MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Thatcher’s death: Latam leaders send condolence messages but not a word from Argentina

Brazilian president Rousseff twitted a brief polite message of condolence, but the media made a great display about the greatest British prime minister since Winston Churchill

The death of Baroness Thatcher, Prime Minister when the recovery of the Falklands by a British Task Force did not inspire a single word from the Argentine government, but other Latinamerican leaders and countries sent their condolences and praised the courage and determination of the Iron Lady.

However Argentine media did cover the event with abundant information and recalling much of Margaret Thatcher’s leadership during the Falklands war as well as her close alliance with US President Ronald Reagan as promoters of what was then called as the ‘conservative revolution’.

The official Argentine news agency Telam referred to Margaret Thatcher as responsible for the sinking of the cruiser “General Belgrano” the greatest single loss of lives during the Falklands’ conflict.

Although it must be added that the order to sink the former US Navy World War II vessel and the controversy surrounding the whole incident, according to Argentine naval officers and recently released UK and US documents, support Thatcher’s decision at the time.

However other leaders had good things to say about the only British woman Prime Minister. Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos regretted the death of Margaret Thatcher and described her as valiant and controversial figure.

“We regret the death of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher. Controversial, valiant, with strong character and a friend of Colombia” wrote Santos in his twitter, on hearing the news on Monday.

Towards the end of her mandate Margaret Thatcher was committed to helping Colombia which at that moment was virtually at the mercy of the drug cartels and the guerrillas. She organized a summit on drugs in London with the purpose of reducing demand from consumer countries.

Chile’ Sebastian Piñera praised Baroness Thatcher’s determination and her contribution to bringing down the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain and promoting freedom and democracy in every corner of the world.

The Mexican government in an official release regretted the loss of “a figure of great prominence” in the political scenario of the UK and the world.

Mexico acknowledges her legacy “in the economic modernization and structural transformation of the UK, as well as the advances and achievements” in dialogue and cooperation between nations during her years in office.

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto on an official visit to Japan twitted his condolences to the British people over the death of Margaret Thatcher.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff regretted the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which the Brazilian media, almost unanimously described as the most outstanding British politician and prime minister since Winston Churchill.

“On hearing the news of the passing of Margaret Thatcher, President Dilma Rousseff regretted the death of the former prime minister”, said a spokesperson at the Executive Planalto Palace.

However, the Brazilian president did not make an official release as when the death of Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez.

Since the presidential Kirchner couple knocked on the door of then President Lula da Silva, Brazilian diplomacy considers Argentina a ‘strategic associate’ a priority of its foreign policy and a leading trading partner.

The government of Costa Rica expressed ‘consternation and deep condolences to the people and government of the UK” on the death of Margaret Thatcher which it described as “an outstanding political figure of the XXth century”.

But the Vice-president of neighbouring Nicaragua, Moises Omar Halleslevens called Thatcher’s policies “crude” but nevertheless wished that “the Lord has her next to him”.

“This English lady known as the Iron Lady was characterized for her tough hand and a raft of policies that I would say were coarse and crude for the people of that distant but brotherly country” said the Vice-president and retired general Halleslevens.

Thatcher because of her closeness with the former US president Ronald Reagan who supported the ‘contras’ in Nicaragua, was never liked by the Sandinista regime (1979/1990) which was then under the leadership of current president Daniel Ortega.