Putting Malvinas money where your mouth is

Argentina's ambassador to the UK says the Malvinas issue is regional and that British trade will soon suffer.

Argentina warned yesterday Britain’s trade with South America would be hit unless it handed the Falklands over to them. 

Alicia Castro, the country’s ambassador to London, attempted to drag its neighbours into the row after she described the islands as a “colonial enclave”. 

She added: “Argentina is very happy having this ­colonial enclave in the south of our country. 

“It’s not an Argentinian cause, it’s a regional cause. The United Kingdom, by not wanting to have a proper dialogue with Argentina, it’s turning its back on Latin America as a whole. 

“If Britain wants to improve is relations with Latin America, they have to settle this dispute.”

I doubt this. Yes, Argentina gets some rhetorical support from South American governments, most loudly from Hugo Chávez, and some countries even have blocked ships flying the Falklands flag. That is a far cry, however, from governments deciding to damage their own economies by imposing some sort of trade sanction on Great Britain. Latin American trade with Britain has jumped recently, especially with Brazil, and I can't see President Rousseff jeopardizing that for Argentina.

This is a classic example of words being cheap.