Puerto Rico bond fraud victims kick off advertising campaign highlighting PROMESA corruption

 In response to allegations of ongoing government corruption, a series of television and radio spots have been created to inform and educate the American people. These efforts will be undertaken through a new entity that will be called “Wall Street Fraud”.

This entity will be initially focusing on the $70 billion in Puerto Rico bond fraud. As many as 50 million Americans have been impacted by this and the SEC, FBI and US Attorney’s office appear to be doing little. 

Utilizing private and public donations, it is the hope and desire of government fraud victims everywhere that this new entity can help bring about real change in Washington.

A new way of governing in Puerto Rico

More than two weeks ago, the American citizens residing in the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico selected a new path of governing. Out went the old ways, when the state government ignored the will of its people, expending the few resources it had in a massive lobbying effort against the results of the 2012 status referendum in which 54 percent of the voters rejected the current territorial status. It is important to mention that in the same electoral process, the voters selected statehood as a final political relation with the U.S.

The voters also wanted transparency in public service, something they did not get with the soon-to-be past administration, and thus on Nov. 8 came a thunderous response: the voice of the people, expressed in the ballot box, pleaded for change and change it got.

Come January, this U.S. Territory will have new leadership. A new form of governing based on the people and for the people. We heard the strong voice of our electorate. They gave us a mandate to make a different path. That ‘new way of governing starts with the admission of Puerto Rico as our Nation’s newest State.

For this, we will work hard with the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump, as well as with the newly reelected Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan(R-Wis.) and the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The governing platform of the GOP, adopted in the party’s national convention this past July, and ratified by the voters in the general election, states that the Republican Party will respect and promote the will of the people of Puerto Rico, free and democratically expressed in the before mentioned status referendum.

The admission of Puerto Rico will be at the forefront of our legislative effort, but we will also tackle many important issues, including economic development, affordable healthcare for our people and a new educational system that leaves no one behind. All of this will be done with a new transparency in governing.

Education is near the top of our agenda, particularly, paying increased attention to the needs of the students with disabilities. It is for this reason that I undertook the step of creating a new, permanent committee in the State House of Representatives to work specifically with this matter, reflecting its importance to our society.

We will also need to find ways to solve one of our Nation’s biggest healthcare problems. In 2011, the Island received almost $5.4 billion, through the Affordable Health Care for America Act, better known as ObamaCare, to provide healthcare coverage to almost 1.2 million Puerto Ricans, up to September 2019. Five years later, the number of people insured by the local government has reached 1.6 million and the federal funds available for the program roughly reaches the $1.8 billion plateau.

Several studies have shown that if the federal government does not act, the original allocation will be depleted by next summer, two years earlier than anticipated. Add to this a repressed employment market and an economy that has been in recession since the third quarter of 2005, and the problems that we face doubled exponentially.

The ‘new way’ of governing starts with these issues but extended to all aspects of our society, that is why we need to become a facilitator to our people. That’s the new way.

Carlos "Johnny" Mendez is the newly elected Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.

BY CARLOS "JOHNNY" MÉNDEZ-NÚNEZ 
A new way of governing in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s Top Creditors Flex Muscles in Bond Fight

Puerto Rico’s largest mutual-fund bondholders have broken their silence in an ongoing $30 billion creditor standoff, underscoring tensions between the commonwealth’s traditional municipal investor base and the hedge funds now involved in its financial restructuring.

Funds controlled by fixed-income giants Franklin Advisers and OppenheimerFunds asked a federal judge last week to enter them as defendants in a lawsuit brought by hedge funds holding general obligation, or GO, bonds that have been in default since July.

The lawsuit pits those creditors against investors holding $17 billion in competing bonds known as Cofinas for their Spanish acronym and backed by sales tax revenues. If successful, the lawsuit could compromise the Cofina bondholders’ liens and free up a fresh source of repayment for the GO bondholders, which are guaranteed under the Puerto Rican constitution.

