P.R. Builders Association stresses ‘need for agreements’ between gov’t, OBoard
Builders Association President Emilio Colón-Zavala
The Puerto Rico Builders Association called upon the three branches of government and the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico to reach agreements to make the island return to the path of economic and fiscal recovery.
“The designation of an Oversight Board is an inescapable reality that changed the way of governing Puerto Rico. It’s time to accept this fact and for our elected officials to reach agreements with the Board,” said Builders Association President Emilio Colón-Zavala. “Ongoing confrontation will only delay the recovery of our economic growth.”
The trade group noted that Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy is occupied by the federal government and has been validated in several cases before the Supreme Court, even in Puerto Rico. Moreover, every U.S. mainland jurisdiction that has been declared bankrupt has appointed external entities to act as trustee. The most relevant examples Washington D.C. and Detroit. The functions of the Oversight Board in Washington D.C. lasted six years ,while the intervention in Detroit lasted a little more than five years before public finances were restored.
The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act gave U.S. territories to declare bankruptcy even when U.S. states have no such authority. Processes under PROMESA’s Title III are allowed after showing that negotiations between the covered entities and creditors have failed.
“Two years after the PROMESA federal law was signed, and Oversight Board members were appointed, some still do not accept the consequences of bankruptcy. We urge elected officials to find ways to work together to achieve measures that, although difficult, return us to the path of economic prosperity,” Colón-Zavala said. “After all, our problems cannot be solved with the same mentality that created them.”
