"Delegation to Discuss Puerto Rico Financial Crisis"
Title
"Delegation to Discuss Puerto Rico Financial Crisis"
Creator
Kevin Milliken
Source
La Prensa
Date
May 28, 2016
Format
pdf
Language
English and Spanish
Type
Newsletter
Text
CLEVELAND: The ongoing debt crisis in Puerto Rico has Latino leaders on the mainland concerned to the point they're about to take some serious political action, including in Cleveland, the home of a large Boricua Community. The Hispanic Alliance and related groups are calling for a Day of Action this Saturday, May 28, 2016.
The group will join approximately 60 local Latino faith-based leaders on Saturday, May 28, 2016 for a full day of group discussions, followed by canvassing the Cleveland Clark-Fulton neighborhoods encouraging voter registration and responsible civic engagement. A press conference is scheduled on May 28, 2016, from 9:00 to 9:30 am. at 3110 West 25th Street, Cleveland.
Puerto Rico is in the midst of a severe economic crisis, with more than $70 billion of debt. Earlier this month the island government failed to pay a $399 million debt payment. The dire fiscal situation is causing many residents to flee the island, fearing draconian measures it may take to get back on track financially.
"The financial crisis really does lead to a human crisis and environmental crisis and certainly a political crisis," said Juan Molina Crespo, executive director, Hispanic Alliance. "What that's creating is Puerto Ricans leaving the island, primarily for central Florida. Many of them are finding that central Florida really doesn't have the resources to accommodate this huge influx."
But a similar situation is happening elsewhere, too. Crespo estimated 85,000 Puerto Ricans each year are migrating to other states, like Ohio, and communities like the west side of Cleveland and Lorain.
"It not only puts a strain on the existing resources that we have, but offers us a challenge to make sure that the organizations and the infrastructure on the west side has the resources and can create the kind of resources to make them welcome to Cleveland and keep them in Cleveland, quite honestly," Crespo said.
11 percent of Cleveland's overall population is Latino. Of that, about 90 percent hails from Puerto Rico. More than 30,000 Puerto Ricans in one city is enough to tip an election one way or the other. All are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote state-side. While Cleveland and other communities are welcoming the repatriated Puerto Rican population. Latino leaders fear the long-lasting effects back on the island.
"It isn't solving the problem. I think, in many ways, it exacerbates the problem. The ones that are leaving are young, highly-educated Puerto Ricans, many of them professionals-and when you lose that population, the primary taxpayers. What we're finding is the outflow of those Puerto Ricans really exacerbates the financial problem of Puerto Rico, because you'll have less taxes."
Because the Puerto Rico crisis is happening during a presidential election year, Latino leaders are mounting a campaign to send a strong political message to political leaders.
"I think the primary message is that in order for the Latino community in metropolitan Cleveland and throughout the state of Ohio, to impact the policy as it pertains to Puerto Rico, we have to be willing and able to let our voices be heard, primarily among elected officials, in terms of giving them the foundation and background of how all of this is tied together," said Crespo. "How we do that is through a massive voter registration."
That drive is being mounted concurrently in cities across the Midwest and along the eastern seaboard-Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and Orlando, among others. The idea is to register Puerto Ricans to vote, get out the vote, and to continue that involvement in the cities "in a responsibly civic manner."
The Hispanic Alliance will welcome a group of Hispanic delegates from Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Florida on Saturday to bring awareness to the Puerto Rico crisis. The group will join approximately 60 local Latino faith-based leaders for a full day of group discussions, followed by canvassing Cleveland neighborhoods encouraging voter registration and responsible civic engagement. A press conference also is scheduled.
The group also will travel to Lorain to meet with Latino leaders and elected officials at El Centro de Servicios Sociales. The day of action will finish with a presentation by nationally-acclaimed economist Dr. Edwin Meléndez of El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, NY. His presentation is entitled: "The Role of Community-Based Latino Churches in the Current Puerto Rican Social and Political Environments."
As far as a political solution, Republicans in Congress have forged compromise legislation that would help bail out Puerto Rico, called the Promiso bill, or The Promise. A seven-member oversight committee would be selected by President Obama from candidates proposed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress. At least one of the seven members would be a resident of Puerto Rico.
"It offers an oversight board that will really prioritize who gets paid and in what order and what amount," he said. "One of the problems, of course, with it is that it takes that kind of authority and oversight away from the Puerto Rican people that I don't think has yet been rectified."
In fact, the bill bars Puerto Rico's governor or legislature from exercising "any control, supervision, oversight or review over the Oversight Board or its activities." It would also trump a bill enacted by Puerto Rico in April allowing the government to default on debt payments.
The bill would give the control board authority to investigate what went wrong on the island, to demand reforms and to enforce credible budgets and fiscal plans. The board would have the power to subpoena records and hold hearings, something of potential concern to Puerto Rican officials past and present as well as the financial community.
The board would not be able to declare "mission accomplished" and leave until Puerto Rico regains normal access to the capital markets, something that could take years.
The board would also guide Puerto Rico through a court-supervised process of debt reduction. It would first sort through Puerto Rico's bewildering array of bonds and put similar creditors together in classes, honoring Puerto Rico's existing bond priorities.
