Patricia Bullrich says she's 'ready to be Argentina's president’

Ruling party Senate caucus leader Patricia Bullrich says she is “ready” to be Argentina’s president – though that doesn’t mean she will run for the nation’s highest office in next year’s election.

In an interview with the Infobae website broadcast Thursday, Bullrich was quizzed about her longstanding presidential ambitions and whether she intended to run in 2027.

“It’s not that I want to be president; I’m ready to be president,” she said, before playing down the prospect of an imminent announcement. “We are still a year away” from deciding on candidates, she added.

Bullrich, 70, previously ran for president in the 2023 election representing the Juntos por el Cambio coalition in the 2023 election. She finished third with almost 24 percent of the vote, failing to make it to the second-round run-off. 

Swiftly afterwards, she called on voters to back Milei and subsequently joined his government to serve as security minister. Last year, she switched her party affiliation to La Libertad Avanza, becoming its Senate caucus leader.

In recent weeks, Bullrich has voiced discontent over several policy issues, though she was quick to avoid portraying these differences of opinion as a break with President Milei. 

Referring to the 2027 elections, she acknowledged: “The President is always in the lead when it comes to being a candidate. That’s just how it is.”

Asked whether she might join a Milei presidential ticket, Bullrich said she had not been asked to be his running-mate. 

“It’s not about having votes handed to you by the person at the top of the ticket; you also bring votes of your own,” she argued, stressing the importance of building an independent political base. 

Pressed again about a possible presidential run, she replied: “No comment.”

Ruling party tensions

Her comments come amid reports of friction within the governing coalition. On October 9, Bullrich met Milei at the Olivos presidential residence in an apparent effort to ease tensions after publicly questioning several decisions.

Following a meeting reportedly lasting around two hours, she wrote on X: “A deep conversation with President @JMilei. We discussed everything I have been raising, with complete honesty.”

Her concerns included the handling of disability-related changes in the 2027 Budget Bill and proposed amendments to the Land Law. She has also called for a political forum where differences can be discussed.

Bullrich urged the government to secure domestic political support rather than rely on backing from Washington, referring to the US$20-billion financial backstop announced by the US government ahead of Argentina’s 2025 midterm elections.

“We cannot allow what happened in 2025 to happen again, when we ended up dependent on Scott Bessent,” she said, referring to the US Treasury secretary.

Bullrich argued that political backing was essential to ensuring governability and maintaining economic confidence, particularly during election periods, when uncertainty can affect businesses and investors of all sizes.

“If Bessent has said that there is money available for Argentina, I would love to be able to tell him that we do not need it, because we have built our own safeguards to prevent the kind of volatility that can leave you in a position where your economic capacity is undermined, as happened last year,” she said.

– TIMES/PERFIL/NA