Puerto Rico faces rocky 2019 amid debt and aid needs

Significance

Trump’s commitment to building a US-Mexico border wall means he may try to redirect additional funds from elsewhere for the purpose. Some of these could come from Puerto Rican disaster relief money. If this occurs, or if Trump rejects the bipartisan deal, it will add to Puerto Rico’s long-term fiscal pressures and aid needs, amid wider questions about the island’s constitutional status and development.

Impacts

• Outward migration is likely to rise, especially as the US economy grows, constraining Puerto Rico’s economic diversification.
• The Democratic US House majority will raise Hispanic-American and Puerto-Rican American issues’ profile.
• New legislation for Puerto Rican US statehood may be introduced, but passage is unlikely.
• Puerto Rico will sue the Trump administration if it redirects money bound for Puerto Rico for wall-building.