Dear Milei: Beware of Your Vice President

Javier Milei has attained more success than anyone ever predicted. When the libertarian took the political landscape by storm, many believed he could not navigate the Argentine political institutions and veto players. “Congress is not going to let him” became a well-known phrase that captured this collective disbelief.

But now that the storm has passed, the leader has showcased an extraordinary ability to dominate Argentine politics. He passed two of the most ambitious packages of laws in recent memory (the Ley Bases and the fiscal package); situated the Peronism in a struggle to find a new leader; and tore apart the non-Peronist coalition Juntos por el Cambio. And despite his government experiencing the worsening of key socioeconomic variables -plummet in economic activity, increased poverty and unemployment, salary drop, amongst others–, his positive image remains surprisingly strong (43,6%).

Milei is in an idyllic situation: strong governability, a marginal decrease in his positive image, and an absence of strong opposition leaders. Nevertheless, a renowned figure is steadily building her power that could become a future menace to Milei: Vice President Victoria Villarruel. With a skilful ability to lead Argentina’s Senate, deep ties with the military and conservative sectors, and an ecstatic nationalist discourse, Villarruel has positioned herself as the government official with the highest positive image (48,7%). And worryingly for Milei, she is showing increasing signs of her ambitions to project herself as a leader and build her political movement, apart from the President.

Political Activism and Rise to Stardom

Victoria Villarruel is a lawyer known for professing a “complete memory” narrative that understands the confrontation between the military that presided over the last civil-military dictatorship and the guerrilla groups as a “symmetric war” where both sides bore “the same responsibility.” She has been opposed to the reopening of trials for crimes against humanity in 2003 and founded the Centro de Estudios Legales sobre el Terrorismo y sus Víctimas (CELTYV), an NGO that aimed to defend the victims of the Argentine guerrilla. She has since gained considerable public prominence.

Villarruel’s political career was parallel to Milei’s. They were elected in the 2021 legislative elections for the Lower Chamber of Congress for the La Libertad Avanza party and then comprised the presidential formula that won the 2023 presidential elections.?

Milei became known for his eccentric look, an incendiary and violent dialect that pledged a crusade against “the political caste” and the defence of “individual freedom”, and technical and economy-focused discourses. Villarruel showed a more professional image, a nationalist and conservative discourse that pledged for the defence of “traditional values” such as the opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, and sex education, the firm support for the military and the resistance to human rights and memory State policies. Villarruel based her rhetoric on social and controversial topics to appeal to and mobilise a different and wider audience than Milei’s.?

From Discourse to Actions

The contrast between Milei and Villarruel eventually translated into actions. On November 14th, 2023, Villarruel organised a small rally that initially came across as a gesture of support for Milei before the runoff. However, the attendees held signs with Villarruel’s new political logo that differed from Milei’s party. While some thought this could be an isolated event, others interpreted this episode as Villarruel’s first attempt to build her political project apart from Milei. And time proved the latter right.

After winning the runoff, Milei announced the appointment of Patricia Bullrich and Luis Petri as Ministers of Security and Defense, two prominent figures of the Juntos por el Cambio coalition. Surprisingly, these were the ministries Milei promised Villarruel would have under her orbit if they won the elections. Villarruel quickly reacted. She visited the Argentine Federal Police and the National Gendarmerie to show her support for the bodies “beyond who was the minister appointed by President Milei” (in her own words) and then held a meeting with the new Minister of Defense to “ease tensions” after Milei’s decision.?

Villarruel’s handling of the Argentine Senate triggered a series of confrontations with Milei. In December, Milei issued a Decree that modified, replaced and abolished numerous laws. However, the decree could remain without effect if both Chambers of Congress rejected it. Representatives from different parties in the Senate increased the pressure on Villarruel to enable the Decree’s discussion. With only 7 out of 72 seats in the Senate, she aimed to approach positions with other parties to avoid a defeat.?

To do so, the VP signed a resolution that raised the Senators' salaries to ingratiate herself with them before voting on the Decree. However, her strategy was hindered by Milei, who saw this as an open contradiction to his pledge for government austerity and pressured Villarruel to retract her decision, who finally obeyed him.

After this, she took her revenge by allowing the Decree’s treatment in the Senate, knowing it would be rejected. It was the first time in history the Senate rejected a President’s decree and a major blow to Milei’s government. Villarruel leveraged this situation and posted a video claiming she defended the “Senate’s institutionality”, a narrative she would later incorporate into her political identity.

On March 21st, Villarruel gave her first interview as vice president and showed her differences with Milei. She criticised the President’s proposal to appoint the controversial judge Ariel Lijo to the Supreme Court, and the Ministers of Defense and Security’s decision to use the Armed Forces in internal security tasks. She expressed her dissatisfaction with Milei not assigning her the promised Ministries and defended her choice to raise the senators’ salaries and to allow the discussion of the Decree, arguing that she respected the Senate’s institutionality.

In April, Milei launched an attack against the public universities, one of Argentina’s most valued institutions. What started as defunding the public university evolved into a virulent ideological crusade of Milei, accusing the institution of leftist indoctrination and corruption, and mocking the massive protest against his policy.?

Villarruel saw another opportunity. She posted on X adhering to many of Milei’s criticisms. However, she highlighted the international prestige of the institution, her background as a public university alumna, defended public education, and acknowledged the multitudinary nature of the protest. Once again, she built her narrative, differentiating herself from the president. That same month she defied Milei by allowing the Senators to vote on raising their salaries, winning that confrontation.

Recently, tensions between Milei and Villarruel reached new heights. During the controversy around the racist chants from Argentine football player Enzo Fernández, the vice-president took to X to express her support for the player and stated: “No colonialist country is going to intimidate us for a football song or for telling the truths that they do not want to admit.” Her post garnered millions of views and user support, successfully exploiting her narrative of nationalism. After this, Milei’s sister went to the French Embassy to apologise for Villarruel’s words and the president disavowed her post. Despite this, the vice president pinned the post on her X account, resigned from her position as the President of the Democrat Party -one of Milei’s closest allies-, and maintained a separate agenda of events from the President.?

The Building of a Movement and an Identity

Villarruel conveys an image of a more traditional and professional politician than Milei. Whereas the President calls Congress a “rathole” and destroys any attempt at consensus, she showcases a skilful management of the Senate and pledges respect to institutionality. While Milei focuses his speech on the government’s economic and technical aspects, she positions herself as the incarnation of right-wing conservative social values that appeal to larger audiences. When Milei is busy travelling for the 11th time since he took office to attend mostly non-official visits, Villarruel exploits the narrative of nationalism and patriotism that people identify with.

Villarruel’s actions show cautious but strategic thinking. She continuously supports the President, but when it comes to controversial topics that reach larger audiences, she always ensures to leave her mark. This way, she is avoiding the usual fate of vice-presidents: falling into anonymity. She is building a separate identity from the President and projecting herself as an alternate leader. Her being the government official with the highest positive image proves she has been successful.?

So far as Milei remains popular, she will continue to be a loyal vice president who only defies him on topics that amplify her visibility and grow her political capital. This way, the vice president is conducting a risk assessment, preparing for the possibility that the president’s image may show clear signs of deterioration. When this happens, she will already have carved a distinguishable identity and rhetoric that propels her as the alternate leader. The captain always goes down with the ship, but in this case, the Chief Mate will ensure she keeps all the lifejackets to herself.

Salvador Lescano is a Master in Transnational Governance candidate at the European University Institute and holds a B.A. in International Relations from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. His articles on Argentine politics have been featured in outlets such as The Diplomat, NACLA, and Global Americans, among others.