The designation of Santilli, combined with Manuel Adorni's situation in the Buenos Aires Legislature, has revived the debate over the ethics of 'testimonial' candidacies, which he himself denied and criticized during the campaign. Santilli's brief tenure as an elected deputy, marked by complaints about the campaign and a haircut to celebrate his victory, has concluded with his jump to the Executive Branch. Weeks ago, Santilli was directly consulted about the presence of 'testimonial' candidates in the officialist alliance. When asked, the then-candidate was emphatic: 'No, we don't have any testimonial... absolutely all candidates from the La Libertad Avanza alliance were going to take office,' Santilli had assured, arguing that being a testimonial means returning to a previous post (such as mayor or governor). This still-fresh archive evidence shows that the promise to take his seat in Congress will not be fulfilled. The announcement of Diego Santilli as the new Minister of the Interior has generated immediate controversy that overshadows his recent victory in the legislative elections in the province of Buenos Aires. After heading the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) list — in place of José Luis Espert, involved in the Fred Machado scandal — the 'Colo' confirmed that he will not take the seat for which he was re-elected just a week ago. This decision represents a 180-degree turn from his campaign discourse.
