White House Move Underscores Need for Congress to Eliminate Undemocratic, Conflicted FOMB
WASHINGTON, DC – The Power 4 Puerto Rico Coalition today expressed dismay over the recent appointment of Juan Sabater to the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico by President Biden and reiterated its long-standing call for the board to be eliminated.
The appointment of Sabater, a prominent figure deeply entrenched in Wall Street, is yet another move against the aspirations for economic self-determination that the people of Puerto Rico have long been fighting for. “With so many Puerto Ricans pushing for economic justice and having taken to the streets to protest this board, President Biden’s Wall Street appointment is out of touch and a slap in the face,” said Erica González, Director of the coalition.
Power 4 Puerto Rico and allies have rallied for the support of local growth instead of the brutal axe that this board has taken to the University of Puerto Rico and the barrage of fee hikes it has rained down on Puerto Ricans.
“Sabater’s background as a private equity investor is just more of the same, appointing those who have a history of profiting from financial crises at the helm of an undemocratically imposed board whose actions are decimating the economic future of the Island. No good can come from la Junta's continued existence," stated former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is a past Director of Power 4 Puerto Rico and current member of the coalition.
Power 4 Puerto Rico Senior Advisor Federico de Jesús stated that “as a presidential candidate, Biden criticized Donald Trump’s appointment of a hedge fund consultant, Justin Peterson, to the Board and is now doing exactly the same. Instead of fulfilling his commitments to audit Puerto Rico’s debt and reverse the austerity cuts hurting Puerto Ricans, and showing leadership on eliminating the Board, the White House seems to want to perpetuate the undemocratic, Wall Street focus of this Junta that is strangling essential services for the Puerto Rican people and driving out emerging professionals and struggling workers from the Island.”
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