In the first days of 2026, President Javier Milei signed a decree that grants a salary increase to senior officials of the Executive Branch, but expressly excluded the president himself and the vice president, Victoria Villarruel, from the benefit.
The measure, published in the Official Gazette as part of Decree 931/2025, updates the remunerations of ministers, secretaries and undersecretaries of the national Government after a prolonged period of freezing, with the condition that the increase does not retroactive its effects and is subject to the continuity of the fiscal surplus.
The exclusion of Milei and Villarruel from the salary increase generated surprise and internal tensions in the Casa Rosada, where friction has already been recorded between the President and his running mate due to political and stylistic differences.
Villarruel, who presides over the Senate, has complained in the past that her salary as vice president is low compared to other senior positions and in relation to inflation, going so far as to state on social media that “they pay me two chirolas and I am vice president,” referring to her having been frozen by austerity policies.
The decision to exclude both from the increase occurs in a context of public spending adjustment promoted by the administration, which seeks to show sacrifice of its own structures while promoting salary recompositions for the cabinet.
The gesture, perceived by some sectors as a political “bear hug,” highlights the distance between Milei and Villarruel, a relationship that has exhibited internal tensions since the electoral campaign and that, with this measure, once again occupies spaces of debate both in politics and in the media.
