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# How Argentine far right weaponised the Falklands in its battle over memory
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/falklands-malvinas-argentina-milei-far-right-weaponised-authoritian-measures-launder-military-reputation/
- Published: 2026-09-23T15:37:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T15:37:20.000Z
- Description: Milei is using dispute to impose authoritarian measures, while his vice-president seeks to launder military's reputation
- Author: Florence Evans
- Tags: Opinion, Falklands - Malvinas, Javier Milei, Argentina, United Kingdom

When Argentina defeated England at the World Cup semi-final on 15 July, a hotel bedsheet painted with ‘Las Malvinas son argentinas’ (the Falklands are Argentine) in large black letters became an overnight national symbol – and a political weapon for Javier Milei’s far-right government. 

Around the world, images of the victorious players brandishing the makeshift banner on the pitch immediately sparked a furore over the place of politics in sport. Three weeks later, [FIFA fined Argentina’s football team](https://chequeado.com/el-explicador/mundial-2026-la-fifa-sanciono-a-la-afa-por-la-bandera-de-malvinas-y-los-incidentes-en-la-final-una-por-una-las-multas-y-suspensiones/?ref=opendemocracy.net) $10,000 for violating its ban on political and provocative displays.

But back home, the display was the cause of celebration. The Argentine Football Association[ unanimously voted](https://www.infobae.com/deportes/2026/08/06/el-destino-que-tendra-la-bandera-de-malvinas-que-mostraron-los-jugadores-de-argentina-tras-el-triunfo-ante-inglaterra-en-el-mundial/?ref=opendemocracy.net) to make 15 July an annual ‘Day of the National Football Teams’ and[ confirmed plans](https://www.infobae.com/deportes/2026/08/06/el-destino-que-tendra-la-bandera-de-malvinas-que-mostraron-los-jugadores-de-argentina-tras-el-triunfo-ante-inglaterra-en-el-mundial/?ref=opendemocracy.net) to hand the banner to Malvinas War veterans.

Argentina has historically claimed sovereignty over the Malvinas archipelago, known in English as the Falklands Islands, which is situated in its continental waters and has been occupied by the United Kingdom since 1833\. In 1965, the United Nations [recognised the claim](https://www.cancilleria.gob.ar/es/politica-exterior/cuestion-malvinas/malvinas-en-naciones-unidas?ref=opendemocracy.net) as a sovereign dispute and a colonisation issue. [Every year](https://buenosairesherald.com/world/un-urges-argentina-and-uk-to-resume-malvinas-sovereignty-talks?ref=opendemocracy.net) since then, the UN Special Committee on Decolonization has called both countries to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

But the islands are also closely tied to memory of the 1982 conflict, when the Argentine military dictatorship launched a sweeping operation to invade and recover the islands. It ended in defeat for Argentina 74 days later, after the deaths of 649 Argentine soldiers, many of whom were conscripts, 255 British soldiers and three civilians.

In a 2013 referendum of the 1,500 islanders, which had a turnout of 92%, more than 99% voted to remain a British overseas territory, but it didn’t change the international status of the islands. In Argentina, [polling](https://www.c5n.com/politica/mas-un-66-considera-que-javier-milei-le-importa-poco-o-nada-la-causa-malvinas-n244318?ref=opendemocracy.net) consistently shows that more than 90% of the public believe the islands legitimately belong to Argentina – yet 60% say they would oppose military action over the territory. Instead, they overwhelmingly favour peaceful diplomacy or shared sovereignty models. 

This Argentine anguish over sovereignty is in large part connected to the dictatorial regime’s treatment of its own soldiers during the war. Veterans [have recorded](https://www.fiscales.gob.ar/lesa-humanidad/por-primera-vez-procesaron-a-militares-acusados-de-estaquear-a-conscriptos-en-la-guerra-de-malvinas/?ref=opendemocracy.net) systematic abuse and torture by their officers, with a veterans’ centre in the city of La Plata [spending almost two decades](https://canalabierto.com.ar/2026/04/02/malvinas-44-anos-de-denuncias-por-torturas-y-una-causa-trabada-en-la-corte/?ref=opendemocracy.net) fighting for perpetrators to be tried for crimes against humanity.

Yet some in Milei’s administration have long sought to use the Malvinas conflict to rehabilitate the military dictatorship’s image – and quickly seized upon the opportunity posed by the banner. 

One such person is vice-president Victoria Villarruel, [whose father fought in the 1982 war](https://www.pagina12.com.ar/590312-quien-era-el-padre-de-victoria-villarruel-un-militar-que-se-/?ref=opendemocracy.net) and was part of the military repression of political opponents, and who has herself long been a [staunch defender of the dictatorship](http://enosairesherald.com/politics/victoria-villarruel-the-other-daughter?ref=opendemocracy.net). Sharing a photo of the Argentine footballers with the banner on X, [she wrote](https://x.com/VickyVillarruel/status/2077519309652316181?s=20&ref=opendemocracy.net): “The Malvinas are Argentine. They banned bringing them to the pitch and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts.”

