“We can’t see the logic. They don’t say anything to us. They don’t even pick up the phone to ask about any specific issue; instead, they go straight on the attack. The [upper house] session about [ejecting disgraced senator Edgardo] Kueider was agreed upon with the Executive. We do what they ask us to do, organise what they ask for, and yet they still hit out at us… what do I know?”
With an air of absolute resignation, those in Victoria Villarruel’s inner circle seem to have accepted that there’s nothing they can do to mend her relationship with Javier Milei. An attempted reconciliation at the end of November failed, and in recent days, Milei’s hardliners have gone all-out against the vice-president, accusing her of “playing the victim” and failing to understand her role. The saga has entered a new chapter.
The fraught relationship between Villarruel and the President, as well as his sister Karina Milei, is no secret. Tensions began during last year’s election campaign and have deepened since the arrival to power. Just two weeks ago, there were undoubtedly movements towards reconciliation. Villarruel collaborator Emilio Viramonte met with Milei’s top advisor Santiago Caputo and accepted conditions set by Casa Rosada in order to restore ties. But the agreement didn’t hold.
“There had been opportunities for dialogue. The meeting with Emilio was productive, and other doors opened. We were at ease,” Villarruel’s team says. In fact, they claimed that a message the vice-president posted on social media on Sunday — in which she denied being involved in any political alliance outside of La Libertad Avanza and reaffirmed her loyalty to Milei — was “another step towards reconciliation.”
It clearly wasn’t enough. The backlash against Villarruel following the Kueider session came not only from Milei himself, but also from peripheral figures aligned with the government. They included Spanish journalist Javier Negre (one of the new owners of Argentine right-wing outlet La Derecha Diario), La Libertad Avanza lawmaker Lilia Lemoine, and Alejandro Sarubbi Benítez, a lawyer for libertarian online influencer Daniel ‘Gordo Dan’ Parisini.
Attacks on Villarruel
Last week, a day after the upper house vote in which Edgardo Kueider was expelled from the Senate, Milei directly criticised his running-mate for calling the session. According to the President, his second-in-command knew about that week’s trip to Italy and that he therefore could not preside over the Senate while he was out of the country. The session, he said, was “invalid.”
Villarruel’s camp refutes this version, stating the session was convened in agreement with Casa Rosada. Later, at a public event, Milei doubled down: “Anyone pursuing their own agenda and failing to follow the party line will be expelled,” he declared.
The Vice-President took up the challenge, posting a lengthy statement on the X social network that her team claims was another effort to bridge the gap with the national Executive. “In light of recent statements from certain political parties claiming to represent me and my ideas, I want to make it clear that there is no room for ‘moderation’ today. I am not part of any political alliance, and if I were to join one, it would be wherever President Milei asks me to. I am part of the movement that has governed our country since its inception, and I will remain here, defending the convictions that brought President Milei and me together on a shared path,” she wrote.
Negre’s responses to Villarruel quickly went viral. The Spaniard accused the veep of speaking ill of her boss, of meeting with a former Senate employee who had allegedly reported ideological persecution, and of trying to independently build ties with far-right Spanish political leaders.
In an interview with Perfil, Negre stood by his claims. His list of grievances was extensive: “I know for a fact that there’s a consultancy firm managing a troll army to boost Villarruel’s profile online. We don’t know how it’s being funded,” he claimed. “The vice-president has been setting her own agenda, touring provinces and meeting influencers to position herself as a candidate in case Milei falters.”
Negre wasn’t finished: “I’m aware that in February, her right-hand man, Juan Martín Donato, met with an investor from a Latin American country, claiming Victoria would be the next president”; “Over recent months, she’s been telling leaders in various countries about her situation, playing the victim and alleging persecution”; “At the Argentine Embassy in Spain, she organised a summit with former Vox leaders, discussing her challenges with Javier and Karina;” “During the diplomatic crisis with the French, a consultancy firm, acting on her orders, began posting aggressive comments about France, forcing the Casa Rosada to intervene.”
Those dismissing Negre’s claims point out that he was fired from the El Mundo newspaper after a court found him (and the media outlet) guilty of publishing a fabricated article about an abuse survivor without her consent. Critics also accuse him of being a government spokesperson for the Casa Rosada, rather than an independent journalist. He denies these allegations: “I shared this information because I thought it was relevant. I didn’t even publish it in La Derecha Diario; I just used social media,” he said.
Public sparring
Negre’s accusations align with claims from Lemoine, another lawmaker often seen as a mouthpiece for Casa Rosada and who closely following the party’s official line. She also claims ideological persecution happens within Villarruel’s team and, like Negre, allege that an employee was recently dismissed for attending La Libertad Avanza rallies and liking Milei’s social media posts.
Villarruel’s team immediately denied this claim, stating the decision was based on complaints about the employee’s alleged inappropriate behaviour. In response to Clarín, they clarified that the individual had “harassed and encouraged indecent behaviour among minors.”
Following Negre and Lemoine, Sarubbi Benítez – Gordo Dan’s lawyer – entered the fray. Mocking the vice-president, the lawyer shared Villarruel’s post and added: “A resounding victory for the Forces of Heaven. And they didn’t even need to use the two carpetazos,” a reference to files detailing dirt on a political rival. The veep fired back, referencing a long-standing issue within La Libertad Avanza: “I’m eager to know what kind of intelligence they’re conducting on me and my family.”
Amid the public sparring, contradictory narratives, and spectacle, the distrust between Milei and Villarruel’s camps continues to breed anecdotes of paranoia. Stories of dossiers, wiretaps, and spies repeatedly surface in private meetings. In a climate in which both sides believe the other has access to the intelligence services and dirty secrets, reconciliation seems far-fetched.
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