Sarah Lazare – New report commissioned by bondholders and hedge fund managers calls for sweeping austerity measures

Hedge fund managers and bondholders are pressing the government of Puerto Rico to drive through a series of punishing austerity measures, including dramatic cuts to public education and workers’ rights protections, to “solve” the crisis of debt and poverty gripping the Caribbean island. A group representing $5.2 billion of debt held by 38 investment managers paid three former economists for …

Puerto Rico governor declares debts “not payable” By David Brown

On Sunday evening the governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla of the Popular Democratic Party, announced that the US commonwealth would need to restructure its $72 billion in debt. The island of 3.5 million people has been in a deep economic crisis since 2006, experiencing high unemployment, large-scale emigration and severe austerity measures. Between 2004 and 2014 Puerto Rico …