The Las Condes municipal council will vote this Thursday on the resignations of council members Catalina Ugarte and Cristóbal de la Maza. The move aims to resolve the status of the Republican Party officials, who are currently serving in roles within José Antonio Kast's government.
According to reports from La Tercera, both council members hold positions of trust within the Executive branch: Ugarte serves as President Kast's Chief of Staff, while De la Maza acts as an advisor at the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, under the leadership of Louis de Grange.
The fact that both have remained in their municipal posts had raised questions regarding the impossibility of fulfilling both roles simultaneously. La Tercera reported that there have been recorded absences of the council members during sessions, alongside criticism regarding the perception that they are receiving salaries from both institutions—a practice that contradicts La Moneda's directives to avoid duplicate compensation.
Municipal sources indicated that the resignations are already finalized. De la Maza submitted his resignation last Thursday during Mayor Catalina San Martín's public report, while Ugarte submitted hers this Monday.
Tensions in the Executive's design
Parallel to the crisis in the municipality, the internal operations of La Moneda are facing criticism over its organizational structure. Academic and former minister José Joaquín Brunner noted, in an interview with journalist Mónica Rincón for CNN Chile, that there are flaws in the design of the government's 'Second Floor' (the presidential advisory staff).
Brunner criticized the presidential advisory team for intervening in conflicts that should be handled by ministerial cabinets. "A problem between ministers cannot be fixed by someone from the Second Floor; it is a mistake," the academic told CNN Chile.
The former minister also observed that economic policy management is falling too heavily on the Ministry of Finance. According to Brunner, the current design has allowed this ministry to define both the agenda and the urgent priorities, while President Kast has taken a "second-row role" focused primarily on territorial outreach.
For the academic, the current structure reflects a right-wing movement with "conservative, Portalian, hierarchical, and authoritarian" traits, resulting in a concentration of power that is not being fully embodied by the presidency. According to Brunner, this leads to power being delegated to very strong ministers, while other cabinet members end up disappearing from the political dialogue.
Locally, the departures of Ugarte and De la Maza will be filled by the candidates from their same electoral list who received the highest number of votes. However, the status of other government officials holding positions on the Metropolitan Regional Council—such as Álvaro Bellolio, Ignacio Dulger, and Felipe Serey—remains under scrutiny by La Moneda.
