Buenos Aires, Argentina (AP) – Argentina's liberal president Javier Milei on Wednesday marked the failed attempt of his country's 1982 defeat, trying to force wrestle the Falkland Islands from the UK, expressing the hope that residents of the island will one day choose one day instead of the UK.
Miley's speech surprised many in Argentina, which still claimed sovereignty over the British-controlled archipelago, which despite the victory of Britain, called Ras Malvinas. Political rivals criticized his comments for being too reconciled, and they believed that the island's residents had no right to self-determination because they were not indigenous peoples.
“We hope one day Malvins (Falkland Islander) decides to vote for us with his feet,” Miley said in a ceremony commemorating Argentina's 74-day war in the South Atlantic region.
“That’s why we seek to be power that (the islanders) prefer Argentina.”
The island's approximately 3,000 residents recently voted to remain British overseas territory in a referendum in 2013 – a result rejected by then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a left-leaning populist who claimed Argentina's claims to Las Malvinas were the center of her foreign policy.
As president and most recently vice president over the past decade, Kirchner repeatedly condemned Britain's colonial reservations on the islands and tried to urge Britain to negotiate the future of the territory it ruled since 1833.
On Wednesday, Kirchner and her political allies, ideological opponents of the right-wing president, condemned Milei's adaptation to Britain.
“No self-determination after occupation and expulsion,” former Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero wrote on social media platform X, responding to Miley’s speech, accusing him of “surrendering” the nationalist claims that Argentines fought and died for.
Even politicians of the Central Professional Party were confused by Miley's position on Leon, which had long constituted a unified sense of Argentine patriotism.
During Milei's 2023 presidential election, the former television expert admitted that he was the liberal Margaret Thatcher, a liberal Margaret Thatcher of Britain's prime minister.
Cabinet officials longed to quietly step into the controversy on Wednesday, insisting that Miley's remarks did not change policy.
“Millie not only refers to self-determination, but also says we are not going to stop working on any table or forum,” Defense Secretary Luis Petri told local reporters.
The 43rd anniversary of the war also exposed the highest tensions of the government. Victoria Villarruel, vice president of Milei and a fierce advocate for the Argentine army, fought against it in the 1982 war and flew over 2,800 kilometers (1,700) miles to the cold and cold coast of Argentina on Wednesday to preside over another memorial ceremony.
Villarruel came to power in Ushuaia, and Argentine troops set out first to retake the island – shouting “Long live the motherland!” Shortly after a senior local affairs official gave a speech, condemning Miley's remarks about self-determination.
“Our country must define a clear and clear national defense policy,” Villarruel said.
