The group of influential Chileans who support Argentina’s claims to the Falkland Islands

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – By tradition and links of all kinds, the Chilean Navy has always had a pro-British position regarding the Malvinas or Falkland Islands, which was evident during the armed conflict between Argentina and England over those islands.

This is partly because an Argentine dominion over the Malvinas could be a problem for Chile – in the opinion of the military – regarding access to Antarctica, unbalancing the geopolitical map of the southern tip of the continent.

However, this has not been the case for everyone in Chile, since during recent decades, the different governments, of different political tendencies have promoted, year after year, before the United Nations, a Draft Resolution in support of Argentina’s pretensions over those southern islands; in addition, there is a group of influential Chilean public and private personalities who are pro Argentine Malvinas, integrated even by former high commanders of the Chilean Navy.

This is the “Chilean Group of Solidarity with the Malvinas” composed of highly respected personalities in Chile and who have promoted the trans-Andean cause in various ways, such as through letters and columns in the media.

This group has been present in different activities throughout its creation, back in 2011. For example, in 2012, President Cristina Fernández held a meeting with this organization, to which she reiterated her gratitude (and to its members), mainly for the contribution that this means -in Argentina’s opinion- to the efforts of the community of nations in support of Argentina’s rights over the British Isles.

In this instance, which took place during a visit of Fernández to Chile, were present former Foreign Minister Juan Gabriel Valdés; former Ambassador to Argentina Eduardo Rodríguez Guarachi; former legislators Jaime Gazmuri and Mario Papi (now deceased); former Undersecretary of the Navy and current business consultant, Carolina Echeverría; and Vice Admiral (r) Cristián Millar Drago, among others.

*Other members of this group in favor of Argentina’s interests in the Malvinas are writer Antonio Skármeta; businessman Juan Eduardo Errázuriz; diplomats Mariano Fernández and Luis Winter, who is also an advisor to the Chilean Navy; former senator Carlos Ominami; and artist Benito Rojo.

In 2014, the group met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Heraldo Muñoz, an occasion on which the support of these Chileans for Argentina’s sovereignty rights over the Malvinas, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces was reiterated.

In 2015, the group also participated in a meeting held at the Argentine embassy in Chile, attended by the former Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza. Chilean diplomat Eduardo Rodríguez Guarachi, coordinator of the group and former Chilean ambassador to Argentina during the ’90s, was present at the meeting and highlighted the significance of the event.