(en) Britain, anarchistcommunist.org: Collective Action* place - The Malvinas (Falklands) - what's at stake?

At the heart of the re-emerging conflict concerning sovereignty over the Malvinas is old 
fashioned mercantile capitalism with the potential to be an electoral boon for political 
elites on both sides of the Atlantic. ---- An ICM poll released on 21st January 2013[1] 
put Labour's lead over the Tories down to five points. Cameron's vision of the "big 
society" is ringing increasingly hollow in the face of persistent negative press coverage, 
which has highlighted his government's attacks on the most poor and vulnerable sections of 
British society. As cuts begin to bite, the line that austerity is the only way out is 
also undermined by the news of staggering profits amongst the county's billionaires[2]. 
This is while politicians call for a 32% salary increase (to ?86,250)[3] at a time when 
workers take real-terms cuts[4]. This is beginning to be reflected in the polls.

Foreign affairs issues, however, always benefit the party in power and a combination of 
posturing over the EU, the Algerian hostage crisis and the dispute over the Malvinas could 
see Cameron claw back his support.

The real prize in the conflict is, of course, the islands' oil (which triples UK 
reserves[5]). Sovereignty over the islands also encompasses territorial claims over 
Antarctica (British and Argentinian claims overlap). The Protocol on Environmental 
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty currently bans all mineral resource activity in 
Antarctica. However, since the 1970s the UK has expressed an interest in commercial 
exploration into the oil, coal and mineral deposits below the Southern Ocean[6]. Should 
the energy crisis deepen, it's likely that this issue will be opened again (with 
disastrous environmental consequences). This is what lies behind these territorial 
conflicts over large swathes of ice.

In spite of the anti-imperialist rhetoric of Argentinian premier Cristina Fernandez the 
conflict over the islands is fundamentally a dispute between two colonial states. Both 
used the (initially uninhabited) island primarily as a penal colony and for periodic, 
largely unsuccessful, settlements. The declaration of independence that claimed the 
Malvinas for Argentina was made by the colonial settlers and based on a European liberal 
model. Indigenous populations in Argentina have been consistent losers in this state and 
subject to land grabs and extermination campaigns by the immigrant population throughout 
their history[7].

British victory in the 1982 conflict (neither side officially declared war) proved to be a 
huge electoral boost for an increasingly unpopular Conservative government in 1983. In 
Argentina, the invasion was launched by a beleaguered dictatorship hoping to utilise 
conscription and a populist irredentism to dampen increasing dissent to the regime. The 
unpopularity of the conflict and corruption within the professional military eventually 
proved to be their final undoing.

In contemporary terms both Cameron and Fernandez have been doing a fair bit of political 
posturing. The British government has been making big publicity of its intention to drill 
Malvinas' oil. It also recently named the disputed Antarctic land in honour of the 
Queen[8]. The conservative press in this country have also been ramping up the Jingoistic 
sentiment. Most notable was The Sun, which published a "hands off" letter in an 
Argentinian newspaper[9].

Meanwhile the Argentinian premier wrote a letter of protest to The Guardian and is 
utilising some pretty bombastic rhetoric on the international stage to condemn Cameron. 
This is clearly to curry the favour of her populist left base, particularly the youth 
movement, a key section of her support[10].

In both cases it is a distraction from the politics of austerity, increasingly unpopular 
cuts and draconian attitudes towards political opposition. Both Fernandez and Cameron are 
facing trade union opposition to their policies with threatened national strike days. 
Fernandez's term technically expires in 2015 but it is alleged that supporters hope to 
change the constitution to allow her to run again.

As anarchist communists our perspective is informed by a commitment to both 
anti-imperialism and opposition to capital and the state. The neoimperialist practices of 
the UK state and its accompanying capital interests should be criticised. We need to be 
clear that it is the old and familiar colonial interest of resource extraction that is 
behind the British state?s alleged concern for the fate of the islands' inhabitants. As a 
centre state the UK also plays a continuing role in keeping itself at a competitive 
advantage to peripheral states like Argentina by utilising the contemporary disciplining 
mechanisms of the international market and its institutions such as the IMF and World 
Bank. At the same time, we acknowledge the cynical way that elites on both sides are 
exploiting the dispute for their own ends. In both cases the politics of nationalism and 
irredentism present a distraction from social and political issues that bring class 
inequalities to the forefront.

- CW

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/21/labour-tories-five-points-poll

[2] 
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/what-recession-how-britains-billionaires-1102537

[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20978487

[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20442666

[5] 
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/britain-s-oil-grab-in-falkland-islands-seen-tripling-u-k-reserves-energy.html).

[6] http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_antarctica/geopolitical/environmental_issues/mining.php.

[7] 
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/britain-s-oil-grab-in-falkland-islands-seen-tripling-u-k-reserves-energy.html

[8] 
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mobileweb/2012/12/22/queen-elizabeth-land-arge_n_2350678.html

[9] 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9779772/The-Sun-tells-Argentina-to-keep-hands-off-the-Falklands.html

[10] http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/youth-movement-argentina-gives-de-kirchner-power
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* Collective Action is an association of anarchist communists based in the UK