MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine VP meets with Spanish Senate Speaker in Madrid

Villarruel and the conservative Rollán talked for over an hour

Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel met Monday in Madrid with her Senate Speaker colleague Pedro Rollán on the opening day of her first trip abroad since her inauguration last year.

Villarruel and the conservative Rollán talked for over an hour at the offices of the Spanish Upper House. According to a Spanish Senate Statement, the agenda was focused on Argentine President Javier Milei's quest to “try to normalize society and control social conflict” due to the “extremely difficult” measures to restore confidence and legal security in the country.

They also reviewed bilateral ties, it was explained. Joining Villarruel for that was Argentina's Ambassador to Spain, Roberto Bosch, who had met with Rollán a week ago in anticipation of Monday's encounter. Spain pulled its Ambassador from Buenos Aires after derogatory remarks from Milei against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid. A few days earlier, Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente claimed that Milei was sniffing “substances.”

Rollán, of the opposition Popular Party (PP), criticized Sánchez's diplomatic move regarding Argentina. Rollán will travel to Buenos Aires from October 24-26 to participate in a parliamentary forum on security and intelligence.

On Tuesday, Villarruel is to attend a conference on Victims of Terrorism, organized by the United Nations and the Government of Spain. Before launching her political career, Villarruel had actively defended the rights of the families of those killed in the 1970s and even criticized the conviction against several military officers for human rights violations during the so-called “Dirty War.”

Later this week, Villarruel is due to meet with Argentine-born Pope Francis in Vatican City.