Political Thoughts - the magazine

"The Falklands have always been Argentine" is taught to every Argentine child as a matter of faith.  What was Argentina during the time when it "always" possessed Las Malvinas?  In this article I will trace the history of Argentina in the context of its physical and political relationship with "Las Malvinas", the Falkland Islands.  The Argentine claim to the Falkland Islands dates from a brief episode in 1831-32 so it is like Canada claiming the USA despite two centuries of separate development. This might sound like ancient history but Argentina has gone to war for this ancient claim so the following article is well worth reading. For a summary of the legal case see: Las Malvinas: The Legal Case Argentina traces its origins to Spanish South America when it was part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio del Plata.  The Falklands lay off the Viceroyalty of Peru, controlled by the Captain General of Chile.  In 1810 the Falklands were far from the geographical b...

Argentina's president, Christina Kirchner, announced on Monday that Argentina would expropriate Repsol YPF , the largest oil company in the country.  " Expropriation " means that Argentina waited until the share price was low and will now compulsorily purchase all of the shares, including the majority holding of the Spanish parent company, Repsol.  "A tribunal would determine how much compensation that Repsol and other shareholders would receive for their YPF shares". Fadel Gheit, a senior oil analyst at Oppenheimer & Company in New York, said: “The oil industry in Argentina is just getting ready to take off, but this may be a way to kill it in its infancy.” Many countries have avoided investing in Argentina because it is politically risky but the Spanish have encouraged investment out of friendship.  Kirchner has rewarded this friendship in the Argentine fashion.  Other Spanish companies such as Telefonica and Santander are also exposed to Argentine t...

For the original article in English click here: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and La Malvinas .  y The Falklands have always been Argentine - Las Malvinas son Argentinas Las Malvinas es el nombre español de las Falkland Islands. Estos son un grupo de islas, al Oriente de los cuales fueron colonizadas por los franceses en 1764 (East Falkland Island) y al oeste de los cuales fueron colonizadas por los británicos en 1765 (West Falkland Island). Gran Bretaña reclama la soberanía sobre la totalidad de las Islas Malvinas. El francés vendió la East Falkland Island a la española en 1766. En 1770 los españoles atacaron a West Falkland, tomando el control de todo el grupo, pero en 1777 se retiraron bajo la amenaza de los británicos. Las islas son 460 kilometros de distancia de la parte continental de América del Sur, mucho más allá de los límites normales territorial de cualquier país. En 1823 las Provincias Unidas de América del Sur , que reclamó la propiedad de los territorios españ...