Villarruel asked Milei to save on travel and the SIDE and defended the increase for retirees and funds for the disabled.

In a series of social media exchanges with anonymous or unknown users, Vice President Victoria Villarruel yesterday highlighted the political differences that separate her from President Javier Milei, placing herself closer to the political opposition than to the ruling party.

Without hesitation or duplicity, Villarruel, who has shared the political space with Milei since their debuts in public office, asked the President “to save (money) on trips and on the SIDE”, to behave “in an “adult” way, revealed that they do not speak to each other and that Milei does not even greet her, and accused him of “bringing relatives” into public office, “living in a palace”, “betraying what he said” and implementing decisions that “harm the Argentines” .

On this last point, Villarruel went directly to endorse the content of two of the laws that the Senate voted on Thursday with the support of the opposition: the pension increase and the creation of an aid fund for people with disabilities. “If there is (fiscal) balance, then assisting the most vulnerable shouldn't be so terrible. The issue is that a retiree can't wait, and a disabled person even less so, ” wrote the vice president, in response to an Instagram user identified as @sinrivales_ who had asked her why she opened Thursday's session.

That was the most significant difference Villarruel raised , because it shows her disagreement with Milei's unrestricted defense of the fiscal surplus as the motto of her administration. In that sense, Villarruel was closer to the opposition's position than to that of the government she belongs to.

Tensions between the two members of the presidential ticket of La Libertad Avanza reached their peak this week when the President called his vice president a "traitor."

While it is true that Milei often hurls categorical accusations and insults at her political rivals and also tends to back down and take contradictory positions, the fight seems to have definitely reached a point where it will be impossible to turn back .

This terminal situation, however, might not trigger future confrontations that escalate beyond the exchange of statements on TV or skirmishes on social media.

Unlike the split between former Frepasista vice president Carlos "Chacho" Álvarez and former Radical president Fernando De la Rúa in October 2000, which ultimately became the Alliance government's rupture; the vote against mobile agricultural taxes imposed by former vice president Julio Cobos during Cristina Kirchner's administration in July 2008 ; or the power stripping and restrictions imposed by Cristina Fernández during the previous administration, Villarruel today lacks the power to implement decisions against Milei on her own. In that sense, the situation is closer to low-level, high-visibility fights like the one between Néstor Kirchner and Daniel Scioli .

The clash between Milei and her deputy is not the first one they have had during their administration, since the mistrust began almost from the moment they took their seats in the Executive Branch.

It's unclear what caused the disagreement, because when questioned privately, the President only mentions that his running mate asked him to fill some public administration positions with officials she trusted. For Milei, this reflects her former ally's idea of "going after the cash register" of public resources . Milei supporters also recall a meeting between the vice president and Mauricio Macri, which they considered a conspiracy.

Those close to Villarruel, of course, deny these accusations and only speak of the President's intention to hinder the vice president's political development. Until yesterday, the vice president stood by her institutional role and argued that her position as an official voted in by the people on the same ballot as the President should be preserved. Now she's gone a step further.