Argentina’s vicepresident praises Peron’s second widow, treason or unity?

Just like Victoria Villarruel, María Estela Martínez de Perón was the first elected female vice president. She highlighted this and said it on none other than the day of Peronist loyalty. This provoked divided reactions. For many, it was a way of favouring Peronism and turning her back on President Javier Milei, who has been fiercely anti-Peronist.

However, for others, what she did was publicly rebuke the left wing of Peronism, especially Kirchnerism, since they abandoned the woman who was the leader of their party. And, from a Christian perspective, they failed in charity when they left a widow helpless.

It’s important to not that before being an elected candidate, Villarruel stood out for her fight in defense of the victims of subversive terrorism in the 70s. For this reason and more, it is noteworthy how the guerrillas of the time not only attacked but destabilized the government of the first female president in the world.

Harsh words against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

The guerrillas even killed Peronist leaders such as José Ignacio Rucci (whose orphan works closely with Villarruel). Perón himself said “those bullets were for me”. Well, it was a clear and forceful message from the left wing of Peronism that they would achieve their ends through violence.

As evidence shows, the internal struggles within Peronism have been going on for decades. And Kirchnerism is the most ideologically radical wing of all. Given this situation, Villarruel was strong in her criticism of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner:
«She calls her party First the Homeland. If the Homeland comes first, why did they leave us the country mired in poverty? If the Homeland comes first, why did they leave it defenseless? If the Homeland comes first, why do workers suffer from insecurity and they worked to free the criminals? Holding the Homeland first is not about installing division, revenge and resentment among compatriots,» she exclaimed.

«The intention is to bring the disenchanted vote of the PJ to the side of LLA»

In response to criticism on social media, Villarruel stressed: «National unity. And the recognition of the first woman vice president and president, although others may have believed it was them.» The latter is a nod to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was vice president and who tried to impose an ideological term  to make «president» a female version (presidenta) instead of the grammatically correct «presidente».
In that sense, those closest to the vice president allege that the number two in the country intends to promote unity in the midst of division.
«Victoria wanted to vindicate the history of a person who was forgotten by a large part of Peronism and who has not been valued enough,» said those close to the vice president.

«The intention is to bring the disenchanted vote of the PJ (Partido Justicialista) to the side of LLA (La Libertad Avanza),» they added.

Her past does not coincide with the present

But this sympathy for Isabelita contradicts Villarruel’s own statements years ago. She said, publicly, on X, that Perón’s second widow should be arrested. A tweet from 2016 came to light where she says: «sentencing Estela Perón and her cabinet, that would be the right thing to do.»

Time will tell what direction the vice president and the executive take. Meanwhile, what Villarruel showed is that Peronism has devoured itself from within. It abandoned a widow and above all it did not know how to respect its leadership. And now, especially after the Alberto Fernández scandal regarding the alleged violence against his wife, Peronism is more divided than ever and is fertile ground for attracting the disenchanted.