Not an independent country, the island could not seek a bailout from international lenders. Not a fully integrated part of the U.S., either, the territory could not access the legal protections afforded to American states and municipalities. Instead, Congress passed the PROMESA Act — named after the Spanish word for “promise” — which installed a board of financial overseers appointed by the White House with final say over how the territory’s elected government would spend money.
@sfleetucker I, different from my peers and family who advocated for "Common Wealth" have believed that Puerto Rico should have been an independent nation. Alas, the FBI made sure that was never to be the case.
@matuzalem <nods>, at this point, statehood is probably the best outcome.
@matuzalem But again, not my call. That's up to the folks who live in Puerto Rico. I admit, I'd love to have a Spanish language state to shut the ****ing xenophobes up about English.
@sfleetucker but that’s exactly the crux, it is not up to Puerto Ricans, it is up to who we elect here in the states and their promises to Puerto Rico fulfilled. Very hard.
@matuzalem Well, for statehood, they have to ratify, not just the congress, or at least that was my recollection, and they've voted it down in the past. The congress also has to ratify it, but we can't force them to be a state.
@sfleetucker They could, but they wont. The biggest problem is that who is allowed to vote? residents of the island or natural born citizens of Puerto Rico also here in "the diaspora"? its more of us here than there.
@matuzalem I really hope PR becomes a state. But ultimately, that's their choice.