SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico government officials said Friday they will not bow to demands from a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances that they implement cuts to a struggling public pension system as part of an upcoming fiscal plan to help pull the U.S. territory out of an economic crisis. “We’re not talking about business as usual here in Puerto Rico,” Sobrino said. “The fiscal plan recognizes the island’s fiscal and demographic spiral. Some members of the U.S. Congress also weighed in Friday on the upcoming fiscal plan, with 35 of them signing a letter voicing opposition to privatizing much of Puerto Rico’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. Many in the U.S. territory of 3.3 million people are wary of the overall proposed fiscal plan and fear they will struggle economically more than before even as they try to recuperate from Hurricane Maria.

Source: National Post March 23, 2018 22:16 UTC