Milei’s Falklands turn marks another step in the president’s return to politics

The first international reactions to Javier Milei’s Falklands speech brought a blunt message: Argentina’s announcements are unlikely to change much in the short term. Britain reiterated that it is prepared to use its military power to retain the islands, while Chile’s foreign minister said the government would not obstruct a maritime route between Punta Arenas and Puerto Argentino.

That route would help supply the islands and significantly reduce costs for the oil project promoted by the Falklands administration. Together, the two decisions suggested that any meaningful change in the South Atlantic would depend on whether Donald Trump chooses to punish Britain, a historic U.S. ally. The article sees little reason to expect a genuine break between Washington and London beyond Trump’s frequently changing statements.

Argentine politics offered a different picture. Much of the Peronist movement welcomed Milei’s nationalist shift, giving the president a political opening as he returned to the public stage after an almost entirely inactive August. During that month, Milei rarely visited the Casa Rosada and made few visible appearances. His sister Karina was left to lead the government’s political meetings and appear in official photographs more often than she would have wanted.

Milei had reduced his public exposure after a national broadcast in late July, when he presented a proposal to reform the Central Bank’s charter. His retreat coincided with the failure of bills that would have allowed greater foreign participation in land purchases and with other symbolic defeats, including a plan to deregulate part of the port sector. As August ended, he returned amid a more favorable political climate, a victory in the Chamber of Deputies on Aug. 26, and opinion polls showing that his approval rating had stopped falling after months of decline.

Karina Milei, whose image is poor in all known polls cited by the article, is likely to remain less visible while her brother continues appearing in public. In Misiones, Milei briefly referred to his national broadcast before returning to his preferred subject, economic policy. Addressing financial experts, he said, "I am not going to use this moment to change things," rejecting demands to loosen monetary policy. Inflation figures due from INDEC are expected to support that position, with economists forecasting a slowdown in price growth.

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I am not going to use this moment to change things.