The courts, on the other hand, could affirm the commonwealth’s longstanding position that the sales-tax revenues are off-limits to the GO bondholders. U.S. District Court Judge Francisco Besosa could also freeze the dispute in the hopes that the warring investor groups will negotiate a settlement, as the Cofina investors have urged.

Congress installed a federal oversight board over the summer to take over Puerto Rico’s financial decision-making, but it has yet to announce the hiring of legal and financial advisors with whom creditors will negotiate. The legal status of the Cofina revenues has never been tested in the courts, and resolving it now would take a major question on creditors’ rights out of the board’s hands. For now, it wants the dispute paused under the automatic stay provisions of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA.

Franklin and Oppenheimer, along with Santander Asset Management, are cross-holders with a combined $3.6 billion in Cofina claims and $1.1 billion in GO claims, according to a filing in Puerto Rico federal court.

With $2.8 billion of their exposure in subordinated Cofina debt, the mutual funds said they have the “greatest possible interest” in protecting the sales taxes from being diverted. Junior Cofina bonds would suffer the most if the revenue stream were interrupted, although they have continued to be paid even with the territorial government in default on its constitutional debt.

Hedge funds exclusively holding senior Cofina bonds have already asked to be heard in the lawsuit. Those bondholders, including GoldenTree Asset Management, Merced Capital and Taconic Capital Advisors, hold zero-coupon bonds that don’t come due for decades, according to people familiar with the matter. Their group has taken the position that diverting the sales taxes would cause their claims to come due immediately, leapfrogging over those of junior creditors.

As holders of both types of bonds, the mutual funds said they aren’t conflicted and have reason to guard the interests of all creditors within the $17 billion Cofina debt stack. Puerto Rican lawmakers first segregated sales-tax revenues from its general fund a decade ago to create an alternate borrowing mechanism.

“The interests of Cofina, its bondholders generally and its current-pay subordinate bonds in particular are served by maintaining the statutory transfer,” lawyers for Franklin, Oppenheimer and Santander wrote in court papers. “It is likely that the senior Cofina bondholders want Cofina to default.”

A spokesman for the mutual funds declined to comment beyond the filing. Representatives for the GO bondholder group and for Cofina bond trustee Bank of New York Mellon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

James Doak of Miller Buckfire & Co., an adviser to the senior Cofina bondholder group, called the mutual funds’ appearance “a positive for Puerto Rico, the oversight board and the incoming administration.”

“Major, long-standing investors holding both GO and Cofina bonds are stepping forward to defend PROMESA’s stay provision and reject more litigious GO bondholders’ attempts to seize [sales tax] revenue,” he said.

The benchmark 8%-coupon GO bonds due in 2035 traded Friday at 69.5 cents on the dollar, according to FactSet, having cooled off from a post-election rally that pushed prices to 73 cents. Puerto Rico recently elected Dr. Ricardo Rossello, a statehood supporter perceived by investors as friendlier to creditor interests, to replace Gov. Alejandro García Padilla. The new governor takes office in January.

Corrections & Amplifications: 
Funds controlled by fixed-income giants Franklin Advisers and OppenheimerFunds asked a federal judge last week to enter them as defendants in a lawsuit brought by hedge funds holding general obligation, or GO, bonds that have been in default since July. An earlier version of this article misstated the name of Franklin Advisers.

By ANDREW SCURRIA

Funds controlled by Franklin Advisers, OppenheimerFunds request to be entered as defendants in suit brought by hedge funds holding defaulted GO bonds

Puerto Rico’s Top Creditors Flex Muscles in Bond Fight

Puerto Rico takes step toward having reps

A dogged attorney from Puerto Rico who has been fighting for years to get his homeland five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives says he is as close as ever to victory after a decision by a federal appeals court that could allow his arguments to move forward.

“It recognizes the merits of our claim, and they found that what I said was right,” said Gregorio Igartua, the attorney who brought the suit. “This is the closest we have been to having representation. We are American citizens, and we deserve this right.”

