Diego Santilli put the governors in check. The thing is that, even though he had not been formalized as Minister of the Interior, he began a round of meetings that most of the provincial leaders had already gone through: the problem for them was that if they said no, they rebelled against the Government in this second stage of management, but when they said yes, they gave him the photo that the ruling party is looking for. The image translates as support for the budget and reforms. All profit for the Casa Rosada.
The new minister started with the dialogueists, but he is even going to see governors from Unión por la Patria in his territory. He dipped his toe into the opposition to try to get more political support. On the other hand, the hope of receiving works or being heard for the demands they have been carrying for years forces them to open the door to the new official. Although Santilli already warned them: “I know that everyone has complaints, but the agenda is imposed by Javier Milei,” he tells them.
Agenda loaded. Santilli had not yet been sworn in as minister and had already met with several governors: Marcelo Orrego (San Juan), Martín Llaryora (Córdoba), Ignacio Torres (Chubut) and Raúl Jalil (Catamarca), who at the meeting confirmed that he was breaking with the Fuerza Patria bloc.
After being sworn in, he formally began a federal tour that took him to tour, above all, allied territories. He started in Entre Ríos, where he was with Rogelio Frigerio. Then he went to Mendoza, was received by Alfredo Cornejo, and had a summit with governors of mining provinces. The next day he was in Neuquén, with Rolando Figueroa. In the middle, some more leaders made a pilgrimage to Casa Rosada.
The problem for the governors is that none of them left the meeting very convinced that the outlook will change drastically. “We also had a very good dialogue with Guillermo Francos, but our problems were not solved. He listened to us, but in the end the decision was made by Milei and company. The stopped works and the Nation’s debts are still there,” they say about a governor who already had his moment with Santilli.
There are other leaders who were a little more cautious. Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe) waited to meet with the new minister. In the last few hours he confirmed that they are setting up the meeting, but until then he looked expectantly at what was happening with the other governors: he did not want to take the photo without addressing any of the numerous complaints that his province accumulates in Casa Rosada. Still, he’s not sure if his strategy had any effect.
Antagonists. On the other side of the political wall were the four governors who were not even invited to the first post-election meeting at Casa Rosada and who, of course, have no place on the Interior Minister’s agenda either. Headed by Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires), are Gildo Insfrán (Formosa), Ricardo Quintela (La Rioja) and Gustavo Melella (Tierra del Fuego).
The spokesperson for the dispute was an extremely trusted official of the Buenos Aires governor, Carlos Bianco. His Government Minister published that he had requested a formal meeting with Santilli to “reclaim the funds that the national government took from the people of Buenos Aires and resume the execution of the 1,000 works that they left abandoned.” The new Milei official replied ironically: “Come on Carli, I’ll take note.”
After that, Santilli pointed out to Kicillof: “You did not adhere to the May Pact, the RIGI, or the Reiterance Law. And you perceive yourself as excluded? Don’t write one thing on Twitter and do another in public. Do you have to ask Cristina Kirchner for permission?” he challenged him. The relationship is still bad.
The greatest damage that Santilli could cause to Peronism is if he manages to convince Gerardo Zamora from Santiago, a historic ally of Cristina, to break with the PJ bloc. On Friday the 21st, after this edition went to press, the minister landed in his province.
Very active in his first weeks at the head of the ministry, Santilli adds political agreements that are celebrated at Casa Rosada. Their problem will be wear and tear: if the provincial leaders do not see any of their claims resolved, support will begin to dilute.
