Abstract

We shall explore the narratives that led to the incorporation of the discharge of debts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings in the Anglo-Saxon world. The initial speech in England focused on creditor protection, so discharge was presented as an incentive for the debtor's cooperation for not being punished, alternatively, with the death penalty. The evolution shows a paradigm shift, especially in the United States, based on humanitarian reasons and the need to impulse economies conscient of the risks of trade. It is this second narrative that was early received in Chile in the Bankruptcy Act of 1929, although it should be noted that the model evidenced gaps and contradictions that, to date, have not been solved by the national legislator.