Guns, marriage, and money: six revelations about Victoria Villarruel from the book 'La Generala'

The title couldn't be more suggestive: La generala (The General) is the unauthorized biography that journalist Emilia Delfino dedicates to Vice President Victoria Villarruel . The author is the coordinator of the Research Unit at elDiarioAR and deputy editor of Mongabay Latam. In the book, published by Planeta , she recounts her family life and, more specifically, her professional career. from the head of the Senate , from her law studies to the formation of the civil association Center for Legal Studies on Terrorism and its Victims (CELTYV), through which she defends convicted repressors.

"Victoria Villarruel came to Argentine politics to stay. She became one of the best spokespersons for the conservative right and vice president of the nation. However, little is known about her or how she came to power. Who is inside the armor she wears?" the publisher suggests in the book's promotional material.

The General is not Delfino's first biography. She previously published The Man in the Truck (with Mariano Martín, 2008), the unauthorized history of Hugo Moyano. She is also the author of The Execution (with Rodrigo Alegre, 2011).

Now, with "La generala ," he seeks to identify the defining moments in Victoria Villarruel's life that led to her becoming president of the Senate , her family and political supporters, the people who financed her career, and the details of her life with siblings Javier and Karina Milei. Clarín selected six paragraphs from this revealing book, which are offered here as a preview.

"Ask me," Cristina Fernández de Kirchner instructed her during the meeting they held in the Senate for the handover of power, before Villarruel took office. The vice president-elect chose a question to break the ice: what she would wear to Milei's swearing-in in Congress. She didn't want them both wearing the same color. The former president was taken aback. Villarruel wanted to take a photo to document the meeting. Her predecessor refused.

The meeting began in a tense atmosphere, which eased with the conversation. Villarruel was standing next to Representative Montenegro, then his right-hand man. Fernández de Kirchner, surrounded by paintings of caudillos on the wall, gave a critical assessment of Macri and Milei.

"The most important one is missing," Montenegro told him.

"I don't know which one is missing," Fernández de Kirchner replied.

"Are you a Rosista?" he asked with mild enthusiasm.

—The opposite of your boss —by Milei.

She laughed. The meeting relaxed. Then the two women talked about the Malvinas and religion.

Through Youth for Truth, Villarruel also organized visits to Videla's apartment on Cabildo Avenue, in the Belgrano neighborhood. He took young people to listen to and question the de facto president of the bloodiest period of the civil-military dictatorship.

—One of Victoria's tasks through Youth for Truth was to organize groups of high school kids to visit Videla at home, while he was still under house arrest, and spread the truth about his story. Who better to do so than the man who had been president of the Republic? His relationship was with Videla's wife [Alicia Hartridge Lacoste]. Victoria bridged the gap for me, and I went with my oldest son, who was about to study Political Science. I was lucky enough to spend about two hours with Videla, talking in his apartment. At that time, I had retired—it was around 2006—and we published a monthly magazine with José D'Angelo called B1, Vitamin for the Memory of the War in the 70s. But I didn't write about the conversation because I didn't get a good feeling about it... I came away with mixed feelings... —affirms retired Major Mercado.

—Why? —I had just finished reading We Were All, Chronology of a Failure (1976-1983) by Tata Yofre. For all of us who wore the uniform and demanded the right to fight terrorism at that time, it shocked me because I found so much of the miseries of politics reflected in the military government, so much internal conflict, so many ambitions for power. I went to the interview with Videla and brought the book. The first thing I asked him: “My General, what this book says, is it true?” And he told me with great pain: “And more than 95 percent of the things that book says were true.” Videla seemed like a very good person to me, a spectacular human being, a simple, humble, lovable guy. Horacio Losito, who was imprisoned with him in Campo de Mayo, used to say that Videla wanted to wash and sweep like the others, and Losito would tell him: “No, General, you're not going to wash.” As a person, I took away the best memories. But I also found him very innocent, very naive, very narrow-minded, and in that naivety, I think Massera and other sectors took advantage of him. So, I remember leaving and telling my son: "Now I understand why things went the way they did for us politically." I think that being a good person isn't enough to be in politics. If I had lived in that era, I'd be in prison. I come from intelligence; I'm sure I wouldn't have done those things.

She's a bullying marathoner, her team members say. She's also foul-mouthed, but on social media, she keeps her swear words to a minimum and simply responds by doubling down on criticism or aggression. She also has a sense of humor. "Refresh your hair color, Susana Giménez de los railes," she said in response to a public criticism on X of the railway union leader Rubén "Pollo" Sobrero, known for his blond hair.

The Vice President has nicknames for everyone in her inner circle. The libertarians returned the favor and nicknamed her "bitch." Milei had asked, almost ordered, her to conduct the interview with Viale. The "little ham" was spontaneous. Milei was upset and let her know, and she apologized.

Villarruel manages his own social media, making it an impossible task for his team to control his impulses. In the final months of 2024, he was asked to lower his exposure. He heeded the advice. But before that, his exposure caused him problems, some of which even rebounded on the Milei family.

"It was very difficult for her," explains Viramonte Olmos. "She once told me that she made a huge effort to keep her marriage afloat, but I didn't ask her any further. From a canonical point of view, she's single, and from a civil point of view, she's divorced."

The marriage was annulled before the Catholic Church. That is, it never existed in the eyes of the Holy See. To achieve this, the couple or one member of the couple must prove that, for some reason, the conditions for marriage were not met at the time they married. It is then understood that God never bound those lives; the marriage "never existed in the eyes of God."

They married when she was a member of Jóvenes por la Verdad (Youth for Truth). They lived on the third floor of a club on Tapiales Street in Vicente López. He, a tall, powerfully built cigar smoker, used to show up at dinners and birthday parties with complimentary cigars and a close-cropped haircut. He owns a cigar shop in the northern part of Greater Buenos Aires. When he met Villarruel, he introduced her to his group of Catholic friends—much more Catholic than he was—where Victoria fit in perfectly. That's how she met one of her boyfriend's friends: Guillermo Montenegro, her future, fleeting right-hand man.

"Victoria earns a fifth of what a Senator earns. She has no set expenses," explains Viramonte Olmos. "She used to rent a very modest house, but now her family has bought her a house. She struggles to make ends meet and is helped by her family. She has very simple tastes. She likes going out for pizza and doesn't enjoy the red carpet. In Córdoba, when she travels as Vice President, she stays at my house."

In May 2024, then-Chief of Staff Nicolás Posse, at the request of senators, reported the President's and ministers' earnings, amid controversy over the increase in Senate members' salaries. Although Villarruel is the president of the Upper House, her salary scale is in line with that of the Executive Branch, and the senators' increases are not applied to her salary. At the time, the Vice President earned around 3,700,000 pesos gross. This amount consisted of a base salary of 1,747,023 pesos and another 2,017,797 pesos for additional responsibilities. This resulted in a net salary of around 2,400,000 pesos. She often complains about how little she earns for her position.

Her father, a soldier, refused to teach her how to shoot a gun or drive a car. When traveling, Villarruel prefers to sit in the passenger seat. She never learned to drive a vehicle, but she did learn to shoot. She considers herself a good shot, though not as good as she shoots with words.

The General , by Emilia Delfino (Planeta).