Each class would then get a settlement offer and have the chance to vote on it. The offers would come from the board, not the government of Puerto Rico. The bill also contains a so-called collective action clause, making it possible to impose binding settlements on holdout creditors who want more.
The group will join approximately 60 local Latino faith-based leaders on Saturday, May 28, 2016 for a full day of group discussions, followed by canvassing the Cleveland Clark-Fulton neighborhoods encouraging voter registration and responsible civic engagement. A press conference is scheduled on May 28, 2016, from 9:00 to 9:30 am. at 3110 West 25th Street, Cleveland.
Puerto Rico is in the midst of a severe economic crisis, with more than $70 billion of debt. Earlier this month the island government failed to pay a $399 million debt payment. The dire fiscal situation is causing many residents to flee the island, fearing draconian measures it may take to get back on track financially.
"The financial crisis really does lead to a human crisis and environmental crisis and certainly a political crisis," said Juan Molina Crespo, executive director, Hispanic Alliance. "What that's creating is Puerto Ricans leaving the island, primarily for central Florida. Many of them are finding that central Florida really doesn't have the resources to accommodate this huge influx."
But a similar situation is happening elsewhere, too. Crespo estimated 85,000 Puerto Ricans each year are migrating to other states, like Ohio, and communities like the west side of Cleveland and Lorain.
"It not only puts a strain on the existing resources that we have, but offers us a challenge to make sure that the organizations and the infrastructure on the west side has the resources and can create the kind of resources to make them welcome to Cleveland and keep them in Cleveland, quite honestly," Crespo said.
11 percent of Cleveland's overall population is Latino. Of that, about 90 percent hails from Puerto Rico. More than 30,000 Puerto Ricans in one city is enough to tip an election one way or the other. All are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote state-side. While Cleveland and other communities are welcoming the repatriated Puerto Rican population. Latino leaders fear the long-lasting effects back on the island.
"It isn't solving the problem. I think, in many ways, it exacerbates the problem. The ones that are leaving are young, highly-educated Puerto Ricans, many of them professionals-and when you lose that population, the primary taxpayers. What we're finding is the outflow of those Puerto Ricans really exacerbates the financial problem of Puerto Rico, because you'll have less taxes."
Because the Puerto Rico crisis is happening during a presidential election year, Latino leaders are mounting a campaign to send a strong political message to political leaders.
"I think the primary message is that in order for the Latino community in metropolitan Cleveland and throughout the state of Ohio, to impact the policy as it pertains to Puerto Rico, we have to be willing and able to let our voices be heard, primarily among elected officials, in terms of giving them the foundation and background of how all of this is tied together," said Crespo. "How we do that is through a massive voter registration."
That drive is being mounted concurrently in cities across the Midwest and along the eastern seaboard-Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and Orlando, among others. The idea is to register Puerto Ricans to vote, get out the vote, and to continue that involvement in the cities "in a responsibly civic manner."
The Hispanic Alliance will welcome a group of Hispanic delegates from Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Florida on Saturday to bring awareness to the Puerto Rico crisis. The group will join approximately 60 local Latino faith-based leaders for a full day of group discussions, followed by canvassing Cleveland neighborhoods encouraging voter registration and responsible civic engagement. A press conference also is scheduled.
The group also will travel to Lorain to meet with Latino leaders and elected officials at El Centro de Servicios Sociales. The day of action will finish with a presentation by nationally-acclaimed economist Dr. Edwin Meléndez of El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, NY. His presentation is entitled: "The Role of Community-Based Latino Churches in the Current Puerto Rican Social and Political Environments."
As far as a political solution, Republicans in Congress have forged compromise legislation that would help bail out Puerto Rico, called the Promiso bill, or The Promise. A seven-member oversight committee would be selected by President Obama from candidates proposed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress. At least one of the seven members would be a resident of Puerto Rico.
"It offers an oversight board that will really prioritize who gets paid and in what order and what amount," he said. "One of the problems, of course, with it is that it takes that kind of authority and oversight away from the Puerto Rican people that I don't think has yet been rectified."
In fact, the bill bars Puerto Rico's governor or legislature from exercising "any control, supervision, oversight or review over the Oversight Board or its activities." It would also trump a bill enacted by Puerto Rico in April allowing the government to default on debt payments.
The bill would give the control board authority to investigate what went wrong on the island, to demand reforms and to enforce credible budgets and fiscal plans. The board would have the power to subpoena records and hold hearings, something of potential concern to Puerto Rican officials past and present as well as the financial community.
The board would not be able to declare "mission accomplished" and leave until Puerto Rico regains normal access to the capital markets, something that could take years.
The board would also guide Puerto Rico through a court-supervised process of debt reduction. It would first sort through Puerto Rico's bewildering array of bonds and put similar creditors together in classes, honoring Puerto Rico's existing bond priorities.
Each class would then get a settlement offer and have the chance to vote on it. The offers would come from the board, not the government of Puerto Rico. The bill also contains a so-called collective action clause, making it possible to impose binding settlements on holdout creditors who want more.
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paper
Files
Citation
Kevin Milliken, “"Delegation to Discuss Puerto Rico Financial Crisis",” Latino Lorain , accessed September 20, 2024, https://latinolorain.oberlincollegelibrary.org/items/show/14.