Latin American Economy & Business - April 2016 (ISSN 1741-7430)

The Puerto Rico government and its various creditors have started using the media for negotiations over debt restructuring. The Puerto Rico House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow Governor Alejandro García Padilla to declare a moratorium, until January 2017, on payments to creditors. As of 18 April 2016, it was unclear as to whether the US Congress will pass a bill, sponsored by the House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan (GOP), that should facilitate an orderly workout for the Puerto Rican government and its agencies, which collectively are burdened by a debt of around US$73bn. Nevertheless, an orderly workout remains the most likely outcome.