Militarist and nationalist logic versus antinationalist subjectivity intellectual debates on the Malvinas war in the magazine Punto de Vista

Abstract

This article aims to examine the intellectual discussions that took place in Argentina in the context of the Malvinas War (1982), emphasizing the position adopted by the magazine Punto de Vista (1978-2008). The objectives of this article are, on the one hand, to analyse the Malvinas conflict in its historical context and, on the other hand, to examine the position held by the Punto de Vista group, which categorically opposed the military invasion, thus holding a minority position within the intellectual field. The article argues that these figures (whose most salient voices were those of Carlos Altamirano and Beatriz Sarlo) adopted an anti-nationalist position and opposed the military regime, while other intellectuals on the left ignored the contextual factors of the war and supported the conflict. Based on the analysis of articles published in Punto de Vista, articles that appeared in other magazines of the time and personal correspondence of the intellectuals studied, the article also shows how the Punto de Vista group related the Malvinas defeat to the transition to democracy, precipitated by the end of the war in mid-1982, and how over the years they insisted, from the same anti-nationalist and minority position, on the need to critically review the patriotic moment of 1982.