«We will forgive the educational debt that today affects more than a million students and graduates harmed by a failed student debt policy. In our government, education will once again be a right and will no longer be a backpack of debts.»
Is the eighth of 53 promises «for a new Chile»contained in the program with which Gabriel Boric won the 2021 presidential election and which currently, days after his third Public Account, is once again putting stress on the «two souls» of his Government: I approve Dignitywhich has insisted on maintaining the commitment to State Guaranteed Credit (CAE), and the Democratic Socialismwho has been skeptical about the motivations for reviving the debate.
In the second block, for example, the helmsman of the PS, Paulina Vodanovic, has observed that the discussion «has a lot of populism» and criticized that «it is done only with electoral motivations.»
Likewise, in a public statement issued yesterday, the board of the Party for Democracy (PPD) He stated that in the store «we will not be willing to approve any project that is presented, but rather one that considers criteria of justice, progressivity, and fiscal responsibility,» and in that sense he stressed that «the important thing is to establish a new financing system for the higher education».
Despite this, the deputy Carolina Marzána member of the PPD, expressed her support for advancing the programmatic promise.
«I believe that people who get into debt and stop paying do not do so intentionally or premeditated. It is family and work circumstances, for example, most of the time, which mean that these payments cannot be made. And beyond changing the name of the CAE remission, I believe that there must be a response to a Government campaign commitment and evaluate a mechanism that responds to this situation,» he said.
Last week, ministers Nicolás Cataldo (Education) and Mario Marcel (Treasury) announced that the Government hopes to present a project to address the CAE «before September», and yesterday, Carolina Tohá (Interior) avoided talking about a «condonation» for debtors by providing new details of the future modernization of the higher education financing system.
The latter has been interpreted by voices from the ruling party as a «renunciation» by the Government of its promise to condone the CAE.
RIGHT ASKS «AVOID OFFERS»
However, on the right they maintain their position against condonation.
«We hope that in his Government’s discounts, President Boric will give a Public Account with State level, avoiding commonplaces and offers such as the remission of the CAE to satisfy the demands of its closest allies,» the deputy Ximena Ossandónhead of the RN bench.
«Who do we believe? The President of the Republic or the Minister of Finance?» asked the UDI Sergio Bobadilla.
«The President said that there was going to be universal forgiveness. Now the minister tells us that a formula will be found to alleviate the situation of the debtors. The truth is that I do not believe either of them. That is why My vote will not be available if the effort is not rewarded here and (instead) those who did not make the effort benefit.«, reproached the union member.