Victoria Eugenia Villarruel

Victoria Eugenia Villarruel is an Argentine lawyer and politician from La Libertad Avanza (LLA), serving as Vice-President of the Argentine Nation since 2023.

Political career

Born in 1975, Villarruel built her public profile first as a lawyer and activist before entering elected politics. Her background is closely associated with work on human rights, but from a strongly revisionist and security-focused perspective, particularly in relation to the armed conflict of the 1970s in Argentina. Before holding office, she became known as a public speaker and researcher on the actions of guerrilla organisations and on victims of political violence outside the traditional human rights agenda.

Her move into electoral politics came with the rise of the libertarian current led by Javier Milei. In 2021, she was elected National Deputy for the City of Buenos Aires, entering the Chamber of Deputies on a legislative ticket associated with the emerging La Libertad Avanza project. As deputy, she developed a profile centred on sovereignty, security, national identity and a strong critique of what she presents as the political use of human rights discourse.

In 2023, she was elected Vice-President of the Nation alongside Javier Milei. As vice-president, she also became President of the Senate of the Nation, a role she has held since 2023. This placed her at the centre of institutional politics at a time of intense polarisation and economic crisis, giving her a visible constitutional role and making her one of the most prominent women in contemporary Argentine politics.

Relationship with the public

Villarruel has a relationship with the public that is highly polarised. She has a solid following among voters who value order, security, anti-establishment politics and a hard line on the memory of the 1970s. Her public interventions often resonate with conservative audiences, veterans’ associations, and sectors critical of Kirchnerism and the human rights movement as it has been organised by the Argentine state.

At the same time, she is strongly rejected by many human rights organisations, centre-left groups and parts of the broader democratic opposition, which view her discourse as revisionist or insufficiently sensitive to the crimes of state terrorism. She is frequently in the media, and her statements generate intense coverage because of her symbolic role as vice-president and because she often speaks in an assertive, confrontational style.

Her media relationship is therefore dual: she has a significant capacity to mobilise attention and shape debate, but she also attracts controversy, especially when discussing the military dictatorship, internal security, feminism, or historical memory.

Positions and political profile

Villarruel is identified with a national conservative and law-and-order political profile inside a broader libertarian coalition. She has championed themes such as public security, institutional authority, defence of sovereignty, and the revaluation of the armed forces and security institutions. Her discourse often emphasises victims of guerrilla violence and criticises what she sees as one-sided accounts of Argentina’s recent past.

She is perceived as politically distinct from Javier Milei in style and, at times, in emphasis. While both share an anti-establishment and anti-Peronist posture, Villarruel tends to appear more institutionally minded, more traditionalist on cultural questions, and more rooted in debates about historical memory and security policy. Within her party, she is a central figure because of her electoral weight and constitutional office, but she has also been seen as a potential source of tension due to her own political identity and strong public profile.

Key moments that define her include:

• her emergence as a public voice on memory politics and the legacy of the 1970s conflict;
• her election as National Deputy in 2021;
• her election as Vice-President in 2023, which elevated her to one of the highest offices in the republic;
• her role as President of the Senate, where she has become a visible presiding figure in a fragmented and confrontational legislative environment.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Victoria Villarruel? She is an Argentine lawyer and politician, born in 1975, who serves as Vice-President of Argentina and President of the Senate, and is a leading figure in La Libertad Avanza.

What office does Victoria Villarruel currently hold? She is the Vice-President of the Argentine Nation and, by virtue of that office, also the President of the Senate.

When did Victoria Villarruel enter national politics? She entered elected national politics in 2021, when she became National Deputy for the City of Buenos Aires.

What are Victoria Villarruel’s main political positions? She is associated with security, institutional order, national sovereignty, and a revisionist approach to Argentina’s recent past, especially regarding the 1970s.

Is Victoria Villarruel part of Javier Milei’s political project? Yes. She is one of the most prominent figures in La Libertad Avanza and was elected on the same national ticket as Javier Milei in 2023.

Why is Victoria Villarruel controversial? She is controversial because of her outspoken positions on human rights memory, the armed forces, and the political violence of the 1970s, which are viewed very differently across Argentine society.