The Hidalgo County Democrats hold a meeting under the Chilean Flag last week. Credit: Facebook / Hidalgo County Young Republicans

The Hidalgo County Democrats got an awkward geography lesson last week after mistakenly hanging the Chilean flag instead of the Texas flag during a meeting.

The flags are similar — except for one key difference. In the Texas flag, the blue field on the left, known as the canton, extends from top to bottom, while Chile’s blue field is a square and occupies the upper-left portion of the banner.

Even so, the vexillological gaffe comes at a sensitive time. Located in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, Hidalgo County is considered a battleground for both Republicans and Democrats during the midterm election cycle.

Unsurprisingly, the Hidalgo County Young Republicans shared an online post dragging their rivals for the mistake.

“Apparently we moved Hidalgo County to South America overnight,” the group wrote in a Facebook post. “The Hidalgo County Democrats had a light attended [sic] meeting last night, and they can’t tell the difference between Texas and Chile.”

Hidalgo Young Democrats outreach director Alex Martinez stepped up to admit the mistake.

“That was my bad lmao,” Martinez wrote on Facebook. “They gave me the wrong flag, and I didn’t check. But we took it down after.”

Even so, many commenters on the Young Republicans’ post weren’t about to let it slide. Some veered into making cheap shots about the Democratic Party’s acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people.

“If y’all can’t identify the Texas flag, no wonder y’all are so confused about genders,” the Hidalgo County Republicans responded to Martinez.

Another commentator wrote that the Chilean flag “identifies as the Texas flag” — a jab at progressives’ embrace of gender-inclusive pronouns.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...