President Javier Milei has laid bare his dissatisfaction with Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, declaring that she has “no influence” on decision-making in his government and criticising her proximity to business leaders and politicians.
Milei let rip at Villarruel directly in a television interview, stating that she had “decided not to participate” in Cabinet meetings and implying that their relationship is at its worst moment.
In the past, the La Libertad Avanza has refrained from criticising his second-in-command, but for the first time, he challenged her directly.
“We have the relationship that is needed institutionally to fulfil our roles,” Milei said when asked about their relationship during an extensive interview with the LN+ news channel.
“Villarruel has no influence whatsoever in the decision-making process. She does not participate in Cabinet meetings. She decided not to participate. She has long since decided not to take part in Cabinet meetings,” he revealed.
“In her vision, in many of the things we do… she is closer to the red circle, to what she calls high politics, and what we call ‘the caste,’” declared Milei.
It’s not the first time that reports of tensions between La Libertad Avanza’s top two have emerged.
Earlier this year, Villarruel described Milei as a “poor little ham” sandwiched between herself and his sister, presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei – whom he describes as “the boss.”
Milei’s frigid relationship with his veep has been an open secret in Buenos Aires government circles for months. But the President hadn’t openly acknowledged just how much her role had diminished until now, and he used the interview to make clear who’s boss.
“My sister, the so-called pastry chef or whatever they called her — as if that were a crime — who doesn’t know anything about politics, in six months created a political party,” he said in the Wednesday interview. “Look at where the pastry chef got us.”
Villarruel, a hard-right conservative, made a name for herself as the founder of a non-profit organisation that denounced the crimes of leftist guerrilla groups during the right-wing dictatorship that seized power in 1976.
In her public appearances, she often focuses on more traditional priorities of the Argentine right, championing cases against abortion, LGBTQ education in schools and prison terms she regards as too lax.
Tensions between Villarruel, 49, and Milei, 53, flared too during attempts to pass legislation and presidential decrees through the Senate, which the vice-president heads.
Allies of the President accused Villarruel of not doing enough to resist opposition pressure. She was also criticised for approving pay hikes for lawmakers and staff in Congress.
Villarruel drew Milei’s ire recently when she met in Madrid with María Estela Martínez de Perón, who was president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976 and succeeded Juan Domingo Perón — the founding father of Argentina’s Peronist movement. After the trip, Villarruel unveiled a statue in her honour in the Senate, which Milei criticised.
“It’s her house,” Milei said, referring to the Senate. “You surely won’t find that in mine.”
Commentators say the duo's relationship was severely damaged by Milei’s decision to hand control of the Defence and Security Ministries – Villarruel’s preferred areas of government – to his former campaign rival-turned-ally Patricia Bullrich and her vice-presidential pick, Luis Petri.
“I didn’t like it,” Villarruel said previously of Milei’s decision. “But I respect it.”
The two leaders are hardly the first presidential pair to clash. Milei’s predecessor in office, Alberto Fernández, was at loggerheads with his vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, during their 2019-2023 government, with the duo reportedly going months without talking.
– TIMES/PERFIL/BLOOMBERG
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