Victoria Villarruel

• Independent (2021–2022)
• La Libertad Avanza (since 2021)

Her Excellency Victoria Villarruel
Villarruel in 2024
Vice President of Argentina
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 December 2023
Alma mater	University of Buenos Aires National Technological University
Occupation	Lawyer politician writer activist
Awards	Friend della forze dell'Ordine (2012)
Signature

Victoria Eugenia Villarruel (born 13 April 1975) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, writer, and activist who has served as vice president of Argentina since 2023. Described as a neoconservative politician, she is the founder of the civil association Centro de Estudios Legales sobre el Terrorismo y sus Víctimas (transl. Center for Legal Studies on Terrorism and its Victims), which she has chaired since its inception. She was a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies from 2021 to 2023. Villarruel belongs to the La Libertad Avanza political coalition. She has been accused of Argentine state terrorism denial by several media outlets and human rights organisations. Villarruel denies such accusations, maintaining that she does not support the last Argentine military dictatorship.

Early life and education

Villarruel was born on 13 April 1975. ^[1] Her grandfather was a historian who was employed by the Argentine Navy; according to her, he survived four guerrilla bombings. Her father was a high-ranked Argentine Army member. ^[2] In 2008, she took a course in Inter-Agency Coordination and Combating Terrorism at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, ^[3] a U.S. Department of Defense institution based at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. ^[4]

Activism

Villarruel and Admiral Julio Horacio Guardia with an image of Eliana Krawczyk

Villarruel hosted a radio programme called Proyecto Verdad in the early 2000s. She began her political activism as part of the group of Karina Mujica, president of the association Memoria completa, according to statements by retired Major Colonel Pedro Rafael Mercado, Cecilia Pando's husband.^{[ citation needed ]} Villarruel was also part of the Association of Relatives and Friends of Political Prisoners of Argentina (AFyAPPA), of which Pando was president. She protested in front of the Comodoro Py courts together with Pando to demand the release of those convicted of crimes against humanity during the National Reorganization Process.^{[ citation needed ]} According to Mercado, between 2001 and 2003, he was part of the meetings that would later give rise to Jóvenes por la Verdad, a group of which he was a member, dedicated to organizing visits to Jorge Rafael Videla while he was under house arrest, and which was also in charge of collecting letters for ESMA repressor Ricardo Cavallo while he was imprisoned in Spain, and Villarruel personally arranged for Mercado and his son to meet Videla.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2003, she founded the Center for Legal Studies on Terrorism and its Victims (CELTYV), ^[5] which several human rights organizations in the country repudiated for having denialist views and vindicating the theory of the two demons. ^[6] On 21 December 2005, she participated in the first march of the Association of Relatives and Friends of Political Prisoners of Argentina (AFyAPPA), which criticized Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for calling "those who saved us from subversive terrorism criminals". AFyAPPA is an association that considers military and security forces personnel prosecuted by the civilian justice system for their participation in state terrorism during the last military dictatorship to be political prisoners and calls for their release. ^[7]

Speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2011, Villarruel challenged what she described as "the official history" of modern Argentina. According to that history, terrorism took place more or less exclusively during the Dirty War, when the nation was under a military junta; Villarruel's point of view was that organized terrorism also occurred between 1973 and 1976, when it had a democratic government. She postulated that the two major Argentine guerrilla groups of that era, the People's Revolutionary Army and Montoneros, had links with the Castro regime in Cuba and with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), with at least one of the groups training Islamists in the Middle East and supplying the PLO with weapons that were used in deadly attacks on Israel. Villarruel said that this history was later covered up by the Kirchner government, that the terrorists of the 1970s went on to enjoy the Kirchners' protection, and that many of those former terrorists held positions of responsibility in the Argentine establishment, citing civil servants or journalists. In her talk, Villarruel also accused the Kirchner government of acting in complicity with Iran. ^[8]

Los otros muertos, Villarruel's 2014 book about focusing on Argentine conflicts, has been alleged to include methodological errors, such as listing 84 N.N. (identity unknown) victims from dates prior to the founding of the groups she denounces as terrorists, victims of other groups like the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, and failing to differentiate between civilian deaths and military casualties. ^[9] According to Villarruel, the majority of their crimes had in fact been committed during the three years of democracy immediately prior to the 1976 military coup. ^[2] Because of her criticism of the terrorists and of their rehabilitation, she has been accused of defending the Dirty War. ^[2]

Political career

In 2020, Villarruel signed the Madrid Charter , a document drafted by the far-right Spanish party Vox that describes left-wing groups, such as the São Paulo Forum and the Puebla Group, as enemies of Ibero-America and accuses them of engaging in "a criminal project under the umbrella of the Cuban regime" that "seeks to destabilize liberal democracies and the state of law". ^{[10] [11] [12]} In the 2021 Argentine legislative election, Villarruel was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, a position she maintained until 2023; she was an independent politician until she joined in 2022 the conservative Democratic Party. She was also the running mate of Javier Milei in the 2023 Argentine general election as part of the La Libertad Avanza coalition, ^[13] and was elected Vice President of Argentina. ^[14]

