Falkland Islands Newsletter NNoo 111010 AAprilpril 22016016 PPublishedublished bbyy TThehe FFalklandalkland IIslandsslands AAssociationssociation wwww.ww.fi aassociation.comssociation.com rroyaloyal visitvisit ppeopleeople eeventsvents ppoliticsolitics ssportport nnewsews Hill Cove, West Falklands: Picture Denise Herrera Falkland Islands Association editorial Newsletter Published by: The Falkland Islands Association, by FIA Chairman Alan Huckle Falkland House, 14 Broadway London SW1H OBH resident Macri was elected to offi ce devaluation of the peso and subsidy cuts, Pin Argentina in November last year particularly in the power sector, have led Tel 020 3764 0824 on the promise of change. In his opening to infl ation and hit household budgets. honseci [email protected] address to Congress on March 1, he Already there have been street protests, set out his main priorities - essentially, many met with a heavy-handed police Website: to establish Argentina as a stable, pro- response. Some 30% of Argentina’s www.i association.com Western partner on the international population live within the poverty scene; to reboot the economy away threshold and the poor have relied on Edited by: from the left-wing protectionism of the welfare subsidies provided by the Sharon Jaf ray the Kirchners; and to clamp down on Kirchner regime. Macri’s policies will only Stanley corruption and the illegal drugs trade. succeed if business growth drives down Falkland Islands Internationally, he signalled his unemployment and creates opportunity Tel 00 500 52739 new approach by attending the World for social advancement. But he won the [email protected] Economic Forum in Davos, which the election with only a 3% margin and does Kirchners had pointedly avoided. There not command a majority in Congress. So Editorial Committee have already been reciprocal visits he may not get the political support that Ms Cindy Buxton (Chair) with the leaders of Italy and France he needs to push his reforms through. Mr David Tatham CMG and most recently the visit of President So where does that leave us in Mr David Ainslie Obama at the end of March. Macri had Falklands/Argentina terms? We may Mrs Merle Christie a good meeting with David Cameron see a reduction in Argentine rhetoric Mr Saul Pitaluga at Davos and has received plaudits for and hopefully a relaxation of some of his economic reforms from the IMF’s the hostile measures initiated by the Release of copyright Christine Lagarde. Kirchners. There are some signs that Economically, Macri has moved the new Argentine Government hopes The Editorial Committee quickly to open up Argentina’s ailing to normalise relations with the Falkland releases all copyrights economy to the free market by lifting Islands over time by building up Islander on the content of currency controls, allowing the peso to confi dence in Argentina as a reliable, the Falkland Islands fl oat, abolishing export taxes on key stable neighbour. There are plenty of Newsletter except commodities and removing restrictions areas where there might be mutual on pictures, cartoons on imports to encourage business growth co-operation, provided that Argentina’s and maps. Other and inward investment. At the same time, sovereignty claim is not advanced. But publications are invited he is cutting public spending, including that’s the rub. Argentina still cannot let to quote freely. social welfare subsidies, to reduce go of their claim. Whilst that remains, the budget defi cit. Above all, he has there can only be a change of form, not Howevever, we ask that negotiated a deal with Argentina’s hold- substance. Let’s hope, as Mike Summers quotations are made in out creditors which, if endorsed by the says on page 4, that there is no attempt context and the Falkand Argentine Congress, will end Argentina’s by Argentina to resurrect old, discredited, Islands Newsletter pariah status and exclusion from the pre-1982 proposals like ‘lease-back’ acknowledged as the international fi nance markets following its and ‘shared sovereignty’ that weren’t source. massive debt default in 2001. acceptable then and even less so now. Macri has also sought to tackle The Argentines must accept the principle For further information corruption and political cronyism in the of self-determination by the Falkland turn to the inside back country. He has appointed a strong team Islanders, if there is to be any real page or alternatively of Ministers to his Cabinet, who have advance in good neighbourly relations. contact the Editor the confi dence of their international Sharon Jaf ray (contact counterparts. He has cut some 21,000 ************ details above). public sector posts, in part to reduce On FIA matters, I am pleased to welcome the size of the bureaucracy but also Tym Marsh as our new Honorary to remove the dead wood of political Secretary (see page 30 for his CV). He AAdvertising:dvertising: sinecures – and he is reforming is still