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Original article: Denuncian a Kast ante Contraloría y piden frenar la impresión de su foto oficial “para evitar mal uso de recursos públicos”

Allegations Against Kast Filed with the Comptroller’s Office: Request to Halt Official Photo Printing to Prevent Misuse of Public Resources

A legal, political, and symbolic controversy has emerged just before the transition of power. Attorney Luis Mariano Rendón, president of the Historical Memory Foundation, filed a complaint with the Comptroller General of the Republic against elected president José Antonio Kast on Wednesday, aiming to challenge the official photograph released by his team.

The legal action seeks to immediately halt any process of printing, reproducing, or framing the image «to prevent the misuse of public resources,» arguing that the presidential sash used in the official portrait does not comply with the specifications set forth by the law since 1912.

In the image released by the Office of the Elected President (OPE), Kast is seen looking directly at the camera while wearing the tricolor sash. However, the source of controversy is the inclusion of the national emblem embroidered in the center of the sash.

According to Rendón’s statement, this action «violates the provisions of Article 2° of Law 2,597,» a piece of legislation dating back to the early 20th century that meticulously outlines the characteristics of the presidential emblem.

The second article of the aforementioned law clearly states that «the Presidential Sash shall consist of three horizontal bands of equal width, of which the top border shall be blue, the center white, and the bottom border red.»

The original wording of the law does not allow for the inclusion of the national emblem or any other type of ornament or additional insignia on the colored bands.

For Rendón, this legislative omission is not a mere aesthetic detail, but a mandate that must be strictly adhered to by the country’s highest authority.

«It is crucial that from day one, President Kast is concerned about strictly complying with the law,» argued the lawyer, as reported by Diario U de Chile.

He suggested that the reason the legislator of that era deemed it necessary to regulate these aspects is due to a substantial underlying reason that appeals to institutional respect, especially considering that «Mr. Kast and the sector he represents have been very vigilant about the correct use of national symbols.»

The Political Gesture and the Ghost of the Dictatorship

The complaint is grounded not only on a restrictive interpretation of the law but also opens a debate about the political intent behind the gesture. Kast’s decision to include the emblem on his sash makes him the first president to do so since the return to democracy, breaking a practice upheld for over thirty years. The last leader to use this feature in his official portrait was dictator Augusto Pinochet, who incorporated it during his regime.

In Rendón’s opinion, the inclusion of the emblem by the far-right Kast constitutes a «political gesture» worth noting.

«It is an evident political gesture; since 1958, no president of the Republic has used the national emblem on the presidential sash. Neither Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez, nor Eduardo Frei Montalva, nor Salvador Allende Gossens. Only the emblem was placed on the presidential sash by dictator Pinochet. Since then, none of the presidents after the return of democracy thought to place the national emblem on the sash; they simply displayed the three established colors,»

«Thus, when Kast appears with this sash bearing the emblem, it is an obvious political statement towards dictatorship, it is an evident political gesture,» emphasized the president of the Historical Memory Foundation in remarks made to Radio Usach.

«Direct Gesture to the Dictatorship»

On Tuesday, February 24, the OPE revealed the official portrait of José Kast, an image that will be displayed in all public institutions, municipalities, and government offices starting from March 11.

The photograph elicited an immediate reaction upon confirming the return of the National Emblem to the center of the sash, a detail not used since Pinochet left power in 1990.

In this context, Congressman Tomás Hirsch (Humanist Action) pointed out that the image carries an undeniable symbolic weight.

«I believe that there is a gesture, there is clearly a signal in what he does. He is fully aware of the historical photographs, and he knows that the last leader to use this system, let’s say with the emblem, was Pinochet. Therefore, I believe there is a direct nod to what was the dictatorship, and I find it regrettable,» he asserted.

The Justification from Kast’s Team

In response to the accusations and formal complaint, the elected president’s team defended the decision and stated through a press release that the use of the emblem on the sash is consistent with a «broader republican tradition» and aims to reaffirm the institutional character of the position.

According to the OPE, the emblem «does not belong to a political sector, nor to a specific era, but represents the historical continuity of the State.»

Simultaneously, the future government spokesperson, Mara Sedini, indicated that the controversial photograph seeks to project the identity of the incoming far-right administration.

«This portrait is indeed different, it is a significant bet, but it shows the president’s identity and also what his government will be; a government of action, a government in motion, a president who moves forward,» she asserted.

Regarding the specific controversy of the emblem, Sedini mentioned that it is an emblem that «belongs to all Chileans.»

«Many presidents in our country’s history have used it on the presidential sash; President Montt, González Videla, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, and it is something we want to reclaim because it is a national symbol,» she stated.

However, Sedini did not mention that this action breaks from the practice of all democratic presidents since the end of the dictatorship.

After the plebiscite, transitional presidents chose to remove the emblem to distance themselves from the military regime’s symbolism.

In fact, the media outlet Fast Check reviewed the official portraits of the eight presidents who have served since the return to democracy in 1990 and found that none of them included the emblem in their respective presidential sashes.

Symbolic Weight and Admiration for the Dictator

While Kast’s team insists on a republican interpretation and historical continuity, Rendón’s complaint introduces a practical variable that must be resolved by the Comptroller: the use of public funds.

The decision to resume the design of the sash that Pinochet presented in Congress in 1990 creates a political tension just days before taking office, leaving the controlling body to determine the legality of the image that will accompany the president during the next four years in every public office in Chile.

In the meantime, the symbolic weight of the presidential sash has shifted the focus back to the far-right’s admiration for dictatorial figures.

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