Milei revives Argentina's Falklands claim as approval rating slides

UK responds to Trump’s review signal with ‘unwavering’ commitment

Milei had been increasingly working mentions of the Falklands into his public comments this year, but it was Trump’s Monday remark that provided what Argentine political analysts described as a fresh opening. Asked by a reporter about U.S. policy on the islands, Trump said: “I always review every position, that’s just one of many.” The United States formally recognizes British control of the territory but has historically remained neutral on the question of sovereignty. Trump has been a consistent ally of Milei and a critic of the United Kingdom.

In London, the British government moved quickly to reaffirm its position. A spokesman for the prime minister said the U.K. commitment to the Falkland Islands is “unwavering.” “The Falkland islanders are British, with the right to determine their own future,” he said. The government also restated the U.K. claim in Parliament.

Milei’s standing with voters has eroded as Argentines absorb the costs of his free-market overhaul. His deep spending cuts balanced the budget and slashed the nearly 300% inflation he inherited when he took office in December 2023. But nearly three years later, the economy has yet to recover; job losses are now a top concern for Argentines, and more households are in debt, according to figures from the central bank and local consulting firms cited by the Journal. His approval rating fell to 37% in July — one of the lowest of his presidency — according to an AtlasIntel poll for Bloomberg, casting doubt on his re-election prospects against his leftist Peronist opponents, who want to undo his program. “If we don’t win in next year’s elections, it’s because society wants to commit suicide,” Milei said at a conference on Wednesday.

Michael Shifter, a Latin America scholar at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank, said invoking the Falklands is a long-trusted Argentine playbook for leaders facing political difficulties. “When you have political troubles, this is a tried and true way to try to get out of them and boost support,” Shifter said. “So it’s not surprising that Milei is trying to take full advantage of it for political reasons, because he is in trouble,” he added.

The Falklands claim is one of the few issues that unites Argentines across the political spectrum. After Argentina’s soccer team defeated England at this year’s World Cup, Argentine players displayed a banner with a popular slogan asserting Argentine sovereignty over the islands.

Britain has controlled the islands since 1833, following earlier periods of intermittent French, Spanish and British settlement and competing Argentine claims. In 1982, Argentina’s military dictatorship, grappling with its own economic and political turmoil, ordered marines to occupy the Falklands, overwhelming a small British garrison. The military junta in Buenos Aires received a brief lift in domestic support after declaring the islands Argentine territory. Then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher deployed a naval task force, and Britain reclaimed the territory after a 74-day war in which 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers died; a British submarine sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. Argentina’s defeat contributed to the collapse of the junta and the country’s return to democratic elections in 1983.

In 2013, as Argentina intensified a diplomatic offensive aimed at pressuring the U.K. to negotiate sovereignty, the roughly 3,200 residents of the Falkland Islands — known as Kelpers, mostly descended from British settlers and English-speaking — voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain a British overseas territory. The result was 99.8% in favor of maintaining the status quo.

James Peck, a 57-year-old artist in Stanley, the Falklands capital, said Milei should focus on Argentina’s own problems. Peck, who was 13 when Argentine soldiers invaded in 1982, said he loses patience with Argentine politicians who invoke the Falklands to rally support. “For God’s sake, they have zero information about the people here. I get so tired of it,” Peck said. “What does [Milei] hope to do? At the end of the day, nothing is going to change.”

Milei’s posture on the dispute has shifted since taking office. As a child watching news of the 1982 war on television, he recalled telling his father it would end badly for Argentina — a comment that enraged his father. As a libertarian economist, Milei is a self-described admirer of Thatcher. After his December 2023 inauguration, he told The Wall Street Journal that Argentina’s differences with Britain over the Falklands shouldn’t get in the way of good commercial ties. “We’ve decided to have an adult relationship,” he said at the time.

His current language is markedly different. In announcing Thursday’s speech, Milei wrote on X that Argentina’s sovereignty over the islands continues to be violated. “What more important and strategic cause for the nation’s vital interests could there be than the Malvinas cause?” he asked. “We will continue defending the interests of the Argentine nation tooth and nail,” he said. “No matter who it bothers.”