Falklands 2.0: War in South America?

The drums of war seem to reverberate not only in the US but also in parts of South America, as several politicians desperately look for scapegoats or political artifices to conceal economic woes in order to cling onto power.

Writes Simon Black (source: lewrockwell.com)

Naturally, the administration of President Cristina Fernandez insists that inflation is not a problem, despite the Argentine peso losing 25% of its value against the US dollar over the last three-years (and far more against gold).

Meanwhile, Fernandez has borrowed her plays from Atlas Shrugged. She’s imposed capital controls, raided pension funds, nationalized private property, and taken control of the media… all in a vain attempt to delay the endgame.

A few weeks ago, the government passed a package of new laws, essentially criminalizing public protest under the auspices of combating terrorism. The legislation, snuck in at a midnight session during the holiday period, provides severe punishment for various crimes under a very broad definition of terrorism.

Fernandez herself maintains that the law would -never- be invoked to restrict the legitimate rights of Argentines. This, from a woman who simultaneously passed legislation to seize control of the country’s newspaper industry.

In her latest move, Fernandez has stepped up her saber-rattling over the Falkland Islands, a nearby archipelago that has been a British territory since 1833 (it is now self-governing). You may remember that Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982 and was subsequently defeated after a bloody conflict with Britain.

It’s a sore subject in Argentina; the government still claims sovereignty over the Falklands (known as Las Malvinas in Argentina), and Fernandez is waving the flag once again.

Last month Argentine naval forces were sent to frustrate commercial fishing around the disputed territory. And in the most recent development, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay announced that they were closing their seaports to any ship flying a Falklands flag (all 25 of them…)

Argentina has also mounted pressure on the British government to reopen negotiations over the Falklands’ sovereignty. Thus far, the Brits have refused.

Cristina Fernandez’s BFF Hugo Chavez recently added to tensions by saying, “The English are still threatening Argentina. Things have changed. We are no longer in 1982. If conflict breaks out, be certain Argentina will not be alone, as it was back then.”

At this point, it’s all just tough talk and petty annoyances. But here’s the thing – there are four billion barrels of oil estimated to be within the Falklands’ territorial waters.

Given the utter insanity with which Fernandez governs her country and the desperation in the Argentine economy, one cannot rule out the possibility of her trying to grab Las Malvinas by force. After all, military conflict is the ultimate social distraction.

Looks likely that a Fernandez led Argentina seems bound for a 1999-2002 crisis relapse.