Puerto Ricans Face ‘Sacrifice Everywhere’ on an Insolvent Island -
By FRANCES ROBLESMAY 6, 2017
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Angel González, a retired schoolteacher facing a 10 percent cut to his pension, is beginning
to wonder whether his three-person household will have to cut back to one cellphone and take turns using it.
Mr. Domenech, 50, the general contractor, who lives in Aguadilla in western Puerto Rico,
said he had no idea where people like him stood in the new Puerto Rican reality.
“They don’t think that fiscal plan is appropriate; they think they should get more money and that the people of Puerto Rico should get less,” he said.
People who do not have jobs do not take the bus to work.”
These are some of the voices of Puerto Rico’s business owners, retirees
and public servants who are caught in the middle — they would say the bottom — of the largest local government insolvency in United States history.
“Of course, my position is I am completely against that, and I will protect the people of Puerto Rico over anything.”
When he took office, Mr. Rosselló said his first task was to determine “how deep the rabbit
hole went.” He expected a $3 billion deficit, and instead found a deficit of $7.5 billion.
“There isn’t a single sector that hasn’t been hit: The older people are worried about their retirements, the parents have had their hours cut,
and the young people are on strike at the university, and the kids are about to see their schools closed,” Ms. Matos, 64, said.
