At this time of year, the Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas) take centre stage in public and political life across Argentina. April 2 marked the 40th anniversary of what many Argentines think of as the “recovery” of an integral part of their national territory from the UK. The “recovery” was only to last for 74 days before a British task force defeated Argentine troops and reclaimed what the UK government recognises as a British overseas territory – the Falkland Islands.
This year, the conflict has been marked with a calendar of events as Argentina continues to try to come to terms with what happened between April and June 1982. The framing of the military campaign in Argentina as territorial “recovery” is important for understanding the continued resonance of the Malvinas sovereignty claim and the emotional legacies wrapped up with the war.
Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper on the 40th anniversary of the invasion of the islands, Argentinian foreign minister, Santiago Cafiero, stated that “the recovery of sovereignty [of the Malvinas] is an inalienable objective of the Argentine people”.