During their presidential campaign, observers pointed to several differences between Villarruel and Milei. Villarruel supports civil unions but not same-sex marriage in Argentina, and disagrees with Milei on questions like organ trade legalization, on the grounds that the human body is not a good; their differences of views have been explained as philosophical issues due to Milei's economist background. ^[15] They also held different views on the Argentine military dictatorship. While Milei publicily expressed that he is not a defender of it, Villarruel is the daughter of a military officer and has been accused by some of historical revisionism in her accounts of the period. ^{[16] [17]} Despite this, she had a significant influence on Milei during the campaign. ^[18]

During a September 2023 debate, Villarruel was accused by Agustín Rossi, the vice-presidential candidate from the Union for the Homeland, of "infiltrating democracy", while the leftist vice-presidential candidate Nicolás del Caño from the Workers' Left Front asked Villarruel about her meetings with Videla and what they talked about, referencing the Etchecolatz case. ^[19] In late August 2023, it was made public that Villarruel's name and mobile phone number were written down in handwriting by Miguel Etchecolatz, who was convicted of kidnapping and murder in the Night of the Pencils, in the diary where he was preparing the defence of his trial in 2006 for crimes against humanity. Referencing one of the military dictatorship's most infamous members, a former marine officer also known as "the Angel of Death", Rossi told Villarruel: "I think that, deep down, you vindicate the dictatorship. I've never heard you criticize the torture, the rapes, or the stealing of babies. You remind me of Astiz, you know how he infiltrated the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo organization?" ^[19] In response to Rossi's claims that she does not believe in democracy, Villarruel said: "Not only do I believe in democracy, but I have also been calling for democracy to recognize the civilian victims of terrorism that were attacked by the armed organizations you are implicitly defending." ^[19]

In a November 2023 debate between the vice-presidential candidates, Villarruel denied the existence of 30,000 missing persons and defended the role played in the illegal repression by Juan Daniel Amelong, an Argentine Army lieutenant colonel who has accumulated five convictions for crimes against humanity committed in Rosario, Santa Fe. Her denialist statements attracted criticism not only from the human rights secretary Horacio Pietragalla Corti and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel but also from leaders of the conservative Juntos por el Cambio coalition, the Radical Civic Union deputy Mario Negri, and Pablo Avelluto, who criticized Patricia Bullrich for having praised Villarruel's performance in the debate. ^[20]

Political positions

Politically, Villlarruel has been described as a neoconservative. On social issues, while she is favorable to civil unions for same-sex couples, she is opposed to same-sex marriage. ^[15] She has defended the National Reorganization Process, which along with some of her views on the military junta period, have garnered criticism. ^[17] Those stances have attracted controversy, including accusations of Argentine state terrorism denial. ^{[16] [21]} In a 2011 interview, Villarruel asserted that opposition politicians in Argentina avoided speaking about the victims of 1970s terrorism. She said that the Center for Legal Studies on Terrorism had managed to identify by name 13,074 victims of terrorists, of which 1,010 were assassinated, and added that this figure was only preliminary. ^[22] Villarruel's views on social issues are heavily influenced by her traditional Catholic faith, as she attends a church from the Society of Saint Pius X. ^{[23] [24] [25]}

After the end of the Kirchner era in early 2016, Villarruel continued to criticize the presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, alleging that they defended left-wing terrorists, and engaged in whataboutism regarding victims of terrorism to deflect from those of the junta. She said: "For the past twelve years, the Kirchner governments have glorified the armed struggle of the guerrillas. In Argentina, if you don't support the guerrillas, people assume you support the dictatorship." ^[2] As a result of her controversial statements, critics accused her of trying to rewrite the history of the military dictatorship and of whitewashing the junta, charges that she denied. ^[2]

As Vice President, Villaruel has opposed plans by Javier Milei to deploy the Argentine military to intervene in domestic security operations, particularly in the context of increasing drug-related violence in Rosario, saying that "The role of the armed forces is not to fight civilians." ^[26]

Personal life

Villarruel is a traditionalist Catholic and attends the Tridentine Mass at the chapel of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces in Buenos Aires; the chapel is operated by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist Catholic group which is not in full communion with the Holy See. According to Father Javier Olivera Ravasi, she is not a member of the SSPX but attends such chapel because it is the only one offering the Tridentine Mass in the area, and she also attends the mass of Paul VI elsewhere in the city. ^{[27] [28]}

In addition to her native Spanish, Villarruel is conversational in English and Japanese. ^[29]

Electoral history

Executive

Electoral history of Victoria Villarruel

Election	Office	List		Votes			Result	Ref.
				Total	%	P.
2023 1-R	Vice President of Argentina		La Libertad Avanza	8,034,990	29.99%	2nd	→ Round 2	[30]
2023 2-R				14,476,462	55.69%	1st	Elected

Legislative

Electoral history of Victoria Villarruel

Election	Office	List		No.	District	Votes			Result	Ref.
						Total	%	P.
2021	National Deputy		La Libertad Avanza	2	City of Buenos Aires	313,808	17.04%	3rd [lower-alpha 1]	Elected	[31]

1. Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.

