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WORLD NEWS Saturday 20 January 2018

Puerto Rico finances under scrutiny amid plea for help

By DANICA COTO has a central cash balance
Associated Press of $1.7 billion and stressed
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) that the island’s power
— Top financial officials in agency and water and
Puerto Rico offered a peek sewer company will soon
Friday into why the U.S. have no funds as the territo-
territory is mired in an 11- ry struggles to recover from
year recession as a federal a Category 4 hurricane
control board demanded that caused up to an esti-
more transparency and mated $95 billion in dam-
information about the is- age. “The liquidity chal-
land’s finances. lenges are real and need
Officials said that for de- to be addressed now,” Por-
cades, the number of gov- tela said. “We have taken
ernment bank accounts a number of extraordinary
was unclear, public agen- steps to prolong liquidity.
cies used one of four dif- These measures are unsus-
ferent accounting systems, tainable.”
and government vendors Federal officials recently
charged more for services sent Portela a letter stating
when not paid, among they were temporarily with-
other issues. holding a billion-dollar loan
The testimony they provid- approved by U.S. Congress
ed during a public hearing last year for post-hurricane
held by the board comes A man holds a Puerto Rican flag during a protest against austerity measures as demonstrators recovery efforts because
march to the offices of a federal control board created by U.S. Congress last year, in San Juan,
as Puerto Rico’s govern- Puerto Rico. On Jan. 19, Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency Director Gerardo Portela said an ongoing audit they felt Puerto Rico had
ment continues to insist that has found $6.8 billion in hundreds of government accounts, noting $4.3 billion of that amount is sufficient funds.
it is running out of money not available for use due to restrictions and that the island’s utility companies will soon run out of Given that announcement,
and needs more help from money. the federal control board
the U.S. for post-hurricane (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File) and local officials are trying
recovery efforts. audit has found $6.8 billion of restrictions. whether there are ways to to identify additional rev-
Gerardo Portela, director in some 800 government He said his office will pro- modify restrictions to free enue sources as the island
of the island’s Fiscal Agen- accounts, but noted that vide more details in upcom- up more money, as re- struggles to restructure a
cy and Financial Advisory $4.3 billion of that is not ing months about where quested by the board. portion of its $73 billion pub-
Authority, said an ongoing available for use because the funds came from and He noted the government lic debt load.q
Brazil’s Lula derides judicial system post-corruption ruling

By SARAH DiLORENZO tenced to 9½ years in pris- already started campaign- Da Silva said his enemies police to the prosecutors to
Associated Press on. Prosecutors allege that ing. Some legal experts were attacking him be- the judge who convicted
SAO PAULO (AP) — Former construction giant OAS have argued he might be cause of his successes, in- him were lying to tear him
Brazilian President Luiz Ina- prepared and renovated able to remain a contend- cluding lifting millions of down.
cio Lula da Silva derided a beachside apartment for er until all his legal recours- people out of poverty and During da Silva’s 2003-2010
the judicial system that da Silva in exchange for fa- es have been exhausted. raising Brazil’s stature on the presidency, Brazil saw ex-
convicted him of corrup- vors. The former president Da Silva, who is universally world stage. plosive economic growth
tion and extolled his ac- vehemently denies the ac- known as Lula in Brazil, is “For this, they started a on the back of a commod-
complishments in office on cusations and has said he is leading polls for the Oc- case of lies against the ities boom, and da Silva is
Thursday, just days before a being persecuted. tober vote, and he has Workers’ Party and against credited with investing the
ruling on the appeal of his If the conviction is upheld, been traveling the country Lula,” he told a crowd of proceeds in programs that
conviction. Brazilian law states da Silva to make the case for his more than 1,000 supporters alleviated poverty and ex-
In July, da Silva was found should be barred from run- re-election — and to de- who packed an auditorium panded the middle class.
guilty of corruption and ning in this year’s president nounce the prosecutions in Sao Paulo. He said every- He left office with sky-high
money laundering and sen- election, for which he has against him. one from the investigating approval ratings.q