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Wednesday agreed to have the full court decide whether Igartua’s claim should be decided by a lower court in Puerto Rico. If the full panel of judges sides withIgartua, he will be able to argue that Puerto Ricans have been unconstitutionally deprived of representation.

Circuit Judge Kermit V. Lipez called Igartua’s crusade “laudable” in his 24-page decision, and said that in the past, the court “failed to appreciate the strength” of Igartua’s claim that his case should be heard.

“I am very excited, yes. I have been working on this for 25 years for not a penny,” Igartua said. “This is my apostolic work for Puerto Rico.”

The case was decided by the First Circuit because Massachusetts and Puerto Rico share jurisdiction.

Igartua initially brought the case in 2014, arguing that the United States had deprived the insular territory of its constitutional rights by not allowing it to have appropriate representation in Washington, D.C. Currently, Puerto Rico is represented by a non-voting resident commissioner in the House of Representatives.

“The United States is responsible for violations of their rights to elect five Representatives to the US House of Representatives,” Igartua wrote. “Plaintiffs, unlike residents elsewhere in the United States, have no meaningful representation in the Federal House of Representatives, and are therefore denied effective participation in the National Legislature.”

Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice have fought back and argued that Igartua’s claims should be tossed. U.S. District Court Judge Jay A. Garcia-Gregory agreed, ruling that prior court decisions barred the case.

“Since the text of the Constitution has not been amended, Puerto Rico’s political status has not changed, and the relevant jurisprudence continues to be the same, it follows that a contrary result in this case is foreclosed by this Circuit’s precedent,” he wrote last year.

But this week’s decision breathes new life into the case, and Igartua said he’s ready to keep his decades-old fight alive.

“You need three things to win a case: You have to have a right, you have to know how to present that right to the court, and then you need a court that will hear you,” he said.

“I had the first two, and now I have the third.”

Bob McGovern 

Boston appeals panel moves suit forward

Puerto Rico takes step toward having reps

Puerto Rico declares state of emergency amid heavy rains

The US territory of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard due to heavy rains that have caused $13 million in crop losses.

Interim Gov. Victor Suarez said Tuesday that coffee, rice, fruits and vegetables are among the devastated crops.

Officials say the heavy rains that began on Sunday have unleashed widespread flooding, caused several small landslides and damaged infrastructure. Some 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain have fallen this month, nearly 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) above average.

Officials say the heavy rains that began on Sunday have unleashed widespread flooding, caused several small landslides and damaged infrastructure.

Puerto Rico declares state of emergency amid heavy rains

Puerto Rico Governor Defies New Federal Control Board

Puerto Rico's governor on Monday challenged a federal control board created by Congress just months ago to oversee the finances of the U.S. territory and help pull it out of an economic crisis.

In what could be a test of the board's powers, Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced he would not submit an amended fiscal plan — the board's first request of the island's leader. He said he believes new austerity measures would only worsen the crisis and insisted the board restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt that he has said is unpayable.

"It's not right, and it's not necessary," he said of austerity measures. "That would push us into an economic death spiral. It would mark a return to policies of depression."

Board members who met in Puerto Rico for the first time last week said the 10-year plan issued last month needs to be amended, in part because it is not realistic and assumes federal financial help when none is likely. They requested that Garcia submit an amended plan by Dec. 15 so they could approve a final version by Jan. 31.

It was not immediately clear what happens now. A board spokesman said he was checking on whether board members would comment on Garcia's announcement. A U.S. financial rescue package that created the board says the board itself can develop a fiscal plan and submit it to Puerto Rico's governor and legislature if the governor fails to do it himself.

Garcia steps down as governor Jan. 1, but he has promised to reject any austerity measures while still in power.

"While I'm governor of Puerto Rico, I will oppose any ... measures such as laying off public employees, reducing the pensions of our retirees and leaving the University of Puerto Rico unprotected," he said.

