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Original article: Kast se traga su promesa contra el doble sueldo: asesores del Segundo Piso podrán seguir cobrando como cores

The promise of austerity and fiscal responsibility that former Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast touted during his campaign, asserting that councilors and regional advisors (cores) would not hold concurrent positions in the government, has quickly eroded within three months of his administration at La Moneda.

Three advisors from the inner circle of the government, known as the Second Floor, are balancing their executive roles with their salaries as cores for the Metropolitan Region, without the far-right president demanding the resignation he previously championed as a pillar of fiscal integrity.

These individuals include Ignacio Dulgher, Víctor Valdés—both from the Republican Party—and Álvaro Bellolio (UDI), who serve on the Metropolitan Regional Council while advising the president under Alejandro Itarrázaval’s direction.

While there is no legal restriction against holding elected positions alongside executive roles, Kast made a political commitment to establish an ethical boundary against receiving dual payments from public funds, which has been overlooked as of now.

Two councilors who interpreted the promise as binding—Catalina Ugarte, chief of staff to the President, and Cristóbal de la Maza, ministerial advisor—resigned from their council positions to serve in the executive branch. In contrast, El Mercurio reported that inside La Moneda, there were claims Dulgher, Valdés, and Bellolio would eventually resign from their core roles, yet this has yet to happen.

The application of the rule, which was presented during the electoral process as a signal of order and integrity, demonstrates nuances in its enforcement; those who uphold the campaign promise are the ones closest to public scrutiny, while the advisors of the inner circle remain comfortably ensconced.

La Moneda Leaves Resignation Decisions to Each Core

At La Moneda, the shift is justified by labeling these cases as «specific» and suggesting that the decision to resign is personal for each core.

The official argument to deflect criticism relies on a technical distinction: cores do not receive a «salary» but rather a «diet».

The president himself defended this stance in a recent interview with CNN Chile, stating, «If you say they have a double salary, that’s not true, as they are performing different functions.» However, this semantics does not obscure the financial reality. This diet averages around 2 million pesos per month according to information published under the Transparency Law—provided they attend all sessions—and constitutes the primary income for many regional representatives. Renaming it does not erase the fact that a single citizen receives compensation from the state twice, precisely what Kast claimed he would combat.

The contradiction becomes even more pronounced after the president claimed in the same interview that he might «take an alternative route» in specific cases to seek the «best outcome».

Thus, the promise of austerity and order is bent to the operational convenience of retaining valuable advisors. What was presented during the campaign as an non-negotiable principle of austerity has transformed into a flexible guideline, subject to the president’s discretion.

La entrada Kast Breaks Promise on Double Pay: Advisors in the Second Floor Allowed to Keep Core Salaries se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.