President Javier Milei has made his breakup with Vice President Victoria Villarruel official and possibly put their relationship beyond the point of no return. In an interview on Wednesday night, he said the VP has no part in the government’s decision-making and is, instead, “closer to the caste.”

“She does not intervene in decision-making in any way,” Milei told news channel LN+ when asked about Villarruel’s absence in recent government events and her role in the administration.

According to Milei, Villarruel decided “a long time ago” not to participate in cabinet meetings.

A source close to the vice president, however, disputed this account. “She just missed some meetings, same as other ministers, nothing else,” the source told the Herald.

Milei also said that his only conversation with Villarruel revolves around only what is “institutionally needed” for their roles. “She is closer to what we call ‘the caste,’” he added, comparing her to the rest of his government.

Milei and Villarruel’s relationship has swiftly and increasingly strained since they took over the national administration. The two were last seen together on November 1 during a Federal Police graduation event, where they barely spoke with each other. Their previous encounter had been in mid-September for the presentation of the 2025 national budget in Congress.

There have been several moments of public tension over the course of the year. Earlier this year he ordered her to annul a salary increase that she had approved for senators as head of the Senate. In an interview in March, she defended the increase, and called Milei “a little piece of ham,” given that he was always between his sister Karina Milei and herself.

Aside from her absence in some major official events — like the signature of Milei’s May Pact — tension between the two was especially palpable in July over a racism scandal that involved Argentina’s national football men’s team. After a video of the players singing racist chants against the French national team went viral, Villarruel accused France of being a “colonialist” country, which sparked a diplomatic conflict. Milei then said her comments were “not appropriate,” although the official government response hadn’t been far-off from what she said.

In October, Villarruel caused controversy once again when she shared pictures of her meeting former President María Estela Martínez de Perón — also known as “Isabel.” Villarruel also unveiled a bust of the former president in the Senate building. Martínez, who was Juan Domingo Perón’s last wife, was overthrown by the military dictatorship in 1976.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to vindicate someone who created the Triple A, it was a mistake,” Milei said about their meeting. The Triple A was a paramilitary group that operated between 1973 and 1976, dedicated to the political persecution, kidnapping, torture and murder of left-wing Peronists and communists. It was the prelude to the state terrorism carried out by the military dictatorship between 1976-1983.

Milei and Villarruel are far from being the only presidential pair to have had a public spat during their government. The most recent example is former President Alberto Fernández and his VP Cristina Kirchner. Despite a bright start, their relationship also grew considerably colder during their mandate amid the vaccination corruption scandal and Kirchner’s criticism of the government’s direction.

Kirchner herself also had a severe conflict with Julio Cobos, who was VP during her first presidential term (2007-2011). The most infamous episode took place in 2008, when Cobos, acting as Senate head, voted against a government-backed bill known as Resolution 125 aiming at charging higher export duties for soy and other products. His vote broke a tie in the Upper House, sinking the initiative as well as his relationship with the president. 

In the 1990s, former President Carlos Menem also had a rift with his first VP, Eduardo Duhalde. While they were initially friends, they had a falling out over the leadership of the Peronist party and would become fierce rivals.