The board previously requested that some of Puerto Rico's most heavily indebted agencies submit their own fiscal plans, something that had never been required before. Government officials said at the board's meeting Friday that the agencies, including Puerto Rico's utility companies, would submit their plans.

During that meeting, board member Jose Gonzalez said Puerto Rico's government needs to set priorities.

"Not everything is an essential service," he said. "It's an incredibly delicate balance between fiscal adjustment and economic growth ... We'll try to get the balance right."

The board had requested the opinion of U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on the territory's fiscal plan. He said in a letter before Friday's meeting that the plan should promote economic growth and allow Puerto Rico to achieve a sustainable debt level, among other things. He said that one part of the plan lacked detail and clarity and that a required formal debt sustainability analysis was needed, adding that the government should not rely solely on austerity measures.

"As we have emphasized from the beginning of Puerto Rico's crisis, austerity alone is a self-defeating remedy," Lew wrote.

With Puerto Rico in a decade-long economic slump, Garcia's administration has taken measures such as increasing utility rates and imposing new taxes to help generate more government revenue. Despite those measures, the island's government has already defaulted on nearly $1.4 billion in bond payments since August 2015. It also owes $1.5 billion to government suppliers as it continues to delay vendor payments amid the economic crisis, which has prompted more than 250,000 people to move from the island to the U.S. mainland in recent years.

Garcia has warned the government will run out of money by February if a debt moratorium which expires that month is not extended. The moratorium has so far shielded Puerto Rico from numerous lawsuits filed by creditors seeking to recover the money they invested in Puerto Rico bonds.

By DANICA COTO
Puerto Rico Governor Defies New Federal Control Board

MEET JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ, THE FIRST WOMAN TO REPRESENT PUERTO RICO IN CONGRESS

Puerto Rico's newly elected resident commissioner is making history this year as the first woman to represent the island as a non-voting member of the U.S. Congress.

Jenniffer González, of the New Progressive Party, received 48.82 percent, or 660,870, of the votes, according to the Puerto Rico elections commission. She won against Hector Pesquera of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico.

READ: Susana Mendoza Makes History as First Latina In The Country Elected Comptroller

At age 40, she is also the youngest person to represent Puerto Rico in U.S. Congress since the position was created 115 years ago.

González is currently the president of the island's Republican Party and former head of the local House of Representatives. She told reporters, with Governor-elect Ricardo Rosello standing by, that she has been a consensus leader and will continue to be. Rosello is the son of former Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Rosello.

BY BARBARA GONZALEZ
MEET JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ, THE FIRST WOMAN TO REPRESENT PUERTO RICO IN CONGRESS

PUERTO RICO ELECTS FIRST WOMAN RESIDENT COMMISSIONER

Jennifer Aydin González Colón won a historical victory with 48.77% of the votes in the November 8 election against opponent Héctor Ferrer (PDP), making her the first woman Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. González studiedat the University of Puerto Rico, where she obtained a BA in Political Science, and a Master of Laws with honors.

González has held numerous leadership positions starting in 2002, where she served as the youngest member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico for the 4th District. She resumed her position as a Representative in the 4th District from 2005 to 2008. González took office as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2013, serving as Minority Leader for the New Progressive Party caucus since then. She will take office as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico on January 2, 2017.

Her list of accomplishments continues to expand in her academic and professional career. She has received many awards from both Puerto Rico and the national levels, being awarded for her work with the Environmental Quality Board, Meritorious Service Award, and many others.

González becomes the third Republican to represent Puerto Rico in Congress, and is expected to strongly push for statehood with the support of the administration of Governor-elect Ricardo Rosselló.

by Victoria Justice
PUERTO RICO ELECTS FIRST WOMAN RESIDENT COMMISSIONER

Protests Erupt in Puerto Rico Over Control Board Meeting

Dozens of Puerto Ricans clashed with police on Friday while protesting a federal control board that was meeting for the first time in the U.S. territory after taking control of the island's finances.

