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Original article: Kast revive la pesadilla del CAE: Gobierno sale a cobrar a 550 mil morosos

As announced, José Antonio Kast has initiated actions that will directly impact debtors of the State-Guaranteed Loan (CAE), and the General Treasury of the Republic (TGR) reported that on Monday, April 6, the process of judicial and administrative collection began for over 550,000 delinquent individuals.

It is worth recalling that during a visit to the Biobío Region, the far-right leader announced on March 14 his “National Reconstruction Plan,” a package of over 40 measures grouped into five main areas aimed at addressing the damage caused by forest fires in the central-southern region. However, it faced a wave of criticism for affecting social benefits.

This plan includes the application of new mechanisms for collecting CAE debts—a student loan taken out by thousands to attend university, which is secured through private banking with state backing.

Kast stated that his aim is to strengthen the financial pursuit of debtors, under the alleged necessity to curtail public spending and ensure the country’s financial sustainability. «It is an economic reconstruction because we need more resources,» he affirmed at that time.

According to the Treasury in a statement published on its website, the debt amounts to $4 trillion by 2025, “multiplying eightfold since 2018.”

Additionally, it was reported that currently, there are over 550,000 people who owe CAE debts, and in these cases, “the state acts as a guarantor,” because when “a beneficiary stops paying, the state fulfills its obligation to the bank and subsequently assumes the collection to recover those public funds.”

According to the institution, the collection plan is segmented according to the income level of the debtors, allowing differentiation between “those who can regularize their situation through payment agreements and those cases that will advance towards judicial actions.”

For this reason, it has urged debtors to «get up to date, whether by paying their debt or signing agreements, especially in cases that meet the requirements.»

Collection through Legal Actions without Access to Payment Agreements

The TGR announced that starting April 6, it has commenced the collection process with legal actions and without access to payment agreements for debtors whose monthly income exceeds 5 million pesos.

“Measures are being implemented to encourage the regularization of these debts, considering the initiation of executive lawsuits as applicable to each debtor’s situation,” the statement indicated.

It also clarified that these actions may include seizure or retention of debtors’ assets, including funds in bank accounts, salaries, or other financial assets, «always in accordance with the prevailing legal framework.»

Who Can Apply for Payment Agreements?

The Treasury indicated that payment agreements are exclusively aimed at those debtors whose monthly income is below $5,000,000 gross, according to the latest Income Operation (2025), and who maintain a debt equal to or greater than 1 UTM, which is currently valued at $69,889.

It noted that it has activated the platform tgr.cl/cae, where procedures and inquiries can be made using Unique Code or Tax Code.

Debtors Living Abroad

For those debtors residing abroad who do not have pension contributions in Chile, there is the option to manage their payment agreements remotely, provided they present the required documentation to prove their situation.

The financial pursuit of CAE debtors, along with the decision to limit university gratuity exclusively to students under 30 years old, have attracted serious criticism towards Kast’s government, deemed actions that cut benefits and represent a blow to mobility under the guise of promoting fiscal order.

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