Argentina is still mad at Margaret Thatcher for sinking its warship
The world responded to Margaret Thatcher’s death yesterday morning in a bunch of different ways.
There were songs of praise.
Contemplations of her economic policies.
Plenty of photos.
And even tweets (many of them, at that) from Latin American leaders, including Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff, Chile’s Sebastian Piñera, and Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto.
Yet not a word from Argentina.
Could it be that Argentina is still bitter about Thatcher’s impunity during the 1982 Falkland war? The Buenos Aires Herald certainly hints at as much in its coverage of Thatcher’s death.
A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, privatised vast swathes of British industry, clashed with the European Union and fought a war in the Malvinas Islands against Argentina.
And then goes on to directly address the country’s silence in a separate article.
The government yesterday did not comment on the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led the United Kingdom during the 1982 Malvinas War and was held responsible for sinking the ARA General Belgrano light cruiser outside the Maritime Exclusion Zone, killing 323 Argentine sailors.
While several heads of state including Pope Francis expressed their condolences to the British government and people over the death of “The Iron Lady,” Argentine authorities kept quiet.
Some grudges never die.
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