Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Argentina should adopt us, say Chile protesters ... Demonstrators from remote Aysén region make appeal to neighbouring country over lack of services from own government ... Police in Santiago clash with protesters supporting the Aysén region, where demonstrators have asked Argentina to take up their cause Protesters in a remote region of Chile have triggered controversy by asking Argentina to "adopt" them because they feel forgotten by Chile's government ... Requesting annexation by Argentina appeared an attempt to catch Chilean state attention rather than a serious proposal for secession but the idea still provoked derision from its neighbour. Readers of Clarín, a Buenos Aires daily, scorned the invitation on the grounds Chile supported Britain during the 1982 Falklands conflict. "Why don't you ask England to adopt you? They are your best friends and allies!" said one typical comment. It was the latest sign that the diplomatic row between London and Buenos Aires over the disputed islands has focused Argentinian grievances before the conflict's 30th anniversary. Another reader called Chileans "dirty traitors" for having aided the British task force which seized the archipelago back from Argentina. Another defended Chileans, pointing out that it was the dictator Augusto Pinochet who helped Margaret Thatcher, not the Chilean people. – UK Guardian

Dominant Social Theme: Ancient tensions between Argentina and Chile will not erupt again.

Free-Market Analysis: The southern half of South America is bracing for an Argentine devaluation. People are readying for the worst. Last time it happened was more than ten years ago, around the turn of the century. It wasn't pretty then and it won't be pretty now. It could cause significant political as well as monetary damage.

According to some Daily Bell sources, top officials are concerned about Argentina's increasing belligerence on the world stage. This is epitomized by the ongoing takeover of Spanish YPF oil, which has made headlines around the globe.

Chile and Argentina almost went to war back in the 1970s, and while the situation between the two countries is not nearly so grave now, there is always the possibility of renewed military tension.