Christopher Martin Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich has officially declared her intention to join La Libertad Avanza (LLA) after working alongside Argentina’s ruling party since Javier Milei was elected in 2023.
Bullrich announced her defection to the libertarian party at a campaign event for the upcoming legislative elections held in Buenos Aires City. She was present alongside the Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei, and presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni.
“I have to go down the path of change because I promised the people that,” explained Bullrich. “I said, ‘Change is all or nothing.’ Change has to be shocking, and that’s what we’re doing in the country.”
“It was easy to convince Patricia because she was a member of the party a long time ago,” added Karina Milei.
Bullrich, who finished in third place in her bid to become president in 2023, leaves behind the centre-right coalition Propuesta Republicana (PRO by its Spanish initials). During the election campaign, Milei falsely accused her of “bombing kindergartens” when she was a member of the Montoneros, an armed left-wing guerrilla organization that was active in the 1970s.
Since Milei’s election in 2023, she has served as Minister of Security in his administration alongside other members of LLA. This is the second time she has held the role, after previously serving in Mauricio Macri’s PRO administration from 2015 to 2019. Days before the runoff election that elevated Javier Milei to the presidency, she and Macri were photographed alongside the Libertarian leader in a show of support. However, with Bullrich joining LLA, the two are no longer politically affiliated with one another. When asked about Bullrich’s decision to change political allegiances, Macri said “she prioritized her infinite desire for power.”
At the turn of the century, Bullrich was President Fernando De La Rua’s labor minister, signing a law in 2001 that cut pensions and state workers’ salaries by 13% for sums over 500 pesos, which was equivalent to US$500 at the time. This was but one in a series of events that led to Argentina’s socioeconomic crisis later that year.
Upon re-entering government in 2023, Bullrich announced her landmark “anti-protest protocol”, which authorizes federal security forces to crack down on protests or marches carrying out any roadblock. Since then, these controversial measures have included, but not been limited to, a heavy police presence at weekly pensioner protests that has drawn criticism from Amnesty International.
