Washington Helped Create Puerto Rico’s Staggering Debt Crisis - 26:31

Washington Helped Create Puerto Rico’s Staggering Debt Crisis
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Nelson Denis, writer, film director, and former N.Y.S. Assemblyman. His award-winning films premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and screened throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.  His editorials for the NY Daily News and El Diario (over 300 of them) won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He is the writer of eight feature-length screenplays, writer/director of the feature film Vote For Me!, & author of the book War Against All Puerto Ricans:   Revolution and Terror in America's Colony.  

While Puerto Rico is oftentimes described as an unincorporated territory of the United States, a more accurate political and legal description is that it is a colony of the United States.  A colony that has 3.5 million US citizen residents, who do not have the right to vote for president or representation in Congress and is making headlines these days because of its inability to pay a 72 billion dollar debt owed to holders of its devalued bonds.  While there have been comparisons between Greece and Puerto Rico the reality is that they are totally distinct situations. Greece has sovereignty, Puerto Rico does not. Puerto Rico is unable to declare bankruptcy, cannot devalue its currency and cannot go to international financial institutions under the present colonial system. In fact one of the solutions offered in the United States to solve the chaotic economic crisis is to place the entire island in receivership. In other words to go back to an even more rigid colonial system so that the bonds market can protect its investment. 

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