The first person Javier Milei thanked for his victory in the Argentine elections was his sister Karina. “Without her none of this would have been possible,” said the president-elect in his first speech, after learning the result of the vote.
She is the blonde woman we have seen at his side throughout the campaign, and when the victory was announced on Sunday night, she was the first to take the stage at the Hotel Libertador in Buenos Aires, the headquarters of Milei's party. Karina then made her first public intervention to make way for her brother. “I want to introduce the president-elect, Javier Milei!” Karina announced with emotion, before returning behind the spotlight, from where she has directed Milei's rise to power for the last ten years.
Karina Milei studied Public Relations and completed a postgraduate degree in events. For 20 years she has also been dedicated to art, making sculptures and paintings, and she is passionate about baking, and she even sold cakes for a time. She never believed that she would end up in politics, as she explained to the Argentine newspaper Clarín in the only interview she has conducted. “When am I going to do this if what I like least is politics? When you are outside it is bad, and when you are inside you see it worse," Karina declared in July 2022.
During a childhood and adolescence marked by school and domestic abuse, Milei found her greatest support in her little sister. According to what he himself has said in several interventions, she grew up in a “toxic” family, with a father who often resorted to physical and emotional violence.
"As a child there was physical abuse and we are talking about a person of 1.90, they were not normal beatings. Later when I was studying he was always very derogatory towards my career, he always told me that I was rubbish, that I was going to die of hunger and that I was going to be useless all my life," the president-elect said in an interview. For several years, Milei cut off her relationship with her “parents,” as he calls them, but thanks to the mediation of her sister they resumed contact.
Karina and Conan, Milei's dead dog with whom he claims to speak through a medium, were the only ones who were there for the politician in difficult moments, as he confessed in an interview. She always accompanied him in his passions, from his first steps in a rock band to his soccer games. Karina became the mascot of all the soccer teams in which Milei played.
The union of “Javi and Kari”, as they were called as children, continued over the years, and when he began to become known as an economist, his sister was already behind him organizing his conferences. So when Javier embarked on politics, following the logical course of things, Karina remained by his side, and over time became the guide of the “anarcho-capitalist” politician, as he defines himself.
She decides where she goes, who sees her, and many of the things she does. She is “The Boss” of Milei, as he himself nicknames her. "He is very diligent and pays attention," said Karina in one of her unusual statements to journalists, demonstrating the complicity between the two, but also making it clear who is in charge.
According to Milei himself, Karina is the head of his political project, while he would only be a mere disseminator of his sister's ideas. This is how Milei described his relationship with his sister in an interview a couple of years ago: “You know that Moisés was a great leader, but he was not good at spreading the word. Then, God sent Orón to spread the word. Well, Kari is Moisés and I am the one who divulges. I'm just a popularizer."
This was not the only time Milei spoke about how essential Karina is to him. He has described her as “the most wonderful being in the world” and has confessed to counting on her for everything. “You always have to have someone to report to. In my case, I report to my sister,” explained the president-elect in an interview for the television channel La Nación.
In addition to holding the position of representative of the party led by her brother, La Libertad Avanza, Karina has been the architect of Milei's successful campaign. “Everything needs her approval and she is the one who has the last word,” party members told the newspaper La Nación. “This couldn't work if she wasn't there,” declared one of the leaders of La Libertad Avanza to the same medium.
Key decisions of the campaign are attributed to her, such as the lecture tour around the country in which Milei taught economics classes, the staging of the rallies or the politician's rocker wardrobe, characterized by his leather jacket. It is also rumored that it was she who had the controversial idea of raffled off the salary that Milei received when he was a deputy.
There is no Javier without Karina, so the question that arises now that the Milei have won the elections is what will be Karina's role during her brother's term? In the past, Javier Milei said that if he reached the Casa Rosada, the Argentine first lady would be his sister, but since the result of the runoff was announced he has not commented on this matter. When in her interview for Clarín Karina was asked about her future if Milei won the elections, she responded that she would be "where it is most necessary for him." But given her trajectory, it is most likely that Karina will end up where she considers she is most necessary.