But speaking on public radio the day after the match, Milei brushed off the incident. The president, who has been in a bitter feud with Villarruel since soon after his election win in December 2023, excused the players as simply being “carried away by emotion”. He warned that “we must not fall for trite, populist, nationalist and stale slogans” and branded those linking the football win to the demand for sovereignty [as “miserable”](https://www.politicargentina.com/notas/202607/75182-tras-el-triunfo-ante-inglaterra-milei-califico-de-miserable-la-vinculacion-con-el-reclamo-por-malvinas.html?ref=opendemocracy.net).

A constitutional claim that has been historically pursued through decades of diplomacy was diminished to a mere feeling to be sung about at football matches; a past reduced to sentiment that asks nothing of the state. This approach was typical of Milei, who has long used the rallying cry ‘Dato no relato’ (data not narrative) to dismiss emotional memory politics as an unnecessary distraction from [stark, decontextualized economic metrics](https://www.opendemocracy.net/argentina-poverty-falling-milei-cuts-data-missing-community-kitchens-children/). The past, the president has made clear, is merely noise.

[The silent hunger: What Argentina’s falling poverty missesMilei’s cuts have reduced the number of people living in poverty, but the data doesn’t tell the whole story![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-5853e951-e299-41d5-abad-d59e6a9a6dcd.png)openDemocracyFlorence Evans![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/20211007_Dia-de-la-alimentacion_CABA_Rtro_00739_EDI-1776191026727-1-e5e85ff1-2cb9-4c8b-92a0-068ea0c3420e.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/argentina-poverty-falling-milei-cuts-data-missing-community-kitchens-children/)

Yet barely two months on from his radio appearance, Milei abruptly reversed course. 

In a [televised address](https://www.casarosada.gob.ar/informacion/discursos/51360-cadena-nacional-del-presidente-javier-milei-sobre-la-causa-malvinas?ref=opendemocracy.net) on 4 September, the president threatened to take aggressive sanctions against a British and Israeli firm developing the [Sea Lion oil project](https://www.navitaspet.com/project/sea-lion/?ref=opendemocracy.net) 220 kilometres north of the islands, Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum. A [2011 law](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/180000-184999/181076/texact.htm?ref=opendemocracy.net) made it illegal to search for oil in waters in Argentina’s continental shelf, establishing sanctions for companies doing so and criminal charges for their executives and other individuals involved.

Milei also announced new funding for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago at South America’s southernmost tip, shared by Chile and Argentina, warning: “Any further advance on the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security.” 

[Seven official statements](https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/comunicado-oficial-numero-164?ref=opendemocracy.net) from the president have since followed, announcing new security measures, complaints and sanctions. Last Thursday, Milei sent Congress a [draft bill](https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-gobierno-envio-el-proyecto-de-ley-de-defensa-de-la-soberania-de-las-islas-malvinas-a-la-camara-de-nid17092026/?ref=opendemocracy.net) that would replace the 2011 law with a stricter one, “whilst also increasing the criminal penalties for those who conduct business unlawfully within our territory, as well as their shareholders and suppliers”. The updated legislation would also extend the existing ban to all forms of exploitation of natural resources in the area surrounding the islands.

The [133-article bill](https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-gobierno-envio-el-proyecto-de-ley-de-defensa-de-la-soberania-de-las-islas-malvinas-a-la-camara-de-nid17092026/?ref=opendemocracy.net) contains provisions bearing a striking resemblance to tools of political and economic persecution. It establishes a “national security system” with far-reaching powers, including the international handling of intelligence information, and a “public register of persons and entities linked to acts of terrorism and their financing”. Inclusion on that list would require nothing more than “the existence of reasonable grounds to suspect that the person or entity is linked to the aforementioned offences” – a definition open to all sorts of high-handed actions.

Why this sudden and unexpected change of heart from the Argentine president, when the underlying international dispute is unchanged? Milei last week [claimed](https://efe.com/mundo/2026-09-17/milei-islas-malvinas-trump-reino-unido/?ref=opendemocracy.net) his shift was triggered by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, who said at the end of August that Washington’s neutral position on the dispute [was “one of many” under review](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2q1qgg542o?ref=opendemocracy.net).

But it seems more likely that Milei has abruptly realised the opportunity that lies in using past memory for present gains. The president’s [disapproval rating is at 58%](https://www.infobae.com/politica/2026/09/11/la-desaprobacion-de-milei-alcanza-el-58-y-crece-el-malestar-por-empleo-y-corrupcion/?ref=opendemocracy.net), almost 20 points higher than his approval rating, and voters have a predominantly negative assessment of the economy, employment and the government’s performance. This, combined with the weaponisation of the Malvinas dispute by his vice-president, has led a shared national claim to the islands to snowball into an internal quarrel.

