The challenge for Puerto Rico

The challenge for Puerto Rico

EDITORIAL - 05/16/2006
El Diario - La Prensa

The immediate economic crisis has subsided but the fiscal problems are far from over on the island of Puerto Rico. Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila and the island`s Legislators must now make some tough decisions about cutting costs and trimming government if the island is to achieve the fundamental fiscal reform it needs to avoid a complete financial collapse.

More than 100,000 government employees went back to work and the island`s 1,500 public schools reopened yesterday. The schools and non-essential government offices were shut down for two weeks because of the fiscal crisis. Acevedo Vila and the Legislature reached an agreement on Saturday and the governor signed the deal that included a loan that allowed the government to reopen.

The Puerto Rican government is the single largest employer on this island of 3.8 million people. Now the political leadership must get tough about trimming government and eliminating positions through attrition, early retirement and buyouts. Legislators must give up their fancy perks and learn to live like the people they are supposed to serve. They must create non-government jobs and opportunities for the people, and enlist the U.S., a powerful player in the creation and control of this island economy.

The Puerto Rican people saw that it was partisan politics that stood in the way of a compromise. The governor belongs to the Partido Popular Democrata, which supports the island`s commonwealth status, while both branches of the Legislature are dominated by the Partido Nuevo Progresista, which supports statehood.

The fiscal year ends on June 30, and the governor and the Legislature must still agree on a budget, a tax and a precise structure for fiscal reform. Confrontations are guaranteed. We challenge the government of Puerto Rico to stop leaving its money problems for future leaders to deal with, face the problems head on, and agree on some tough but necessary solutions.