The television crossover between Leandro Santoro and Leila Gianni In the program A dos Voces, broadcast by TN, it became one of the most talked about political moments of the week when the Buenos Aires legislator exposed live the Peronist militant past of the current libertarian councilor. In the middle of a discussion about economics and political management, Santoro took out his cell phone and showed a photograph of the leader participating in a 2021 electoral campaign linked to the then Frente de Todos.
“Look, it’s you campaigning for me, handing out flyers,” the Buenos Aires legislator launched, while the production put the image on the screen. The scene left Gianni visible carrying out street militancy and making the classic “V” fingers of Peronism. But, far from trying to ignore the photograph, Gianni responded with irony. “Oh, look how pretty she was,” he said with a laugh, trying to minimize the impact of the political archive that had just been displayed.
Santoro then deepened the chicane and recalled the political bond that both had years ago: “You handing out flyers for us. Free, militant. People spoke well of you. You were a great companion.” Then he hardened his tone and accused the libertarian leader of ideological incoherence: “In personal terms I don’t have any problem. What happens is that it is total hypocrisy.”
The tension had been escalating since minutes before, when Gianni had interrupted Santoro’s economic explanations several times with provocative phrases. “When people listen to you, they start to sleep,” the LLA councilor fired, while the Peronist tried to develop a criticism of the economic program of the government of Javier Milei. In another part of the exchange, the Mileista militant raised the tone even further and told him: “Shut your mouth and listen,” in addition to accusing Kirchnerism of having generated “clientelism and poverty.”
The television episode revived the debate about the political course of Leila Gianni, a leader who for years was linked to the Kirchnerist universe before becoming one of the most aggressive voices of La Libertad Avanza against justicalism itself. A lawyer with a technical profile and with experience in different state organizations, the now libertarian had functions within the state apparatus during Peronist governments and maintained closeness with sectors aligned with the ruling party at that time.
His name began to gain public notoriety during the administration of Alberto Fernandezespecially due to its landing in areas linked to social and legal policies within the national administration. In those years, Gianni did not hide his political affiliation. Different photographs and publications on social networks showed her participating in militant activities linked to Peronism and supporting candidacies of the Frente de Todos.
Gianni’s political breakdown began to accelerate after the wear and tear of the Fernández administration and the internal crisis of the ruling party. The ex Director of Environmental Projects of the Ministry of Environment and Social Development began a progressive discursive distancing from Kirchnerism, especially from social organizations and references such as Cristina Kirchner, whom he would later publicly accuse of having destroyed “the work culture.” During 2024 and 2025, she deepened her approach to the libertarian ruling party, became a strong defender of Javier Milei and began to build her own profile in the media and social networks with a confrontational speech against traditional Peronism.
Once integrated into La Libertad Avanza, Gianni began to occupy a role with strong media exposure, especially in discussions linked to social plans, picketing organizations and complaints of corruption. Her confrontational style quickly transformed her into a frequent figure on political television shows. From there she sought to present herself as a “repentant Kirchnerist,” although in several interviews she tried to relativize the scope of her former militancy. In a report published by the Spanish newspaper El País, he stated: “I have Peronist origins, but I was never in a Basic Unit or military,” a statement that was once again questioned after the dissemination of the images exhibited by Santoro.
The episode in Two Voices ended up exposing not only a personal dispute between both leaders, but also one of the most visible dynamics of contemporary Argentine politics: the transition of leaders from Peronism to the libertarian universe. The photo shown by Santoro functioned as a symbol of that political mutation and left one of the most uncomfortable television scenes of the week, with a Peronist leader reminding a current libertarian leader of her militant past within the same space that she publicly fights today.
