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Argentines call them los desaparecidos (the disappeared). A member of the military junta, General Leopoldo Galtieri, became president in 1982. Galtieri attempted to direct Argentines’ attention away from their country’s problems by invading the Falkland Islands in 1982. These islands, claimed by both the United Kingdom and Argentina, are located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) off the Argentine coast. Great Britain had occupied this tiny outpost, where sheep far outnumber people, since 1833. Galtieri and his advisors did not believe the British would send troops to stop the invasion of a small and remote group of islands.

There are also substantial numbers of Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese residing in the country. 55 56 Argentina An estimated 1,500,000 descendants of indigenous peoples also live in Argentina. The largest group is the Quechua, who number about 915,000. Quechua was the most common language spoken in the Incan Empire. Most of the people in the Argentine Andes, in the country’s far northwestern corner, speak it today. Many Quechua, about 500,000, have emigrated from northwestern and northern Argentina into slums of Buenos Aires to work on docks.

Arabs and Asians add to Argentina’s diverse population. There are about 1 million people of Arab descent. About 700,000 of these people are Lebanese Christians. Argentines generally respect fellow citizens regardless of their place of origin. Ancestors of former president Carlos Menem, for example, came from Syria. There are also substantial numbers of Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese residing in the country. 55 56 Argentina An estimated 1,500,000 descendants of indigenous peoples also live in Argentina.