Buenos Aires, Argentina — Javier Milei, president of Argentina and leader of the La Libertad Avanza (Liberty Advances) party, is considering an alliance with former president and head of the PRO party, Mauricio Macri. Both leaders are seeking to merge in key districts for the 2025 legislative elections to challenge Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the Partido Justicialista (Judicialist Party). The potential agreement comes as Milei distances himself from his Vice President Victoria Villarruel, a move reminiscent of past political crises in the country.
Talk of a possible Milei and Macri alliance gained momentum on January 9, when the former president posted a message on X. Addressed to “Dear Javier,” the message expressed Macri’s willingness to “form a work team” to “end populism, demagogy, and lack of transparency.” The PRO leader also called for efforts to “defend the achievements” of the current government and to “advance an agenda of deep change and transformations that Argentina needs.”
Macri seeks to capitalize on the support he extended to Milei in October 2023, ahead of the second-round presidential election in which the current president defeated Judicialist Party candidate Sergio Massa. Following that agreement, Milei offered little in return to Macri, who criticized some policies but nevertheless backed the majority of La Libertad Avanza initiatives in Congress. Ahead of this year’s legislative elections, Macri is calling for a national alliance with La Libertad Avanza, particularly in key districts such as the city of Buenos Aires, governed by PRO politicians, and Buenos Aires Province, which is under control of the Judicialist Party.
The potential alliance faces resistance from sectors of La Libertad Avanza, who argue the party has already conquered most of PRO’s electorate. This position is led by Karina Milei, the president’s sister and official secretary general, and Santiago Caputo, a key advisor to the president. Javier Milei himself has shown an inclination towards the agreement, stating in December that both parties should share a ballot “in all districts,” in order to avoid “cheating the electorate.”
However, Macri’s candor was met with a lukewarm attitude from La Libertad Avanza. A heavy social network user, Milei refused to acknowledge the former president’s message, instead sharing dozens of posts in support of his own economic policy or questioning Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
No member of Milei’s cabinet addressed Macri’s proposal, including PRO figures in the government, such as Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. Analysts called the message a “white flag” and speculated that Milei will continue delaying an agreement, in order to weaken PRO’s position before the ballots are agreed upon.
Milei clashes with his own VP
President Milei’s potential alliance with Macri comes at a time when he is also widening the rift with his own vice president, Victoria Villarruel, with whom he shared a ballot in both 2021 and 2023.
The relationship has been tense since before Milei took office, as key areas such as security and defense, promised to Villarruel during the campaign, were handed to members of the PRO party as part of the electoral agreement.
Their differences became more apparent in February 2024, when Milei claimed Villarruel showed little support for his initiatives in Congress, while she argued she was simply avoiding failure in the Senate due to a lack of coordination. In private, the president accused her of attempting to destabilize him, referring to alleged contacts between his vice president and, ironically, Mauricio Macri.
Further tension arose in March when Villarruel stated that Milei was trapped between two strong women, naming his sister Karina Milei and herself. “Poor little ham,” she said, tongue-in-cheek, referring to the president, a quote that still resonates and deepened the divide.
After months of not addressing each other and even avoiding public appearances together, Milei and Villarruel clashed again this January over Senate salaries. The president has kept public salaries below inflation as a sign of sacrifice during the economic crisis, leading to complaints from the vice president, who claims she earns less than $3,500 a month.
“I earn less than the president, house representatives, senators, ministers, judges, diplomats, spokespersons, and so on. I don’t even get a house,” Villarruel posted in a reply on Instagram. “The political caste lives unconnected from the reality of the Argentine people,” replied Milei in a recent interview.
As with Macri, Milei’s position could be an attempt to isolate Villarruel and diminish her political influence ahead of the legislative elections. Recent polls show a decline in support for the vice president, who in recent months had matched Milei’s public image.
Conflict between a president and vice president is far from a novelty in Argentina. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was a staunch critic, and arguably a rival, of the presidency of Alberto Fernández between 2019 and 2023. She herself faced heavy criticism during her presidency, from 2007 to 2015. During her first term, Vice President Julio Cobos voted against a key economic project in the Senate in 2008 and later broke with her, though he avoided resignation. Her second running mate, Amado Boudou, spent much of his term under investigation for corruption. In 2000, the resignation of Vice President Carlos “Chacho” Álvarez led to the political crisis that forced Fernando de la Rúa to resign early in December 2001.