About 500 police officers were deployed in anticipation of protests outside the meeting at a swanky resort in the northeast city of Fajardo, a one-hour drive from the capital of San Juan. But the protest in Fajardo was small and peaceful, while a clash came in San Juan, where demonstrators pushed into the board president's office floor as they clutched Puerto Rican flags made in black and white to signify mourning and called the board a "dictatorship."

The nearly six-hour meeting in Fajardo was closed to the public, unlike the previous two other meetings in New York. Board members warned they will have to make very hard decisions in upcoming months as the island struggles to overcome a decade-long economic crisis and pushes to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt.

"The current situation is unsustainable for all stakeholders," said Carlos Garcia, one of the seven board members. "We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild this."

Friday's meeting focused mostly on a 10-year fiscal plan that Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla submitted last month as he warned of a $58 billion financing gap in the next decade. Critics who testified during the meeting said the fiscal plan was weak, incomplete and does not allow for negotiations with creditors hit with multimillion-dollar defaults.

Among the more outspoken people opposed to Puerto Rico not paying its debt was Jorge Irizarry, executive director of a local group representing Puerto Rico bondholders.

He said creditors are ready to work with Puerto Rico officials and his group would accept the government not paying principal for the next five years.

"All creditors are willing to make concessions," he said. "Puerto Rico can work its way out of this."

Puerto Rico has defaulted on nearly $1.4 billion worth of bond payments since August 2015, and the government warned this week that it will run out of money by February if a debt moratorium that expires that month is not extended.

Irizarry, however, told the board that the moratorium should be repealed to help move negotiations with creditors forward.

Board President Jose Carrion III said members will approve a fiscal plan by Jan. 31, but stressed that the proposed plan needs to be revised, in part because it assumes a lot of federal help.

"What troubles me the most about the plan is that I view it as a missed opportunity," he said. "Puerto Rico is likely not to receive everything that this government is asking for. One needs to be realistic when planning and budgeting."

By DANICA COTO
Protests Erupt in Puerto Rico Over Control Board Meeting

Puerto Rico warns of looming cash crunch

San Juan • Puerto Rico's government warned in a liquidity report made public on Wednesday that it will run out of money in less than three months as the U.S. territory pushes for permission to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt.

The report notes that the island faces a $1.3 billion debt payment in February, when a temporary debt moratorium imposed this year by the U.S. government expires. Another $934 million in bond payments is due from March through June.

Puerto Rico has already defaulted on nearly $1.4 billion worth of bond payments since August 2015, angering creditors who have filed multiple lawsuits and accuse the government of exaggerating its situation.

Government officials warned on Wednesday that if the moratorium is not extended, the island will run out of cash to provide essential services. The report also warned that the island's pension system, which is underfunded by more than $40 billion, will run out of cash in 2018 unless the government takes steps such as increasing contributions.

"Puerto Rico's economic crisis and insolvency is not a secret," said Victor Suarez, the island's secretary of state.

The government released the report two days before a federal control board charged with overseeing the island's finances meets in Puerto Rico for the first time. Additional details released later Wednesday state that the local government is creating a registry of all those who own Puerto Rico bonds, identifying so far 350,000 owners that hold 68 percent of the island's debt. At least $6 billion of that debt is held by Puerto Rico residents.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has been urging the board to authorize a debt restructuring so Puerto Rico can re-enter the markets and pull itself out from a decade-long economic crisis that is only deepening. His administration has declared a state of emergency at several government agencies and implemented austerity measures including deferring payments to the island's police and agriculture departments, among others.

The report was released on the same day that Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Rico's governor-elect, met with bondholders and credit rating agencies in New York.

Rossello has pledged to improve Puerto Rico's credit rating and re-enter the markets after agencies downgraded the island's debt to junk status.

