A sinking feeling in Puerto Rico

“Puerto Rico, my heart’s devotion. Let it sink back in the ocean.” — “West Side Story”

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is drowning. The island, so popular with tourists, is $123 billion in debt. That’s more debt than the $18 billion bankruptcy filed by the city of Detroit in 2013. In May, San Juan declared a form of bankruptcy after creditors filed lawsuits demanding their money. A federal district judge appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts will handle the case.

How did this happen? Luis Fortuno, former governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, who served as president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP), which advocates for the island to become a U.S. state, believes he knows.

Mr. Fortuno was elected in 2009. In a telephone interview from his Washington law office, he tells me that during his one term, he cut government expenses by $2 billion and the island’s bond rating went up. “We refinanced the debt on better terms” and by the time he left office in 2013, “we had brought down the budget every year and lowered corporate taxes. People believed they could take risks again.”

The island’s residents hope to buoy their fortunes by becoming a state
A sinking feeling in Puerto Rico