I began this page when a legislative impasse had forced Puerto Rico's Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá to layoff 95,000 public employees. The crisis had been brewing for over one year. Pro-Statehood PNP-controlled legislature and Pro-Commonwealth PPD Executive powers could not agree on the 2005-06 Commonwealth budget. The budget for the previous year remained in effect. Additional revenue sources proposed by Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá have not been approved by the legislature.
May 12, 2006 - 9:50 PM ET - San Juan, Puerto Rico
There is no certainty yet that the legislation necessary to bring 100,000 laid-off public employees back to work will be passed on time. Considerable pressure is being exerted on the President of the House of Representatives, Jose Aponte, by leaders of the clergy and others who want to see the employees return to work. It seems, though, that Pedro Rossello, president of the PNP party, is pressuring Aponte in a different direction.
May 10, 2006 - 9:20 PM ET - San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Governor of Puerto Rico has just announced that his meeting with the Presidents of the Senate and the House of Represenatatives has ended with an agreement to accept the recommendations of the committee named to examine the fiscal situation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Based on the recommendations, the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be able to borrow enough money to bring back to work more than 95,000 government employees who had been laid off on May 1, 2006.
May 8, 2006 - 9:30 PM ET - San Juan, Puerto Rico
The president of la Fraternidad Pentecostal, Ángel Marcial, the Catholic Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto Gonz‡lez Nieves and the Reverend Héctor Soto, of the Methodist Church, have jointly pressed the heads of the Puerto Rican Executive and Legislative powers to name a committee which is reviewing the fiscal situation of the Commonwealth. The committee is composed of experts selected by both the Executive and Legislative. The recommendations should be delivered tomorrow.
May 8, 2006 - 9:30 PM ET - San Juan, Puerto Rico
The latest development regarding Puerto Rico's budgetary deficiency is that some of the bonds issued by Puerto Rico have been downgraded to just one notch above junk grade, while other bonds were downgraded all the way to junk. The reason quoted by Moody's Investors' Service is the "strained financial condition, and ongoing political conflict and lack of agreement ".
The crisis has been brewing for over one year. Pro-Statehood PNP-controlled legislature and Pro-Commonwealth PPD Executive powers could not agree on the 2005-06 Commonwealth budget. The budget for the previous year remained in effect. Additional revenue sources proposed by Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá have not been approved by the legislature.
In addition to the layoffs, the Commonwealth government has stopped monthly subsidies to the municipal governments. As a result, many small municipalities have had to close their doors and lay off their employees.
The most affected sector is Education, that accounts for almost half of the laid-off employees. 1500 public schools were shut down about three weeks before the scheduled end of the school term.
You are invited to submit your reactions to this situation. I will publish the most interesting submissions in these pages.
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