It was Horacio Rodríguez Larreta's ex-wife, Bárbara Diez herself, who outed her. In a series of messages on Instagram, without naming her but giving up enough clues, she pointed out that young 36-year-old City Hall official, Milagros Maylin, was the new beau of the Buenos Aires City mayor.
Those close to Rodríguez Larreta were initially careful to deny the rumours, but eventually the opposition leader decided to confirm the veracity of the reports in an interview with journalist Luis Novaresio on the LN+ television channel.
Maylin, better known to her friends as ‘Mili,’ was probably part of the decision to open up: she has a degree in Communication Sciences from the Austral University (she graduated with honours), a Master's degree in Business Administration from the IAE Business School, where she obtained the Magna Cum Laude distinction awarded to the best average score, and two postgraduate degrees, one from the University of San Andrés and the other from ESADE.
After working for eight years in a well-known telecommunications company, she entered public administration as Director General of Technology for the Elderly, working under the Human Development Ministry in the City government after working in the private sector. She worked there until 2015.
Provincial management
A year later, Maylin joined the team of then-Buenos Aires Province governor María Eugenia Vidal in the nation’s most populous region, initially as director of Management Control and later as Social and Urban Integration undersecretary.
In November 2017, Vidal told the official that she was going to be in charge of a new body named OPISU, which would be dedicated exclusively to the slums of the Conurbano and the attempt to urbanise and develop poor neighbourhoods. Maylin decided to take the issue personally: she spent several nights sleeping in Puerta de Hierro, a settlement in La Matanza, and in Villa Itatí, in Quilmes. The governor adopted her politically soon after. The work also allowed the official to develop links with several key figures in government, including Hernán Lacunza (Economy) and Cristian Ritondo (Security), with whom she worked almost on a daily basis.
Maylin had already been working in management administration alongside one of her best friends, Emmanuel Ferrario, who today serves as deputy head of the City government and manages the Buenos Aires Legislature. Both Maylin and Ferrario gradually became driving forces behind Vidal's administration, under the tutelage of the then-chief-of-staff, Federico Salvai.
In 2019, and following the opposition’s electoral defeat in Buenos Aires Province, she returned to City Hall, opting to leave aside plans to become an executive director of the Fundación Pensar think-tank linked to PRO.
Pandemic and privacy
During the coronavirus pandemic, Maylin took on a key role, helping to lead the management of the Covid-19 crisis in the capital and oversee the DetectAR operation that went into vulnerable neighbourhoods. She formally joined the ‘Mesa Covid’ roundtable in April 2021, which was overseen by City Health Fernán Quirós. In late 2021, she took over as Integral Wellbeing secretary, an area falling under the remit of Quirós’ portfolio.
Currently, she is in charge of "promoting the integral wellbeing of neighbours, through policies and programmes that facilitate social integration, promote healthy habits and guarantee equality."
The eldest of four sisters and the daughter of Claudio and Mariana, Maylin is part of a new generation of PRO officials who are rising up through the opposition party. Always with a laptop to hand, she is seen by fellow officials as an individual who dedicates a large part of her time to work.
She is also linked to the 'La Marea' grouping of politicians seen as close to PRO and Mayor Rodríguez Larreta.
According to reports from Perfil, the couple first began meeting up outside of work in the middle of this year. Their first outing as a public couple was a double date with Vidal and her partner, Quique Sacco.
Those close to the former governor say that Maylin could be in line for a ministerial post, should Vidal win election to high office again.
Although their relationship is out in the open, it remains to be seen if Rodríguez Larreta and Maylin will be doing the rounds of the talk-shows anytime soon. The City mayor moved out of the flat he shares with Diez in November 2020, though she lives alone at her flat in Recoleta.
In addition to sharing a public role, Maylin also shares another passion with her partner: both are avid fans of Racing Club. Perhaps a visit to the stadium together will be the next step.
– TIMES/PERFIL [Featuring reporting by Ezequiel Spillman]
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