Puerto Rico defaults on debt

August 9, 2015
Issue 
1064
World

For the first time in its history, the US colony of Puerto Rico has gone into default, Moody's Investors Service said on August 3.

The news comes after years of economic turmoil in the island, produced mainly by the 2007-2010 recession and housing crisis that have affected the US.

The default came soon after the island's Government Development Bank announced that it was only able to make a partial payment on its US$72 billion debt.

This debt crisis directly hurts the Caribbean island's residents, since the debt is mostly owned by residents through credit unions.

Many Puerto Ricans have abandoned the island in search of better opportunities and stability in the US mainland, as the island struggles with the high rates of unemployment and inflation.

[Abridged from .]

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Economy
National liberation
Latin America & the Caribbean
Puerto Rico

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