Puerto Rico versus Donald Trump sounds like a David and Goliath slogan, but it may well be a necessary call-to-arms if Trump’s stacking of the Island’s “Oversight Board” is allowed to slip through, unchallenged, the constant noise Trump creates.
In 2016, the Island was in the throes of a catastrophic debt crisis. Puerto Rico could no longer pay back the approximately $34 billion it had borrowed, and it could not legally file for bankruptcy. Fearing that creditor lawsuits would send the Island into an economic death spiral, the U.S. Congress established a bankruptcy process that would help the Island reduce its debt. The law, locally known as “Promesa”, involved the creation of an oversight board consisting of a bipartisan panel of experts who would represent Puerto Rico in bankruptcy court and help balance the territory’s budget. Almost ten years on, despite a series of natural disasters, like hurricanes and COVID-19, they have succeeded in reducing that debt to around $7.4 billion, and have put the Island’s budget back into the black after years of deficit. These efforts have prevented the people of Puerto Rico from losing access to basic services such as health care and education, and have given the Island a path to a stable financial future.
The program has been very successful, but has one more major step to go; that is, sorting out the debt of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which amounts to somewhere in the region of $12 billion. The only caveat to that success story is the feeling among certain elements of Puerto Rican society that their national pride has been injured by having an outside group, “La Junta” (The Board), compromise their “sovereignty”. This feeling has been stoked by myopic firebrands who want total independence for the Island.
The issue of PREPA has been complicated by the fact that a group of the company’s bondholders – including a prominent hedge fund, bond insurers and mutual funds – is demanding full repayment for their claim of the $12 billion. If that happens, the rates Puerto Ricans pay for electricity would rise sharply, and the current rates are already among the highest in the country, while the Island’s medium household income is just half of Mississippi, the poorest state in the union. Full repayment is untenable.
Enter Donald Trump!
It cannot be a coincidence that, all of a sudden, Trump is questioning Puerto Rican’s U.S. citizenship and hinting that he may revoke it – it is statutory, approved by the U.S. Congress, and is not constitutional, so Congress, theoretically, could revoke it. Trump has also fired, without reason, six of the seven members of the of the Oversight Board. The only logical conclusion is that the PREPA bondholders got to him in one way or another, probably “another”. The bondholders have denied that they persuaded Trump to intervene but, to use one of my favorite mantras, “Never believe anything until it’s officially denied”. If Trump stuffs the Oversight Board with his lackeys, as he has with many other institutions, the results for Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans will be catastrophic. Time for action!
In my other blog this week, I publish Robert Reich’s article that says, basically, all current U.S. leadership has relinquished its responsibility to lead and has acquiesced to Trump’s intimidation techniques. Reich goes on to say that the only hope is “the people”. The Puerto Rican situation is an excellent opportunity to exploit the power of the people in a valid fight for survival.
There are roughly 6 million Puerto Ricans in the U.S., including those on the Island. Over half live on the U.S. Mainland and they can vote for the U.S. President, whereas those on the Island cannot. That is close to four million voters that can decide what President they want. Unfortunately, in this case, Puerto Rican society is basically patriarchal, which means you don’t question the patriarch (head of the family/head of the country). That is changing, particularly on the U.S. Mainland, but it still discourages unified movements.
However, in my opinion, drastic times call for drastic measures, and this may well be the siren call that changes the culture. Also, since Trump has attacked all immigrants with particular emphasis on Hispanics, it is not too much of a stretch to imagine the possibility of recruiting all U.S. Hispanics to Puerto Rico’s cause. That would be almost 20% of the U.S. population. It might even be possible to convince Marco Rubio to put his heritage above his political ambitions and support the Island’s cause, although that may be a “wish-too-far”.
Such a combined approach could, very possibly, stop Trump in his tracks and make him move on to another fight – he has clearly indicated that such scenarios are part of his modus operandi. All it will take is some organization and courage. The Island’s future, and the future of all Puerto Ricans are at stake.
