On his social networks, president Javier Milei sent a Christmas message to his followers. “There are ties with mission and purpose. Merry Christmas,” was the synthetic dedication that the president wrote, from his personal account, accompanied by a photograph of himself and his sister hugging and smiling, in their childhood, in the living room of their house and near a Christmas tree.
The image shared by the head of state was viralized in several accounts and spread by journalistic portals for various curiosities. In principle, there were no known portraits of the Milei brothers, when they were children, that were smiling; Nor does the posture of the brothers embrace seem very natural and, even, some of the features of their facial features do not coincide with other portraits of the Milei family from those years. In fact, the photos from those times usually show Javier and Karina with very serious and dull looks.
These indications indicate that AI should have been used to be able to mold the protagonists of the image with a cheerful and happy attitude. Beyond the use of Artificial Intelligence is very noticeable in the editing of the photograph, the photo in which it served as the basis for developing the modifications with the software also went viral. That original portrait is very different, the children are only looking at the camera seriously and without gesturing any smile.
According to reconstructions carried out by the journalist Juan Luis González in different research published in Noticias Magazine and in the book “El loco”the childhood of Javier Milei and his sister Karina was marked by a harsh family climate, crossed by episodes of violence and emotional distancing. Far from the disruptive image that the President projects today, those early years appear in the stories as a period of confinement, fear and prolonged silences, in a middle-class family in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Villa Devoto.
The bond with the father, Norberto Mileiis described in those notes as the most conflictive. Milei said on repeated occasions that she was a victim of beatings and physical abuse during childhood and adolescence, episodes that included severe corporal punishment and humiliation. “They beat me up,” he said in interviews, explaining why for years he cut off all contact with his father and decided to leave the family home as soon as he could support himself financially.
The relationship with his mother, Alicia Luján Lucich, It was not close in those years either. According to González’s work, Milei perceived her as a distant figure, whom he accused of not protecting him against paternal violence. That feeling of abandonment translated into a deep resentment that the economist himself publicly acknowledged, stating that for decades he did not speak with any of his parents and that he considered himself, in emotional terms, “orphan.”
In this context, the figure of Karina Milei appears as a key refuge. Media reports emphasize that the brothers built a bond of mutual protection in the face of a home that they felt was hostile. Javier has pointed out that his sister also suffered abuse and that they both promised to get out of that situation together. That fraternal pact, forged in childhood, is presented as the origin of the almost indissoluble bond that they maintain to this day.
As time went by and as an adult, that past re-emerged publicly when Milei decided to speak without euphemisms about the abuse suffered. However, a few years ago, the libertarian leader noted that there was a partial reconciliation with his parents. The economist explained that this approach did not imply forgetting what happened, but rather a way of “closing stages” after a personal process of therapy and reflection.
The recomposition of the family bond was, according to these stories, gradual and pragmatic. The LLA leader acknowledged that he managed to forgive, although not justify, and that the reunion responded more to an adult decision than to full emotional reparation. For Juan Luis González, that childhood crossed by violence and isolation helps to understand not only the centrality of Karina in the life of the current President, but also her confrontational nature and her structural distrust towards authority figures.
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