 - 99.80%

No - 3 - 0.20%

[u/ShadoutRex → u/lpfbs]

The Argentinians claim that doesn't count because the population isn't native. Doesn't matter to them that (a) the settlers go back up to 10 generations now, and (b) the Argentinians have 0 generations.

[u/Trollhouse_Cookies]

He looks like Robin Williams as Frodo Baggins

[u/Jodelbert]

Let's send the three best British diplomats over there. Maybe let them use some iconic cars and do a road trip, a grand tour, of sorts and documentit. That way everyone can learn about Argentina. Let's kick this into top gear and see this issue resolved.

[u/Auto_Pie]

previous president Alberto Fernandez called Britain's control over the islands an "anachronistic colonial situation".

What and constantly demanding it just be handed over isn't? Ok then let's ask the people who live there what they think

Oh that's right someone did 10 years ago, 99.8% in favour of the status quo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Falkland_Islands_sovereignty_referendum

[u/BufferUnderpants]

This guy is more moderate than the left wing on this. The first step for Americans and Europeans when learning about Argentinian politics is to forget everything they know.

[u/jawndell]

One thing Argentina’s history teaches us is that no matter who’s in charge, they’ll fuck it up even worse than before.

[u/dude_abides_here]

Didn’t they settle this a few decades ago?

[u/portarthurpanda → u/dude_abides_here]

Decades ago British Harrier jets fought Argentine A4s over the Falklands. Today Britain has F35s and Typhoons, while the Argentine Air Force has...the same A4s. Like, literally the same airframes.

[u/SteveThePurpleCat → u/portarthurpanda]

They aren't quite the same now though, they can no longer fly and Argentine pilots getting a single digit number of flying hours per year in jets.

[u/Fofolito → u/dude_abides_here]

Oh, he won't do anything. This is an old tactic, it's the same thing China does with Taiwan. You never relinquish a claim on a territory no matter what the reality on the ground is because it costs you nothing, and more importantly you can always play it to a sympathetic tune back home. The song goes a little like this, "That's ours and they took it from us! / Ignore the obvious faults in my governance / Hey look at what they took from you!"

[u/uoco → u/Fofolito]

In the case of Taiwan it's more like Commie China took China from Taiwan

[u/hamstringstring]

Ugh. Natives never settled these islands, Spain never settled these islands, 90% of the islands speak English. Argentina's claim to to these islands is as strong as a fart against the wind. Can we get to a place where the Falklands don't have the overhanging threat of invasion because of dumbass Argentinian nationalism?

[u/andyrocks → u/hamstringstring]

Technically the Islanders are the natives.

[u/daisy62s]

Why does he kind of look like Robin Williams