Distancing herself from the government of Javier Milei, Vice President Victoria Villarruel is taking refuge in her institutional role in the Senate and trying to ignore the internal disputes within La Libertad Avanza. While these conflicts have eased since the electoral victory, they continue to cause problems within the libertarian movement.
On Tuesday, the head of the upper house participated in the colloquium “The role of the Republic of Türkiye in the new world order and its projection in South America” at the Senate.
“A key space to strengthen ties, exchange strategic perspectives, and continue to boost cooperation between Argentina and Türkiye,” Villarruel wrote on X, accompanying the post with several images showing her smiling with representatives of the Eurasian country.
The vice president is trying to distance herself from criticism from libertarian voices who accuse her of not committing to the interests of the national government.
Last Friday at noon, Villarruel received the Minister of Security and senator-elect for La Libertad Avanza (LLA), Patricia Bullrich. After the summit, she stated that the meeting was “positive and constructive, in a very friendly tone.”
“It was a positive, constructive meeting in a very friendly tone, where we talked about different bills and how the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) bloc will be managed,” she said at a press conference following the encounter.
Bullrich highlighted that the vice president was “very collaborative” in supporting the ruling coalition’s agenda in the Senate. However, hours later, in a television interview, she criticized her for “not taking the government’s side.”
In the interview, the senator-elect, who will become the head of the libertarian bloc in the Senate, stated that their meeting made clear “the differences in how to face the future” and that, although “in general” the heads of the chambers “take a side” in parliamentary debates, “like Martín Menem,” Villarruel has not been doing so.
“The goal that I am going to seek, together with our entire bloc, is for the vice president, without violating the regulations because it is not necessary, to help push the projects that the Government needs so that Argentina grows more and more,” Bullrich pointed out.
