Argentine President Javier Milei radically changed his position on the Falkland Islands issue on Thursday night, becoming an ardent defender of a cause he previously avoided. Milei declared that "our sovereignty faces a concrete and urgent danger," abandoning his previous posture of admiration for Margaret Thatcher and his recognition of the right to self-determination of the islands' inhabitants. Now, the president states that the isleños "constitute an implanted population in an occupied territory and do not have a legitimate right to self-determination," invalidating the referendums held on the islands.
Milei's change of position occurs in a context of rapprochement with Donald Trump's government and recent friction between the United States and Great Britain. The newspaper La Nación observed that "just as the discussion intensifies and criticism of the management results grows, Milei called to postpone all debate behind a flag that never concerned him," suggesting that the measure may be a strategy to divert attention from criticism of his administration.
Among the announced measures, Milei revealed the intention to construct a naval base in the South Atlantic and impose sanctions on oil companies operating in the region of the islands. These actions represent a direct confrontation with London, marking an escalation in the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands.
The anarcho-capitalist Milei, who had previously expressed his fascination with Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister who led the Falklands War in 1982, now archives his old posture and adopts a more confrontational position regarding Great Britain, aligning himself with favorable winds coming from Washington.
