President Javier Milei says ‘winds of change’ support Argentina’s claim to Falkland Islands

Argentina's President Javier Milei delivers a speech in which he said the "winds of change" favoured Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands. Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenArgentina's President Javier Milei delivers a speech in which he said the "winds of change" favoured Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands.

Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty ImagesArgentinaPresident Javier Milei says ‘winds of change’ support Argentina’s claim to Falkland IslandsPresident cites Donald Trump’s suggestion that he might reconsider US support for British sovereignty, and threatens swifter sanctions on British oil interests.

Prefer the Guardian on GooglePresident Javier Milei has said “winds of change” favourable to Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands are blowing around the world in a televised address, citing signs that Donald Trump may reconsider the US position on the islands’ sovereignty.

The Argentinian president said the UK was facing “multiple crises of a migratory, demographic and economic nature that are unlikely to be resolved. It is clear that they are on a path of decline.

O futuro da Argentina, no entanto, está florescendo e prevalecerá.

Supporters had expected Milei to use his address to the nation on Thursday night to announce an unprecedented US endorsement of Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Falklands.

Instead, the far-right self-styled libertarian merely referred to Trump’s words last Monday. Asked at the White House whether he was reviewing the US position on the islands, the US president had said: “I always review every position.

Milei portrayed Trump’s response as a “threat” that was “not innocuous”.

View image in fullscreenStanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. In a 2013 referendum, 99. 8% of the islanders voted to remain a British overseas territory.

Fotografia: Rob Carter/Alamy Os EUA reconheceram formalmente a administração de fato do Reino Unido sobre as ilhas, mas não assumiram posição formal sobre a soberania.

Os primeiros relatos de uma possível revisão surgiram em abril, quando um e‑mail interno do Pentágono, divulgado pela Reuters, levantou a perspectiva de Washington reavaliar sua postura como uma forma de punir aliados da OTAN que recusaram participar da guerra no Irã.

In Thursday’s interview, Trump said of the UK: “Your country was not there to help me. We didn’t need help, but I did ask Nato, and I asked your former leader [Keir Starmer], ‘why don’t you send a couple of ships?’.

He said, ‘We don’t have any’. It was pretty sad, the whole thing.”.

Despite the expectations created by Milei and his supporters – the president summoned all his ministers to stand alongside him – the main new elements of the speech were a few decrees announced by the president.

One of them was to speed up sanctions “against those participating in oil extraction initiatives”, specifically citing an offshore oil project in the North Falkland Basin led by the Israeli company Navitas alongside its British partner Rockhopper.

Milei afirmou que o projeto violou a chamada da ONU de que nem Argentina nem Reino Unido tomem ação unilateral no território.

Read moreDespite his “radical” austerity policies, Milei also said he would sign an emergency decree to increase resources for the defence ministry, prioritising the construction of an integrated naval base in Tierra del Fuego.

O projeto de construir uma base lá precede Milei, e a construção começou em 2022.

The UK said earlier this week that its position on the Falklands was “longstanding and unwavering”. It said in a statement: “Sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islanders’ right to self-determination is paramount.

The UK’s position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory.”.

Alguns analistas já haviam visto a recente adesão de Milei à causa das Malvinas como outra tentativa de criar uma “smokescreen” no ponto mais baixo de sua popularidade desde que assumiu o cargo.

He is expected to seek re-election next year.

Amid corruption allegations involving members of his government and poor economic results – his “chainsaw” austerity policies have brought inflation under control, but unemployment and poverty have risen – the far-right president has increasingly turned up the volume on controversial measures, including claims of an anti-Argentina campaign dating back to the World Cup, attacks on Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and an immigration crackdown modelled on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Muitos também observaram que o interesse dele na questão é recente. Milei havia se descrito há muito tempo como um grande admirador de Margaret Thatcher, a primeira‑ministra britânica durante a guerra das Malvinas em 1982, e só começou a adotar uma postura pública pró‑soberania há alguns meses, depois que surgiram relatos de que os EUA poderiam estar reconsiderando sua posição.

The far-right leader also dismissed the principle of self-determination invoked by the UK – in a 2013 referendum, 99. 8% of the islanders voted to remain a British overseas territory.

Echoing the same phrase used by Argentina’s national team on a banner celebrating their victory over England in the World Cup semi-final, Milei said that “The Malvinas are Argentinian.”.