Malvinas argentinas II

On 24 March, Argentina marked the 31st anniversary of the military coup 1976. The date was first celebrated as a holiday last year, having been declared a holiday only a few days before in a bizarre last-minute frenzy of populism. The name of the holiday is Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia, which works out to the rather Orwellian sounding National Memorial Day for Truth and Justice.

Monday's Falkland Islands holiday and the military coup holiday of 24 March are very much related. The dictatorship that came to power in March of 1976 is the same institution that launched the Falklands invasion in April of 1982. It was a cynical attempt to hold onto power by distracting the country from a crumbling economy.

Days after the Falkland Islands war was finished in June 1982, the military dictatorship was over.