Vol. 77/No. 19      May 20, 2013

In April 1982, London dispatched its biggest post-WWII invasion force to expel Argentine troops from its colony in the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas to Argentines, who rightly consider it part of their nation. The two-month war claimed 655 Argentine lives and 255 British. London followed its victory with a new military base on the islands — fighter bombers, battleships and a garrison of 1,200.

An effective bourgeois politician, Thatcher correctly assessed the weakness of the Argentine military dictatorship of Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri. But the U.K. rulers’ victory took place in the midst of Britain’s continued decline as a world power and was possible only with the help of Washington. Under the Ronald Reagan administration, the U.S. government provided air base facilities in the Ascension Isles; fuel for ships and aircraft; intelligence, including satellite communications; and weaponry.

Britain’s influence has declined further since 1982 and today the rulers more than ever cling to their “special relationship” with their American cousins. But with the economic crisis pressing London to acknowledge its real place in the world — including forcing cutbacks to Britain’s armed forces — the relationship is less “special” to Washington, which no longer backs Britain’s colonial claims as it did 30 years ago.

Today British interests in Argentina have shrunk to under 2 percent of foreign investment there, and Argentina’s right to sovereignty over the Malvinas is back on the agenda of world politics.

A recent poll of islanders — 70 percent are British descendants — reflected a desire to maintain U.K. control. The Thatcher government hid behind similar sentiments with claims of defending the “right to self-determination.”

Of real interest to London was the strategic place of the Malvinas, which sits 300 miles off Argentine shores, in relation to the Antarctic and Latin America; the possibility of exploiting oil under the sea bed; and holding the line against imperial Britain being bested by semicolonial Argentina. And to ensure Argentina and the rest of the semicolonial world learned the right lessons, imperialist governments backed London’s Malvinas war with trade and diplomatic sanctions against Argentina.

Thatcher pitched the war as one of democracy vs. dictatorship and won backing from bourgeois and petty-bourgeois left political currents on that basis. Labour leader Michael Foot outpaced the prime minister in jingoistic calls to action. The “Militant tendency” in the Labour Party — now called Socialist Party — declared their “neutrality” and called for a trade union boycott of Argentina.

But the war was one of oppressor against oppressed nation. For more than a century Argentina was a de facto British colony. Britain dominated the economy, including the decisive meat and transport industries.

U.K. control over the Malvinas — called the Falkland Islands by its colonial masters — was part of this, dating back to an 1833 invasion and occupation. London settled the islands with pro-U.K. loyalists and has defended its conquest by force ever since. British absentee landlords operated a virtual monopoly over the islands’ economy — stores, shipping and wool, as well as owning 43 percent of the land.

Following WWII, British assets in Argentina — half of all foreign holdings — were nationalized. Washington supplanted U.K. dominance, while British banks maintained financial leverage.

For six years before the conflict, the military junta that had usurped power in Argentina received imperialist backing in its murderous assault on working people. London was a major arms supplier, while Washington worked closely with the regime in counterrevolutionary activity in Central America.

Britain’s Malvinas war was not only deeply resented by the Argentine people, but spurred international opposition. The revolutionary government of Cuba led calls for international protests. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets, especially in Latin America.

At the same time, the forcible seizure of the islands by the crisis-laden dictatorship of Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri failed in its goal of blunting opposition to the regime. Workers protesting in Buenos Aires chanted “Las Malvinas son argentinas” and “Se va a acabar, la dictadura militar” (The Malvinas are Argentine — the military dictatorship is going.)

The dictatorship’s demise — on the rocks of military defeat and internal opposition — took place within days following the recapturing of the Malvinas by Britain in June 1982.  
 
 
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