England: Argentina's Biggest Inferiority Complex

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Not too far from Rosario’s national flag monument lays a unique pool with odd rock figures in the center where children can often be found jumping from rock to rock. At second glance, however, and you can see that it is in fact a monument which commemorates those who perished in the Falkland’s War. Around the pool, a semi-circle wall lists the approximately 649 Argentine soldiers who were lost in the war. I didn’t realize until after I saw the Falkland Island monument in Rosario that I have now seen all of the monuments dedicated to the Falkland War within Argentina. It turns out that the Argentines have three monuments commemorating those who perished in the Malvinas War (the second one in Ushuaia and the third in San Martin Plaza in Buenos Aires). I personally believe that the monument in Rosario is the best; I find it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The interesting point to note, is the general aura given off not only by the monuments, but also by those around them is that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine soil and that it will one day be returned to Argentina. To me it seems somewhat trivial, I haven’t heard anything interesting coming out of the islands, the majority of the islanders are of British descent, and I have never actually met an Argentine who knows anyone from there. So what’s the big deal? I personally believe it descends from the fact that Argentines have a huge inferiority complex with England. The Malvinas War, and the twenty plus years after it transcend the land with which the war is said to be fought over. Argentina wouldn’t gain anything by owning the territory. It’s flipping cold there, there are barely 2,000 people, and the only real income is from selling squid to Spain. But it is a sore spot in the eyes of the Argentines to this day.

When I think about the makings of the Malvinas War in 1982 between Argentina and England, it reminds me of the relations between Peru and Chile during my stay in Santiago in 2007. By 1982, the Argentine government had begun to observe the toll of 30,000 disappeared people, billions of dollars of debt and a disapproving international eye. The people of Argentina were discontent with the dictatorship. Therefore, in order to turn the disapproval of its citizens around, the government turned to war to bind the people and boost popularity again for the junta. The war worked for a short amount of time, until the people realized that they had been scammed and lied to and worse, that many of their people had been killed. In similar fashion, Peru, in the face of a wilting economy and low popular support for the president in term, flared up past issues between Chile over a dispute between sea borders. The Peruvian redrawing of territory was seen by many as an attempt by the Peruvian Congress to find a scapegoat in order to draw the attention of the masses in order to garner support.

It’s interesting that both of these issues are still not cleared up. At least it gives each of the respective countries something to fall back upon in case of a renewed slump in approval ratings.

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