Puerto Rico bonds rallied after voters last week chose Rossello as their new governor. He has said his main priority is to make Puerto Rico the 51st stat

By DANICA COTO
Puerto Rico warns of looming cash crunch

Puerto Rico warns of cash crunch when debt moratorium ends

Puerto Rico's government warned in a liquidity report released on Wednesday that it will run out of money in less than three months as the U.S. territory pushes for permission to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt.

The report notes that the island faces a $1.3 billion debt payment in February, when a temporary debt moratorium imposed this year by the U.S. government expires. Another $934 million in bond payments is due from March through June.

Puerto Rico has already defaulted on several multimillion-dollar bond payments in recent months, angering creditors who have filed multiple lawsuits and accuse the government of exaggerating its situation.

Government officials warned on Wednesday that if the moratorium is not extended, the island will run out of cash to provide essential services. The report also warned that the island's pension system, which is underfunded by more than $40 billion, will run out of cash in 2018 unless the government takes steps such as increasing contributions.

The government released the report two days before a federal control board charged with overseeing the island's finances meets in Puerto Rico for the first time.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has been urging the board to authorize a debt restructuring so Puerto Rico can re-enter the markets and pull itself out from a decade-long economic crisis that is only deepening. His administration has declared a state of emergency at several government agencies and implemented austerity measures including deferring payments to the island's police and agriculture departments, among others.

The report was released on the same day that Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Rico's governor-elect, met with bondholders and credit rating agencies in New York.

Rossello has pledged to improve Puerto Rico's credit rating and re-enter the markets after agencies downgraded the island's debt to junk status.

Puerto Rico bonds rallied after voters last week chose Rossello as their new governor. He has said his main priority is to make Puerto Rico the 51st state.

Puerto Rico warns of cash crunch when debt moratorium ends

Puerto Rico oversight board narrows list for law firms

The federal board tasked with overseeing a major financial overhaul in Puerto Rico has held interviews with a handful of candidates for its counsel from a wide list of applicants, people familiar with the talks said on Tuesday.

The board has interviewed candidates including Chadbourne & Parke LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Sidley Austin LLP and O'Melveny & Myers LLP, the people said.

A full list of law firms that the board has interviewed could not be immediately determined, and it is possible the board hires a law firm not identified by Reuters.

The chosen law firm will advise the board as it seeks to help Puerto Rico right its economic ship after a decade of contraction. The commonwealth is facing $70 billion in bond debt, $45 billion in pension debt and a shrinking population,Created under the federal Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, the seven-member, bipartisan board will oversee debt restructuring talks with the U.S. territory's bondholders and must sign off on annual budgets.

The board last month asked law firms and strategic consultants to submit applications for the job.

The people asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. O'Melveny declined to comment. The other law firms did not immediately return requests for comment.

Morrison & Foerster recently represented Puerto Rico creditors, and Proskauer previously advised Puerto Rico on a local debt restructuring law that was later invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The board is controversial in Puerto Rico. Some locals see it as a necessary answer to financial mismanagement by the island's government, but many others revile it as an extension of U.S. imperial control.

The board's first public meeting, held Sept. 30 in New York, featured heavy protests, as well as hecklers who interrupted the meeting, calling the board's presence akin to "slavery."

Island leaders have committed to working with the board, which will hold its next meeting on Friday in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

(Reporting by Nick Brown and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Nick Brown and Jessica DiNapoli 
Puerto Rico oversight board narrows list for law firms

What courage will Puerto Rico’s new oversight board show?

It’s been a month since Puerto Rico’s federally-created Financial Management and Oversight Board received the governor’s proposed fiscal plan for the bankrupt island. But there is still no hint about one of the most momentous decisions that the oversight board must make:  Will it legally challenge vast tranches of taxpayer-supported debt that were incurred with the purpose of evading the island’s constitutional borrowing restrictions?

