Puerto Rico's Democratic primary reflects debt crisis engulfing island

[KoKo]

As the territory faces austerity cuts, polling stations have been cut to a third of what was planned – but residents hope election will send message to Washington.


‘Bernie Sanders is right. We don’t want a bailout’

To some voters, the decision comes down to the candidates’ stance on a controversial proposed rescue package currently before the US Congress that would, among other measures, appoint a federal oversight board to control the handling of the giant public debt. In May, the island’s government defaulted on a $422m loan repayment.

Clinton said she had concerns but backed the bill while Sanders, in a speech at San Juan’s University of Puerto Rico, said it was “morally wrong” to hand control of decisions that affected millions on the island to a Washington-appointed unelected body that was “accountable to nobody”. He used the same address to suggest the hedge fund owners of the majority of the territory’s debt needed “a massive haircut”.

“Bernie Sanders is right,” said taxi driver Armando Raigozo. “We don’t want a bailout but we need help to get on our feet again without giving up control. People want to work and we also have thousands of prisoners that we’re paying to sit in cells that could be out repairing roads and working in the fields.”

Another growing worry is the advance of the Zika virus. The number of reported cases grew by almost 200 to 1,072 in the week to 1 June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The impact on tourism is being felt.

“It has hurt the island tremendously,” Prats said. “Tourism is an isolated sector of the economy that was reflecting a positive growth.

“Conventions were being held here, hotels being built, Major League baseball games scheduled and all of a sudden those things start to fall apart because a tourist or athlete fears coming to Puerto Rico would expose them to Zika, as if it was any different than the Zika in Florida, or Texas, or Brazil.”

Continued at "The Guardian:"
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/05/puerto-rico-democratic-primary-debt-crisis