Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico

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Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
Junta de Supervisión Fiscal
FOMBPR logo.jpeg
Agency overview
FormedJune 30, 2016; 5 years ago (2016-06-30)
TypeFinancial regulatory authorities
JurisdictionFederal government of the United States
Agency executive
  • David A. Skeel Jr, Chairman of the FOMBPR
Parent agencyUnited States Congress
Websiteoversightboard.pr.gov

Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMBPR), colloquially known as the La Junta de Control/Supervisión Fiscal is a government entity whose role to revise and approve the budget and obligations of the government of Puerto Rico was created by federal law PROMESA.

History[]

Creation[]

On August 31, 2016, Barack Obama appointed the seven members of the board.[1][2]

In March 2017, Natalie Jaresko, former Minister of Finance in Ukraine, was appointed as the board's executive director.[3] In 2019, Christian Sobrino, PROMESA's Representative of the Puerto Rican government, resigned in the wake of the Telegramgate scandal effective immediately on July 13 2019.[4] On September 1, 2020, El Nuevo Día newspaper reports that USDA Rural Development State Director Josué Rivera was mentioned as a potential nominee for the Board. [5]

FOMBPR v. Aurelius Investment, LLC[]

Main article: Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC

Composition of the FOMBPR[]

Current members[]

  Democrat    Republican
Name Date appointed Affiliation
Andrew G. Biggs August 31, 2016[6] Republican
Ana Matosantos August 31, 2016[7] Democrat
David Skeel August 31, 2016 Republican
Justin Peterson October 7, 2020[8] Republican

Former members[]

Name Appointment date Resignation date Effective resignation date Affiliation
José Carrión III (Former Chairman) August 31, 2016 July 1, 2020 October 5, 2020 Republican
Carlos García August 31, 2016 July 1, 2020 August 31, 2020 Republican
José González August 31, 2016 August 4, 2020 August 31, 2020[9] Democrat
Arthur Gonzalez August 31, 2016 October 8, 2020 October 8, 2020[10] Democrat

Officers[]

Name Position
David Skeel Chairman
Natalie Jaresko Executive Director
Jaime El Koury Legal Counsel
Natalie Jaresko Revitalization Coordinator (Interim)
Omar Marrero Representative of the government of Puerto Rico

Authority[]

Appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the United States, La Junta has authority over the commonwealth’s budget, with a mandate to maneuver the liquidity crisis that the island's government faces amidst a shrinking economy and a debt crisis.[11] The board has the authority over “the prompt enforcement of any applicable laws of the covered territory prohibiting public sector employees from participating in a strike or lockout” (PROMESA, 559).[12] La Junta also has the power to fast-track approval of infrastructure projects and public-private partnerships. The law also gives total immunity to the board members in the face of any potential lawsuits.[11]

Opposition[]

Puerto Rican business leaders, scholars, teachers, performing artists, and activists have led protests against La Junta.[13] In July 2019, hundreds of thousands of people rallied in the streets of San Juan to chants for Governor Ricardo Rosselló to “resign and take the “junta” with you."[14] Many argue that The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico amounts to the return of colonial rule over Puerto Rico.[15] Among them, Dr. Ronald Mendoza-de Jesus wrote, "Many, myself included, feel that the time has come to finally dispel the fantasy of Puerto Rico’s sovereignty under US rule and to take up again the question of the economic and ontological implications of striving to become a sovereign nation."[11] Puerto Rican filmmaker Francis Negrón-Muntaner argues in "The Emptying Island," that PROMESA "marks a transition to a new iteration of colonial-capitalism".[16] Negrón-Muntaner notes that the Board is "composed of individuals with deep ties to the banking and investment world—including some involved in producing the debt crisis—and granted them broad powers over Puerto Rico’s elected government to assure that creditors will be paid.”[17] In 2019, thirteen members of the United States Congress included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders signed a letter that demanded that the Puerto Rico fiscal oversight board, known as “la junta,” disclose its conflicts of interest.[18]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "White House names seven to Puerto Rico oversight board". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  2. ^ "Puerto Rico oversight board appointed". Reuters. 2016-08-31. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Fiscal board chairman: Extent of Puerto Rico crisis justifies new executive director's salary – Caribbean Business". caribbeanbusiness.com. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  4. ^ Journal, Newsroom, The Weekly. "Rosselló Makes Two Appointments". The Weekly Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  5. ^ "La Junta se queda con cinco miembros y estos son los nombres que suenan para llenar las vacantes" [The Junta will stay with five members and these are the names of candidates to fill the vacancies]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  6. ^ "Andrew G. Biggs". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  7. ^ "PN862 - Nomination of Ana Matosantos for Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  8. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  9. ^ "José R. González deja la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal" [José R. González leaves the fiscal control board]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  10. ^ "El juez Arthur González anuncia su salida de la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  11. ^ a b c Mendoza-de Jesus, Ronald (2020). Free-dom: United States of Banana and the Limits of Sovereignty (Poets, philosophers, lovers: on the Writings of Giannina Braschi). Aldama, Frederick Luis, O'Dwyer, Tess. Pittsburgh, Pa.: U Pittsburgh. pp. 136–139. ISBN 978-0-8229-4618-2. OCLC 1143649021.
  12. ^ Cabán, Pedro (2020-03-03). "Puerto Rico's Summer 2019 Uprising and the Crisis of Colonialism". Latin American Perspectives. 47 (3): 103–116. doi:10.1177/0094582x20906509. ISSN 0094-582X. S2CID 216276037.
  13. ^ "Puerto Ricans Aren't Done Protesting. "La Junta" Is Why". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  14. ^ "Puerto Ricans Aren't Done Protesting. "La Junta" Is Why". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  15. ^ Fonseca, Melody (2019-03-17). "Beyond Colonial Entrapment: The Challenges of Puerto Rican "National Consciousness" in Times of Promesa". Interventions. 21 (5): 747–765. doi:10.1080/1369801x.2019.1585917. ISSN 1369-801X. S2CID 150703945.
  16. ^ Riofrio, John (2020). "Rompiendo esquemas" (Poets, philosophers, lovers: on the writings of Giannina Braschi). Aldama, Frederick Luis, O'Dwyer, Tess. Pittsburgh, Pa.: U Pittsburgh. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8229-4618-2. OCLC 1143649021. PROMESA marks a transition to a new iteration of colonial-capitalism.
  17. ^ "The Emptying Island: Puerto Rican Expulsion in Post-Maria Time". hemisphericinstitute.org. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  18. ^ Aronoff, Kate AronoffAlleen BrownKate; BrownSeptember 24 2019, Alleen; P.m, 5:39. "Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez Call for Reversal of Puerto Rico Austerity Measures". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-11-09.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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