The stakes are incredibly high. Without this legal challenge, the U.S. island territory of 3.5 million residents will likely face the same fiscal calamity in the decades to come. Future unsupervised governments would feel free to replicate Puerto Rico’s crushing and confounding debt structure. The phantasmagoric vortex consists of more than 150 types of bonds issued by 18 different government entities.

At this point, no one except the oversight board can make the call on whether to challenge the debt as a disinterested outsider. Of the island’s aggregate $68.7 billion bond liabilities, approximately $38.4 billion is payable by taxpayers.  However, only $13 billion of the amount is facially valid as direct public debt. But even this debt has its own problems if the government borrowed it to cover deficits in violation of the island’s constitutional balanced budget requirement.

One can only speculate about the internal dynamics that are currently taking place within the oversight board. Also, the back-and-forth fiscal plan and budget approval processes embody a complex mix of federally-mandated oversight and theoretical and practical levels of self-governance by the island’s democratically-elected officials.  However, none of the main political parties appears to have the stomach to upset the cart of bad apples that preceded them. Neither the current governor, nor the governor-elect has openly called for a legal challenge to the debt. Worryingly, on the other hand, the board includes individuals with local party ties or past leadership positions in the main entity that orchestrated Puerto Rico’s voracious borrowings.

In the aftermath of island and U.S. elections, I suspect the oversight board’s decision on any legal challenge to the debt will await the inauguration of the new governments in San Juan and Washington, D.C.  

Sooner or later, however, it must make the decision. And the right decision is to challenge the debt. Doing so will teach Puerto Rico and the federal government -- which ultimately controls the U.S. territory -- one of two truths: Either major portions of debt are illegal, or new laws are needed to prevent this disaster from happening again.

Mr. Martín is a corporate lawyer and author of “Puerto Rico: The Economic Rescue Manual.”  He resides in Atlanta and San Juan.

BY DAVID R. MARTIN
What courage will Puerto Rico’s new oversight board show?

PROMESA OVERSIGHT BOARD TO MEET IN PUERTO RICO ON FRIDAY

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO, CREATED UNDER THE FEDERAL PUERTO RICO OVERSIGHT, MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC STABILITY ACT (PROMESA) HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WILL HOLD THEIR THIRD MEETING IN PUERTO RICO ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH AT 8:30 AST.

THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT EL CONQUISTADOR BUSINESS MEETING FACILITIES IN FAJARDO, PUERTO RICO.

THE OVERSIGHT BOARD WILL LIVE STREAM THE MEETING VIA THE BOARD’S WEBSITE: WWW.OVERSIGHTBOARD.PR.GOV.  ATTENDANCE IS BY INVITATION ONLY.
The Puerto Rico Report with news of the Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s first meeting in Puerto Rico:

by William-Jose Velez
PROMESA OVERSIGHT BOARD TO MEET IN PUERTO RICO ON FRIDAY

Puerto Rico Governor-Elect is Seeking $900 Million in the Near Term

Puerto Rico Governor-Elect Ricardo Rosselló is seeking $900 million to get Puerto Rico through the current fiscal year.

Puerto Rico Governor-Elect is Seeking $900 Million in the Near Term

Molinos de Puerto Rico to host the XXXIV Annual Meeting of the Latin American Industrial Millers Association November 13-16

DENVER, Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Molinos de Puerto Rico, the Caribbean arm of Ardent Mills, the premier flour-milling and ingredient company, will host the XXXIV Annual Meeting of the Latin American Industrial Millers Association (ALIM) November 13-16 at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"This important conference will bring together industry leaders from across Central and South America as well as the Caribbean to discuss key industry trends, challenges and innovations," said ALIM Executive President Alejandro Daly. "Millers are fundamental to the provision of food and ingredients across the globe."

"We are honored to host this event," said Jon Stuewe, president of Molinos de Puerto Rico. "The conference will feature a variety of panels, technical presentations, and a commercial exhibition along with a number of networking events. It will be a great opportunity to showcase our milling heritage and innovations."

