Vice President of Argentina Victoria Villarruel visited the province of La Rioja, where she participated in the National Chaya Festival. During her contact with local media, she reaffirmed her federal stance: 'Every time, fewer and fewer provinces are able to fully turn around Argentina, and the objective is for them to feel that we are thinking of you, that they know that in Buenos Aires we have you present.' Villarruel arrived in La Rioja with a message of unity. This approach highlights the methodological differences within the presidential duo. While the President maintains a confrontational stance with those he calls 'the provincial caste,' Villarruel opted for institutional recognition and popular closeness in the territories. This stop in La Rioja consolidates the Vice President's own political profile, which travels on tracks independent of the State leadership, betting on dialogue where the central government has severed ties. However, Villarruel's presence did not go unnoticed and ended up acquiring political relevance that shakes the internal dynamics of the Casa Rosada. Upon descending from the aircraft, Villarruel was escorted by the provincial governor and national senators Florencia López and Fernando Rejal, a parliamentary courtesy gesture that marked a strong contrast with the isolation that Javier Milei imposes on opposition provinces. While public television avoided mentioning the festival or giving it airtime, Villarruel 'stole' the camera by spontaneously mixing with the crowd. In an attitude that contrasted with President Javier Milei's participation in the Jesús María Festival—where the President took the stage and sang—the Vice President preferred to dance with the people, showing herself covered in flour and with the traditional bunch of basil on her head, strictly complying with the Riojan ritual. This attempt to make the country's second authority invisible by the state channel reminded of the darkest times of Kirchnerism, when the official media apparatus focused exclusively on the figure of Cristina Kirchner and 'erased' dissident governors or then Vice President Julio Cobos during the conflict with the countryside.
