His isn't negligence, but pure political calculation . Pablo Blanco, a national senator for Tierra del Fuego , has had more opportunities than Job's patience to take action against illegal oil exploitation in the Malvinas Islands . A four-time provincial legislator and senator since 2019, his record on the issue is as empty as his sudden rhetoric is strident. Now, with the drilling almost irreversible and his seat hanging by an electoral thread, he's revealing his pro-sovereignty fervor. Coincidence or cynicism?
⚠️ The Malvinas are in danger: I demand urgent action against the spread of illegal oil exploitation.
🛑 Navitas Petroleum plans to plunder our resources in a disputed area, and is blocking access to its website from Argentina!
Project: https://t.co/TeiuXBRHRu pic.twitter.com/bNAB9nPBIq
The plundering process began decades ago. In 1995, Carlos Menem's government signed the shameful Di Tella-Rifkind agreement , opening the door to oil exploration in Argentine waters. Néstor Kirchner annulled it, but the British, true to their colonial tradition, relaunched the bidding process in 2010.
By 2015, then-Federal Judge of Río Grande, Lilian Herráez, ordered multimillion-dollar embargoes against the companies involved and demanded their cessation of activities. Where was Blanco then? Mute, as always.
The Macri and Alberto Fernández governments buried the cause under disinterest and shameful agreements (the Foradori-Duncan pact was a blank check for the United Kingdom). But Blanco, who is now crying out loud, never used his position to question foreign ministers, promote projects, or even articulate a coherent discourse. His indignation, as is often the case in local politics, was born with the hashtag.
Now, as Rockhopper and Navitas Petroleum plan to extract 728 million barrels —with a US$4 billion investment and the complicit silence of successive administrations— the senator discovers the urgency.
His angry tweets and radio statements are worth about as much as a Monopoly bill: they're for photo ops, not action . Why didn't he push for hearings, subpoenas, or legislative alliances all these years? The response smacks of electoral opportunism.
Even more ridiculous is his claim to the national government: isn't he the one who raised both hands to "honor" President Milei with extraordinary powers and the Basic Law?
Their theater of selective indignation omits one detail: the defense of sovereignty is not exercised on social media, but through votes, projects, and perseverance. Pablo Blanco preferred to remain silent until the electoral clock reminded him that his seat has an expiration date.
