The plan was announced as members of Congress in Washington struggled with a momentous decision: whether and how to give Puerto Rico extraordinary powers to wipe out debt. Conservative Republicans have resisted this idea, but major defaults are looming. Last week lawmakers in Puerto Rico stepped up pressure on Congress to act quickly by suddenly authorizing the island’s governor to halt payments on $72 billion in debt.
If the threat of a debt payment moratorium was Puerto Rico’s stick, the restructuring offer on Monday appears to be a carrot. Puerto Rico said it had found a way to make debt payments of $1.85 billion a year, compared with the $1.7 billion a year it had offered before.
