A wave of virtual activists and trolls recently expressed their support for Vice President Victoria Villarruel on social media. Their chosen battleground was a post from Karina Milei, the sister and chief of staff of the presidency. This exchange coincided with one of the most tense moments between the two women. Sources from Casa Rosada commented to PERFIL that the situation was “all broken” and that Villarruel was effectively “out of the government.”
Within this context, Milei made a simple change to her profile picture—an edited image that prompted an outpouring of angry comments from Villarruel’s followers. Some of the comments included, “I backed you until you crossed Victoria,” “You may be your brother’s boss, but don’t overshadow the Vice President,” and “If you want to mediate, run for election… I VOTED FOR VICTORIA.” Many others echoed similar sentiments, telling Karina to step aside and let others do their jobs.
These criticisms highlight that Villarruel is absent from the official government hierarchy. This exclusion, alongside reports from Casa Rosada that she was “out” of the libertarian administration, enraged her supporters. Unlike typical executive officials, elected officials like Villarruel can only be removed through impeachment, not dismissed at will.
The tension escalated further a few days before a meeting between President Milei and French President Emmanuel Macron, when Villarruel publicly supported footballer Enzo Fernández and called France a “colonial” nation. This statement forced the Argentine president to publicly distance himself from her comments. Karina also met with the French ambassador to mitigate potential fallout in diplomatic relations.
Since the beginning of their partnership, significant differences have emerged between Villarruel and the Milei siblings. Despite being on the presidential ticket, she never became part of the inner circle of the libertarian administration. During her campaign, she even created her own distinct campaign materials, coming from a party later integrated into La Libertad Avanza, but without Javier Milei’s direct involvement.
Further complicating matters were issues over Senate salaries, the approval of the Base Law, and other significant decisions made by Villarruel that heightened tensions. The breaking point can be traced back to the distribution of power following their victory over Massa in the second round of elections. Initially, there was a pre-agreement for Villarruel to lead the Ministries of Security and Defense, but that arrangement fell apart, with those positions going to Patricia Bullrich and her ally Luis Petri instead.
This gesture of support from the libertarians towards the PRO party left Villarruel searching for support within the faction opposed to Bullrich, namely that of Mauricio Macri. Since then, rumors of closed-door meetings and attempts to orchestrate a micro coup have circulated widely, perpetuating the ongoing rifts and tensions between the parties involved.
Source: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/politica/guerra-de-trolls-usuarios-fanaticos-de-victoria-villarruel-se-metieron-en-las-redes-sociales-de-karina-milei.phtml
