FISCAL CRISIS

Puerto Rico Unable to Pay Public Debt

Roughly $72 billion in debt.

Puerto Rico's governor acknowledged his commonwealth is unable to pay its debt and would have to seek significant concessions from its creditors on Sunday, a day before a report is set to be released on the island's financial stability. "The debt is not payable,” Gov. Alejandro García Padilla told the New York Times. " This is not politics, this is math." The island of 3.6 million people has an estimated $72 billion in debts outstanding, which is more municipal bond debt per capita than any other American state. Unlike mainland U.S. cities like Detroit, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth and can't declare bankruptcy. Default could result in a financial limbo that could take years to resolve, according to the Times.