settling in but will assuredly be an FFullull ppageage ££250250 Argentina’s statistical agency, INDEC, to able successor to our long-serving Hon. HHalfalf ppageage ££125125 improve the reliability and credibility of Sec., Colin Wright, who passed away QQuarteruarter pagepage £65£65 government economic data. Argentina after a long struggle against cancer late EEighthighth ppageage ££3535 was censured by the IMF in 2013 for last year. SShorthort iinsertnsert ££33 pperer llineine failing to report accurately its economic performance. Macri also hopes to restore public confi dence in the security services We are currently updating our records PRINTED BY: and the military, starved of investment by reference members’ email addresses Platinum Press (UK) Ltd the Kirchners, in an effort to counter the and the take-up of access to the secure Tel 0844 880 4722 illegal narcotics trade. Members’ Only area of our website. www.PlatinumPressLimited.co.uk All this is a promising start but Macri To amend your contact and personal faces many challenges. The economic details, and gain access to the Members’ climate in which his reforms are set is Area, please inform the Membership Secretary on ISSN 0262-9399 not encouraging - Argentina’s largest export markets are in recession – and the fi [email protected] 2 AArgentinargentina Breaking the Mould in Argentina Mauricio Macrio: a new pro-western, right-of-centre President November 22. With this a new era Macri to force legislation through. for Argentina began. His alliance Also, in the Province of Tierra del included the rump of the Radical Fuego, which pretends to jurisdiction Party, but it was mainly his new PRO over the Falklands, the FpV is still in Party. It was the fi rst time since the power. But here fi nancial pressures Second World War that Argentina may persuade the provincial was not being ruled by Peronists, the government to accept Macri’s new Radical Party, or the Military. Falklands policy. Mauricio Macri The hand-over of power did not On the international stage, take place until December 10. President Macri is re-orienting n the run up to last year’s Argentine With the defeat of her preferred Argentina as a member of the Ipresidential elections, Daniel Scioli, candidate, Cristina de Kirchner did Western World. Bridges are governor of the Province of Buenos what she could to cause trouble for being repaired with world powers Aires, was the front-runner. A veteran the president-elect. In her last few that Cristina de Kirchner had Peronist, he had kept a discrete days, she appointed Kirchnerist antagonised. As a result, the distance from outgoing president ambassadors and other offi cials in French President visited Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner a most obviously political manner, in February. And President Obama (CFK). But he was closer to her than and wouldn’t co-operate even in the began a visit just as the Newsletter other Peronists, especially Sergio hand-over ceremony. was going to press. Massa, the young mayor of Tigre, Once president, Macri rapidly On the Falklands the policy is who was openly hostile to her. began to change Argentina. He completely different. Instead of The main non-Peronist opposition abandoned CFK’s left-wing alliances the bitter hostility and hectoring came from Mauricio Macri, of with such countries as Venezuela from CFK and her diplomatic the “Cambiemos” (Let’s Change) and Bolivia, and effectively representatives, and a policy that Alliance, who fi nally won. He was repudiated an agreement with Iran, put Argentina’s sovereignty claim mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, which had been thought to let it off above everything else, there is going and his party, Propuesta Republicana the hook for the part it is believed to be a more subtle, diplomatic (PRO), which dominated the “Let’s to have played in the bombing of approach. President Macri wants Change” alliance, represented Jewish centres in Buenos Aires. the Falklands issue to be just one slightly right-of-centre policies. Macri promptly replaced Kirchnerist of many ordinary bilateral subjects - At the fi rst round of the election political appointees at the head of and his ambassadors to Britain, and in October, Scioli polled about 37% state institutions, and dismissed elsewhere, are to be mainly career of the vote, Macri and his allies had a multitude of Kirchnerist political diplomats, not the political appointees about 34% and Massa about 22% supporters from their sinecures of the CFK era. And Argentina wants Massa and other minority in ministries. He has also moved to cooperate with the Falklands in candidates were eliminated, and towards reaching a settlement with any fi eld of activity it can, in a long- the fi nal round of the election took holders of defaulted Argentine bonds. term effort to win Islander hearts and place on November 22. Much hung On the down side for ordinary minds.