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that she became the leader of the party at the provincial level and therefore occupies the
top of the party list32. It can also be interpreted as the first step towards provincial-level
recognition, consistent with gubernatorial expectations. Some other mayors may face
intra-party challenges or credible threats in the general elections, and may strategically
opt for a temporarily secure spot in the federal Congress. Another group of mayors may
have been convoked by provincial leaders in order to create a reverse coattails effect with
their presence (Ames 1992, Samuels 2001) and to increase the vote share of the party list.
In any of the mentioned situations, that new legislator is still politically alive, since the
upper bound of her career has not been reached yet.
However, why should a governor expect a legislative seat? Two main arguments
seem reasonable here: first, term limits may have removed her from the spot and she
needs a temporary shelter, in order to re-run for the governorship. Second, that
politician may be a political corpse, and the legislative spot was given to send her away
from the province and secure a sweet transition to retirement. Any other realistic
explanation should highlight some psychological or idiosyncratic factors of particular
governors, which is largely beyond the goals of this project. Thus, why should former
governors act strategically during their congressional tenure? What is their prospective
goal? Politicians that faced term limits may still have career ambitions, and might
therefore use legislation strategically. However, the degree of public knowledge about
someone that has been a governor is, presumably, very high. In as much, the relative
contribution of symbolic politics to a possible gubernatorial candidacy in the future
might not be as powerful as in other circumstances. Even though the policies submitted
32 This is a claim verified by Deputy Omar De Marchi, who revealed having had exactly that motivation
when he moved from his municipality to the House. Of course, this statement does not allow automatic
generalization, but it confirms that this is a feasible reason to take that step.