Publications

• Los llaman... jóvenes idealistas (They Call Them... Idealist Youth), 2010. ^[32]
• Los otros muertos. Las víctimas civiles del terrorismo guerrillero de los 70 (The Other Dead: The Civilian Victims of Guerrilla Terrorism in the 1970s), 2014, co-written with Carlos Manfroni. ^{[3] [8]}

References

1. "Sobre el silencio y el dolor de los inocentes, no tenemos futuro". La Nacion Revista. 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
2. Lehmann, Remi (29 February 2016). "Activists Fear the History of Argentina's Dirty War Is About to Be Rewritten". Vice News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
3. "Alumni Spotlights" (PDF). Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
4. "About the Perry Center". 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
5. "Victoria Villarruel | Speakers | Oslo Freedom Forum". Oslo Freedom Forum. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
6. "In Argentina, Milei challenges the reality of state terrorism under the dictatorship". Le Monde.fr. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
7. "Victoria Villarruel marched for freedom from the genocidaires of the military dictatorship". Es de Latino News. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
8. "Victoria Villarruel – Terrorism and Impunity in Argentina". YouTube. 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
9. Ximena Tordini (10 October 2021). "Victoria Villarruel, la otra hija". Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
10. "Carta de Madrid" (in Spanish). Fundación Disenso. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
11. "Qué es la Carta de Madrid, el documento que firmaron senadores del PAN y desató la polémica con el partido VOX". Infobae. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
12. "Spooked by Venezuela – Revulsion at Venezuela is fuelling the hard right in Latin America". The Economist. Vol. 9270, no. 441. London: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 November 2021. p. 49. ISSN   0013-0613. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
13. "Javier Milei confirmó que Victoria Villarruel será su compañera de fórmula: 'Trabajamos muy bien'". Infobae (in Spanish). 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
14. "Victoria Villarruel: First vice-president to play down dictatorship's crimes". Buenos Aires Times. 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
15. "La vice de Milei se mostró en contra del Matrimonio Igualitario". Ámbito (in Spanish). 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
16. "Quién es Javier Milei y cuáles son las radicales propuestas con las que ganó las primarias en Argentina". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
17. Rivas Molina, Federico (15 August 2023). "Que tiene en la cabeza Javier Milei". El País (in Spanish). ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
18. Nugent, Ciara; Stott, Michael (26 November 2023). "How similar is Argentina's Javier Milei to Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
19. Jaureguy, Martina (21 September 2023). "VP candidate debate: Rossi accuses Villarruel of 'infiltrating' democracy". Buenos Aires Herald. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
20. "Los repudios que cosechó el negacionismo de Victoria Villarruel | Dirigentes políticos y sociales rechazaron su reivindicación de la dictadura". Página 12 (in Spanish). 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
21. Centenera, Mar (24 March 2023). "El negacionismo de la dictadura pone a prueba la solidez de la democracia argentina". El País Argentina (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
22. O'Grady, Mary Anastasia (2 January 2011). "Las víctimas olvidadas del terror en Argentina". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2023– via Los Anteojos del Tata. 4 January 2011.
23. Leclercq, Giselle (7 September 2023). "The make-up of Victoria Villarruel's inner circle". Buenos Aires Times. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
24. Villarreal, Guillermo (10 September 2023). "Los rituales secretos de Villarruel en una facción católica marginal y ultraconservadora". LetraP (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
25. Cángaro, Ivy (6 October 2023). "La militancia 'lefebvrista' de Villarruel y su influencia en los dichos de Milei contra el Papa y a favor de la dictadura". DataClave (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
26. "Milei reignites debate on Argentine dictatorship, military". France 24. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
27. Colsy, Thomas (23 November 2023). "4 key facts about Victoria Villarruel, the Catholic vice-president-elect of Argentina". The Catholic World Report. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
28. Colsy, Thomas (23 November 2023). "Argentina's new VP attends Latin Mass, sympathises with SSPX and opposes abortion". Catholic Herald. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
29. Nugent, Ciara (7 January 2024). "Victoria Villarruel: Argentina's hardline vice-president seeking to rewrite its history". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
30. "Elecciones 2023". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral. 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
31. "Elecciones 2021". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral. 2021. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
32. "Presentación del libro 'Los otros Muertos, las Víctimas Civiles del Terrorismo Guerrillero de los 70'". Federalismo y Libertad (in Spanish). 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.

External links

• CELTYV

Party political offices
Party re-established	Democratic Party nominee for Vice President of Argentina 2023	Most recent
New political alliance	La Libertad Avanza nominee for Vice President of Argentina 2023
Political offices
Preceded by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner	Vice President of Argentina 2023–present	Incumbent