Argentina. Javier Milei has his “iron lady”, a supporter of the “conservative revolution”. What is worth knowing about Victoria Villarruel

Victoria Villarruel is one of the president-elect’s closest associates Argentina Javier Milei and was his candidate for vice president in Sunday’s election elections presidential. Milei, 53, won with 56 percent support, which means that 48-year-old Villarruel will be the second person in the country. It will also supervise the ministries of defense and interior affairs.

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Villarruel is from Buenos Aires. She graduated in law from the local university. Her father was Colonel Eduardo Marcelo Villarruela, who was famous for fighting against the English in Falklands War in 1982. She herself attracted the attention of commentators with her uncritical approach to the contemporary history of Argentina, in particular with her failure to condemn the military junta that ruled the country in 1976-1983. According to her, the invocation of military rule is used by parts of the political scene to fight the right wing, and the death toll of the junta is inflated. Some defense organizations human rights they estimate the number of victims at 30,000, but according to Villarruel it was several times less. This would be evidenced by, among others, a commemorative plaque at the capital’s Memorial Park with 8,751 names.

Villarruel expresses far-right views. He believes that the global right should cooperate closely in promoting traditional values. For example, the Spanish party Vox is close to her.

As El Pais describes, Villarruel advocates “a conservative revolution against abortion, sexual diversity and gender equality policies,” although in recent years Argentina has led Latin America in guaranteeing these rights. “I am pro-life because life begins at conception and just as I had the right to be born, I want every other person to be able to have it, whether they want it or not. This is not a matter of religion, it is pure biology,” she wrote in response to the newspaper’s questions. During the election campaign, she stated that she was in favor of repealing the law allowing abortion, but she avoided answering the question whether she would seek to prosecute and punish women for such an act.

Villarruel is also a supporter of social activism and believes that it is necessary to promote civic attitudes and involve as many citizens as possible in social life and politics. He belongs to several organizations grouping lawyers and Catholics. One of them is the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, which gathers among its ranks Catholic traditionalists.

She has repeatedly emphasized that the basis of modern Argentina must be “citizens keeping an eye on politicians” and “controlling the decision-making processes in the country by the people.” After Sunday’s elections, she expressed satisfaction with the high turnout of 76 percent and the great interest of citizens in ensuring the fair course of voting. – The most important thing is that people are not afraid to vote and get involved in the political life of our country – she emphasized. She noted that one of her greatest dreams is the “unity of the Argentine nation.”

The new vice president of Argentina is considered an energetic person, just like Milei. The Spanish “El Mundo” calls her a “real iron lady” and notes that the politician performs very well in public debates. However, in an interview with the newspaper, political scientist Ana Iparraguirre noted that she is “much more dogmatic in her views” than the president-elect. – I think we will have to wait to see their relationships and see what role each of them will play in the government. In Argentina, we have a history of strong tensions between presidents and vice presidents, she pointed out

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