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Kirchner continues to play a foolish game, manipulating the emotions of the people to maintain political power

Kirchner continues to manipulate Argentine emotions: Risks escalating conflict over the Falklands



For the past year or so Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner has been making the most popular of noises in her homeland as well as on the international stage, that of ‘repatriation’ of the Falkland Isles or as Argentina prefers – Islas Malvinas.
Argentina has long suffered from not quite attaining first world status, choosing instead to permit various forms of corruption that keep a small ruling class wealthy while the rest of the people are denied opportunity and the economy stagnates. The government though has a trump card in the Falklands that other South American nations lack, a British territory sitting three hundred plus miles off their coast that geographically couldn’t belong to anybody else unless it declared independence. Campaigning about Islas Malvinas keeps the people unified and not thinking about how corrupt the government is. Kirchner has ruthlessly exploited the situation to boost her own ratings. Last year, when tensions rose between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar, a UK held large island rock on the Spanish border; the Argentinean President threw heavy support to the Spanish, highlighting that the British ‘do it’ around the world. All of this plays really well amongst the masses who are convinced that the Falklands are theirs. From the earliest ages in Argentina school children are taught this. "It is part of our national identity," says Dr Jorge Castro of the Institute of Strategic Studies, "and the only thing that unites this divided country".

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Kirchner threw down the gauntlet 18 months ago when she took out an advert (a letter to David Cameron) in the Guardian and the Independent, Britain’s two lefty nationals (it’s unlikely that any other paper would have accepted them but the left doesn’t seem to have a problem with undermining its own country). The letter said that the islands had been forcibly stripped from Argentina in "a blatant exercise of 19th Century colonialism" and accused Britain of defying a UN resolution by not holding negotiations on the handover of sovereignty to Argentina. It was in part a test of David Cameron’s resolve. The British Prime Minister is viewed as inconsistent internationally while Kirchner had political points to gain at home and only the taxpayer’s money to lose. But Cameron stated that Britain would go to war again to protect the Falklands though it seems that nobody currently in the halls of British power, except maybe Nigel Farage, would have the fortitude to act as decisively as Margaret Thatcher did in 1982. Thus Kirchner must keep ginning up the people because it is to her political advantage. The problem may become that at some point she must act on her words in order to maintain credibility. As the Falklanders begin oil drilling and distribution serious money is expected to come into play that Kirchner has robbed her country of by her unwillingness to work with the Islands in distribution. Continuing the deception, Falkland fever has now gotten the national soccer team in trouble. In a World Cup warm-up match the team held up a banner that said "Las Malvinas Son Argentinas (The Falklands Are Argentine)", as the teams were being presented. While soccer it must be understood is just a secondary sport in America that makes its biggest blip on the radar every 4 years during the World Cup, the fortunes of the National team in South America and Western Europe are front page stories. The team’s antics have drawn the ire of governing body FIFA and a fine of 30,000 Swiss francs for breaching regulations on “political action”. FIFA tolerates no government interference and recently suspended Nigeria’s membership following their World Cup exit when a court ruled the national association corrupt and ordered it taken over by the civil service. Back in Argentina Kirchner continues to play a foolish game, manipulating the emotions of the people to maintain political power. It may just come around to bite her badly enough to force her out of the game, then again it may corner her into attempting a military solution.


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David C. Jennings -- Bio and Archives

David Jennings is an ex-pat Brit. living in California.

A Christian Minister he advocates for Traditional & Conservative causes.

David is also an avid fan of Liverpool Football Club and writes for the supporters club in America

David Jennings can be found on Twitter
His blog can be read here


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