Flint’s deeply troubled finances are controlled by a state-appointed emergency manager, in an arrangement similar to what is expected now for Puerto Rico. Here, Puerto Rico is said to be a “free associated state” of the United States, and the word “territory” is considered pejorative. Although Mr. García Padilla is not running for re-election, his party, the Popular Democrats, has for decades promoted Puerto Rico’s continued status as a United States territory. Most of Iniciativa Comunitaria’s funding comes from the Puerto Rican government, and the group’s budget has been cut by about 40 percent in the last three years as the island’s troubles have mounted. “I hope that now that we may have dodged the default bullet, Puerto Rico doesn’t fall off the radar screen again,” said Miguel Soto-Class, president of the Center for a New Economy, a research group in San Juan.

Source: New York Times July 01, 2016 00:22 UTC