For Villarruel, the Malvinas have been a tool for historical revisionism since before she joined Milei’s presidential ticket. [She has built her career defending military officers](https://www.laizquierdadiario.com/Las-visitas-de-Victoria-Villarruel-a-Jorge-Rafael-Videla-uno-de-sus-heroes?ref=opendemocracy.net) accused of crimes against humanity and has sought to transform how Argentine society remembers the state terrorism of the late 20th century. 

Villarruel is far from alone. In July 2024, six deputies from her and Milei’s party [visited](https://chequeado.com/el-explicador/que-se-sabe-sobre-la-visita-de-los-diputados-libertarios-a-represores-detenidos-en-ezeiza/?ref=opendemocracy.net) several military members who are in prison for crimes against humanity, including notorious former navy officer Alfredo Astiz, who was convicted of atrocities committed at the ESMA detention centre. In a WhatsApp message, the legislator who organised the visit described the detainees as “ex-combatants against Marxist subversion”.

Meanwhile, the Milei administration’s broader assault on the efforts to bring justice has been systemic. In April 2024, the defence minister [dissolved the team charged with searching documentary evidence](https://www.pagina12.com.ar/725130-luis-petri-desmantelo-el-area-de-defensa-que-investiga-los-c/?ref=opendemocracy.net) for prosecutors, describing the group as dedicated to “[persecution and McCarthyism](https://www.pagina12.com.ar/752385-la-justicia-le-ordena-a-luis-petri-preservar-los-archivos-de/?ref=opendemocracy.net)”. The following year, a [decree](https://argentina.fes.de/fileadmin/user%5Fupload/Publicaciones%5F%5FDocumentos/Bajo%5Fasedio%5FLas%5Fpoliticas%5Fde%5Fmemoria%5F%5Fverdad%5Fy%5Fjusticia%5Fcomp.pdf?ref=opendemocracy.net) stripped the National Memory Archive of its power to access Armed Forces files, the Navy ordered a[ purge of its own general archive](https://argentina.fes.de/fileadmin/user%5Fupload/Publicaciones%5F%5FDocumentos/Bajo%5Fasedio%5FLas%5Fpoliticas%5Fde%5Fmemoria%5F%5Fverdad%5Fy%5Fjusticia%5Fcomp.pdf?ref=opendemocracy.net) that was halted only after a [last-minute court injunction](https://www.pagina12.com.ar/802421-otro-juez-impide-que-la-armada-destruya-sus-archivos/?ref=opendemocracy.net), and 51 of the 60 people who received a first verdict in cases of crimes against humanity were acquitted – the [highest number of acquittals in 20 years](https://www.tiempoar.com.ar/ta%5Farticle/el-2025-fue-el-ano-con-mayor-cantidad-de-absoluciones-desde-la-reanudacion-de-los-juicios-de-lesa-humanidad/?ref=opendemocracy.net), according to the Office of the Prosecutor for Crimes against Humanity.

The strategy is insidious: no laws have been formally repealed, but the institutions upholding them have been rendered markedly ineffective.

The punitive legislation that Milei wants to pass is part of a much longer-standing manoeuvre. “Since the end of the war, the Armed Forces and like-minded civilians have ensured that ‘the Malvinas’ serve as a shield against the criticism levelled at the military by an ever-widening range of social sectors,” [noted](https://www.cels.org.ar/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IA2012-Debate-2-Lobos-con-piel-de-ovejas-malvineras.pdf?ref=opendemocracy.net) the human rights organisation Centre for Legal and Social Studies in a report.

In every Malvinas Day speech, Milei[ calls for](https://www.infobae.com/politica/2024/04/02/milei-y-villarruel-homenajean-a-los-caidos-en-malvinas-a-42-anos-de-la-guerra/?ref=opendemocracy.net) “a new era of reconciliation with the Armed Forces”, an implicit reference to the trials for human rights violations committed during the dictatorship that waged the 1982 war.

The disagreement between Villarruel and Milei reveals two distinct ways to weaponise memory. Villarruel uses the Malvinas to launder the reputation of the military; Milei, abandoning his ‘data not narrative’ stance, has discovered that he can use the Malvinas to rally nationalist fervour and impose authoritarian measures when the economic data fails to inspire.

Meanwhile, the Malvinas veterans themselves have asked for something more careful than either approach. Days before the semi-final against England, the Federación de Veteranos de Guerra ‘2 de Abril’, an NGO representing veterans who fought in the 1982 war, [issued a statement](https://www.infobae.com/deportes/2026/07/13/el-deporte-no-es-una-guerra-no-es-una-revancha-es-solo-un-partido-el-sentido-mensaje-de-los-veteranos-de-malvinas-antes-de-la-semi-argentina-inglaterra/?ref=opendemocracy.net) making clear its position that sport is not war, that sovereignty is won in international forums, and that the cry of ¡Malvinas Argentinas! should be heard in the stands as a living exercise of memory rather than as hatred.