Ardent Mills Chief Operating Officer Bill Stoufer will address attendees on trends affecting U.S. consumption of wheat-related foods on Monday, November 14. "This is a forum to share trends and opportunities that we believe can be helpful to the industry," Stoufer said.

For more information on this industry conference, please visit https://alim2016.com or call (787)781-4874.

About Ardent Mills
Ardent Mills is the premier flour-milling and ingredient company whose vision is to be the trusted partner in nurturing its customers, consumers and communities through innovative and nutritious grain-based solutions. Ardent Mills' operations and services are supported by more than 40 flour mills and bakery-mix facilities along with a specialty bakery and Mobile Innovation Center, all located in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Deeply rooted in communities throughout North America, Ardent Mills is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and employs more than 100 certified millers, supporting thousands of local jobs and contributing billions of dollars to local economies. To learn more about Ardent Mills, visit ardentmills.com.

About Molinos de Puerto Rico
Ardent Mills' Puerto Rican operation, Molinos de Puerto Rico is the territory's leading supplier of flour as well as wheat, corn and rice-based food ingredients. Its Amapola® brand is the territory's leading retail flour and corn meal brand. Molinos de Puerto Rico's ingredients and retail products are distributed throughout Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the U.S. mainland. Established in 1958, it employs more than 100 team members and has operations in Guaynabo's Amelia district. In addition to Amapola®, Molinos de Puerto Rico brands include Special 50® and Buccaneer® flours among others.

SOURCE Ardent Mills

Related Links

http://www.ardentmills.com
Ardent Mills
Molinos de Puerto Rico to host the XXXIV Annual Meeting of the Latin American Industrial Millers Association November 13-16

Protesters March Against Federal Oversight Board

And in Puerto Rico, activists took to the streets for an Election Day protest against a federally appointed oversight control board with sweeping powers to run Puerto Rico’s economy. Jocelyn Velázquez of the Promises Are Over movement helped organize the protest.

Jocelyn Velázquez: "Today we celebrate the elections in Puerto Rico, and it is a futile exercise, because there is an oversight control board imposed by the United States government that is going to take the transcendental decisions about our future. It was indispensable not only to take this demand to the national level, but take it to the international level, too. In Puerto Rico, there is no democracy and no participation. The electoral exercise is simply a pantomime of what a democracy is."

On Tuesday, Puerto Ricans elected Ricardo Rosselló of the New Progressive Party as governor. Rosselló is a conservative who strongly favors U.S. statehood for Puerto Rico.

Protesters March Against Federal Oversight Board

Correction: Puerto Rico-Pharmaceutical Investment Story

In a story Oct. 31 about a pharmaceutical company investing in Puerto Rico, The Associated Press incorrectly identified the company as Biogen Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company investing in Puerto Rico is Biogen SAS, which is based in Colombia.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Colombia drugmaker Biogen to invest $92 million in Puerto Rico

Colombia drugmaker Biogen SAS is investing more than $92 million in Puerto Rico after buying assets that once belonged to Eli Lilly & Co. in the island's southern region.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla says the will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients at the plant in Guayama and employ about350 people in the next five years.

Garcia said Monday that his administration offered about $2 million worth of incentives as part of the deal.

An increasing number of health care companies are investing in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory seeks to boost its manufacturing sector amid a 10-year economic slump.

Correction: Puerto Rico-Pharmaceutical Investment Story

Biogen to invest $92 million in Puerto Rico, create 350 jobs

U.S. drugmaker Biogen Inc. is investing more than $92 million in Puerto Rico after buying assets that once belonged to Eli Lilly & Co. in the island’s southern region.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla says the Massachusetts-based company will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients at the plant in Guayama and employ about350 people in the next five years.

Garcia said Monday that his administration offered about $2 million worth of incentives as part of the deal.

An increasing number of health care companies are investing in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory seeks to boost its manufacturing sector amid a 10-year economic slump.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Biogen to invest $92 million in Puerto Rico, create 350 jobs