President Javier Milei argued that his economic policies are part of the government’s sovereignty claim over the Islas Malvinas in a speech he gave Wednesday for Veterans Day. April 2 is a public holiday in Argentina in commemoration of the country’s fallen soldiers in the 1982 Malvinas War against the United Kingdom. 

“We want to turn Argentina into such a power that [islanders] choose to be Argentine, without any further arguments or convincing required,” he said. The president added that the “liberating path” led by his administration is aimed at the country “regaining the highest GDP per capita” he alleges Argentina once had so that “all world inhabitants fantasize with the Argentine dream.”

Milei words seemed to imply that the islanders are entitled to self-determination. Argentina’s historic position, which has been upheld by the United Nations, is that the Malvinas were colonized by the British, and therefore the right of self-determination afforded to native populations is not applicable. 

The president went on to say that economic success is what his government “understands to be sovereignty.” Nonetheless, he called on to “remember the heroes who gave their lives for the country” and reiterated his “uncompromising demand” for sovereignty, vowing to exhaust all “diplomatic measures in order for the islands to be back in Argentina’s hands.”

He added that the Argentine claim has been “harmed […] by the economic and diplomatic decisions of the political caste” and that the only way to reclaim the islands is “opening ourselves to international trade and adopting a foreign policy aligned with free nations.”

Much like he did during the 2024 ceremony, he insisted on the need to strengthen Argentina’s military. He claimed that “the disarmament and the deliberate demonization of the Armed Forces” are part of “a perfect recipe” to keep the Malvinas Islands “forever in the hands of foreigners.”

Milei pronounced these words at a monument celebrating the fallen soldiers at the San Martín plaza in Retiro, Buenos Aires City. The site contains 25 black granite plaques with the names of the 649 soldiers who died engraved on them. He was joined, among others, by his sister and Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei, Buenos Aires City Mayor Jorge Macri, and Lower House President Martín Menem, among others. 

In a new sign reiterating the fracture between the government’s two leading authorities, Vice President Victoria Villarruel was once again absent. She instead attended a tribute to the Malvinas veterans in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego province

A speech in defense of Southern Atlantic resources

Villarruel was the keynote speaker at the ceremony in the Argentine south. She was accompanied by Tierra del Fuego Governor Gustavo Melella and Ushuahia Mayor Walter Claudio Raúl Vuoto, among others.

The vice president stayed clear of Milei’s economy-centered stance. She called for the “implementation of continental policies” to protect country resources and argued that “the security of the South Atlantic cannot be left in the hands of an extracontinental power.” 

Villarruel also denounced what she called a “de-Malvinization campaign” that she claimed has tried to impose a “maliciously twisted story” on the Armed Forces actions at the war. She went on to say that honoring the men and women who fought in Malvinas is the “pillar” from which to begin the “reconstruction” of Argentina. 

“In a fractured society, where a political class submerged in an alarming decadence is promoting division and hate speech, the Malvinas cause is our nation’s only pledge of unity,” she said.

Other speakers at the event also criticized Milei’s comments on the islanders wishing to be Argentines. Ushuaia Malvinas Veteran President Juan Carlos Parodi reiterated the country’s historic position that self-determination does not apply in this case, given that it is a non-native population.

Governor Melella also mentioned the president’s speech, saying that “someone in Buenos Aires said he dreams that the illegal inhabitants of the islands want to be Argentine.” 

“I don’t dream of that, on the contrary,” he said. “I dream of the day they leave once and for all, because they are not the native population, they were implanted and they kicked out all the Argentines.”

Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.