Argentina doubles in size, or so it claims
The government takes advantage of a UN ruling to extend the country’s territorial waters
ARGENTINA’S PRESIDENT, Alberto Fernández, has plenty to worry about: a soaring covid-19 caseload and a depressed economy. So it must have been delightful for the government to change the subject on September 21st by issuing a map showing that the country’s territory is nearly double its former size. It illustrates the effect of a law Mr Fernández signed in August, which expands Argentina by 1.7m square km (650,000 square miles), an area three times the size of metropolitan France. Argentina now bestrides South America and Antarctica, from the Tropic of Capricorn to the South Pole. Its territory includes some of the world’s richest fishing grounds and possibly oil and gas. The Falkland islands, which Argentines call the Malvinas, lie within it.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Alberto of the Antarctic”
From the October 10th 2020 edition
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