Vidal, the PRO campaign chief who raised taxes and threatened businessmen

María Eugenia Vidal was appointed as campaign manager of PRO, the party of former president Mauricio Macri, ahead of the legislative elections on May 18, 2025, in Buenos Aires City, a role with which she will seek to project the party as a "liberal" space, defender of spending cuts and tax reduction.

However, this narrative strongly clashes with Vidal's troubling political record, who during her tenure as governor of Buenos Aires province (2015-2019) demonstrated being far from the principles that PRO now claims to embody.

Far from being a champion of fiscal adjustment or liberalism, her past reveals an interventionist and authoritarian stance that included tax increases and threats to businessmen, debunking the supposed ideas that she and her party now try to sell.

Vidal's record

When Vidal took office as governor, she inherited a province in a complex financial situation, but her decisions did not reflect a commitment to lowering taxes.

Contrary to her promises, in 2016, she pushed for a fiscal reform that increased the Property Tax and the Automotive Tax, with hikes that in some cases exceeded 30% annually.

This measure, justified as a necessity to clean up public accounts, directly affected Buenos Aires taxpayers and contradicts PRO's current rhetoric about easing the tax burden.

Additionally, in a context of high inflation (47.6% in 2018, according to INDEC), Vidal did not hesitate to adjust rates and seek new sources of income, which caused criticism from society and her own voters. Instead of reducing public spending, the former governor chose to continue plundering Buenos Aires taxpayers.

Another concerning episode that highlights her authoritarian and leftist attitude was her stance toward businessmen. In May 2018, in the midst of a currency crisis, Vidal publicly threatened to "show" those who raised food prices, suggesting an interventionist stance that has little to do with defending the free market.

"I will point out the businessmen who are raising prices," she said in an interview, a message that resonated as a warning more typical of a populist government, similar to Kirchnerism. This statement exposed her intention to attack the private sector, something that contrasts with the image of a PRO that now promises less State and more economic freedom.

For reasons like these, Vidal's political past debunks the narrative that PRO tries to build. Her administration was marked by decisions practically identical to those of Kirchnerism, contradictory to the ideals they now proclaim, such as the increase in the tax burden and the confrontation with businessmen.

Meanwhile, as Vidal leads PRO's campaign in CABA, many people still remember the promises of cuts and tax reductions that the former governor promised a few years ago and never fulfilled, facilitating the return of Kirchnerism in 2019.