1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,479 Speaker 1: Dear listener. This month, we're bringing you episodes of Labrega, 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: a special seven part mini series presented by Futuro Studios 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: and w NYC Studios, all about the Puerto Rican experience. 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: Today's episode the Bankruptcy Letters, and if you'd like to 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: hear any of the episodes in Espanol, visit the Labrega 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, I'm going to 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: hand it off to w n y c's Alana Casanova Burgess, 8 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: the host of La Brega. 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: Why not a minore le Balentine Sootiero. 10 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 3: This is a call I had with Luis Valentine, a 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 3: reporter from Centro de Perio, the Center for Investigative Journalism. 12 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 3: They partnered with us for this episode. 13 00:00:53,840 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 2: Yo yaman de sa core look hell at Luisia Derakier. 14 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 3: For the past five years, he has been covering Puerto 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 3: Rico's fiscal crisis and bankruptcy. 16 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 2: Proceedings Toloda Eldgate. 17 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 3: One of the ways Louise keeps up with this complicated 18 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 3: case is by getting an email digest from the docket. 19 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 3: That's a repository where every single filable document that pertains 20 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 3: to the bankruptcy case lives. He then sent me a 21 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 3: particular link that was the spark for this episode of La. 22 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 2: Brega ikisafuera a pacifico uno one one seventy nine to one. 23 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 3: This five digits seemingly cold number led to a very 24 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 3: warm and human artifact, a scan of a handwritten envelope 25 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 3: and letter. It's not the kind of thing we're used 26 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 3: to seeing on bureaucratic government websites. He asked me to 27 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 3: read the letter out loud, dengo de richo reklamar minumero recloress, 28 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,919 Speaker 3: a letter by one Marie LUs Co YAsO from Patillas, 29 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 3: Puerto Rico, a retired special education teacher who claimed the 30 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 3: government of Puerto Rico owes her money for a raise 31 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 3: she was promised but never received. So Puerto Rico nunc 32 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 3: diego list told me that in twenty nineteen he started 33 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 3: noticing that the emails he received from the docket started 34 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 3: showing names that were not the usual ones he had 35 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 3: been seeing in his past research. 36 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 2: Comen pere rorie he yod norique me yam. 37 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 3: Se coo, names like Perez, Rodriguez and Coyaso, names that 38 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 3: were actually Puerto rican So he took a closer. 39 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 4: Look, so. 40 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 3: Mario and he found out there were a lot of 41 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 3: handwritten letters just like the one by Mari LUs. 42 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 5: Via economic actual as in parable that. 43 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 3: Was former Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro Garcia Barrilla on 44 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 3: Puerto Rican TV officially announcing that the debt of the 45 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 3: commonwealth was unpayable. This announcement back in twenty fifteen was 46 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 3: confirmation of a very popular suspicion. Puerto Rico had no 47 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 3: money left to pay its debts and there were a 48 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 3: lot of overdue bills to pay. The main problem with 49 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 3: all of this was that the government of Puerto Rico 50 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 3: could not declare bankruptcy, and several hedge funds were threatening 51 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 3: to sue and to embargo government accounts. In the summer 52 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 3: of twenty sixteen, the US government intervened, then President Barack 53 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 3: Obama passed Lalais Promesa Promesa Mean's Promise. A year later, 54 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 3: Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy under provisions of this new law, 55 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 3: and with this the process became the biggest government bankruptcy 56 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 3: in the history of the United States. Of the financial 57 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 3: institutions which threatened suing the government are now creditors in 58 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 3: this legal action. In other words, the government of Puerto 59 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 3: Rico owes them money, but they are not the only ones. 60 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 3: There's another kind of creditor like Marilus Coo YAsO, and 61 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 3: this group is the focus of our story. Louis Valentine 62 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 3: picks it up from here. 63 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 2: In the summer of twenty eighteen, Marilusko YAsO started to 64 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: hear a lot about the provensal law. The word promeenza 65 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 2: was being used all the time. N she heard it 66 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,239 Speaker 2: in the context of a legal battle and the government 67 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 2: owing money to folks like her. MARILUSI is a retired 68 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,559 Speaker 2: elementary school teacher. She worked all her life in Puerto 69 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 2: Rico's public school system. She was twenty two when she 70 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 2: started and still remembers her first day on the job. 71 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 2: She packed the bag and went to school a little. 72 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 4: Scared into saloon. 73 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 2: A co worker introduced herself, show her around and pointed 74 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 2: out her classroom through a window. 75 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 4: Is it saloon? 76 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 2: I jo uh huh, Look there it is, she said, 77 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 2: and Marilus remembers feeling excited at that moment. She took 78 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 2: care of that space, decorating and fixing it by herself. 79 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 2: For over twenty years, Marilus was a special education tea shirt. 80 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 2: Then she took a break and taught social studies and 81 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 2: science classes. But like a river that returns to its course, 82 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 2: she says, she returned to the special ad because that's 83 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 2: what she liked. 84 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 4: Bet Corio will be a suco. 85 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 2: She also remembers her first check check and ticing it 86 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 2: was four hundred and thirty five dollars. Today that will 87 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 2: be around twelve hundred dollars forty years later. The starting 88 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 2: salary for a teacher in Puerto Rico is one thousand, 89 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 2: seven hundred and fifty dollars a month, the lowest in 90 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 2: the United States. 91 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 5: I mean, did I get a from Passandro san Vio 92 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 5: Ugogo mucho. 93 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 2: She also recalls that over the years, some administrations have 94 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 2: given the schools a lot of resources and some have 95 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 2: given nearly nothing. 96 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 4: Non devil nada. 97 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 2: The most recent administrations have given nothing because since the 98 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 2: start of the two thousand and six financial crisis, the 99 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 2: public sector has seen budget cuts, salary freezes, and the 100 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 2: massive firing of public employees. So the working conditions for 101 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 2: Marilous and fellow teachers only got worse with little or 102 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 2: no institutional support. In twenty thirteen, Marilus decided to retire, 103 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 2: and today she thinks she did it just in time. 104 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 4: Study fifty see it's a down just calls us ke 105 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 4: love in telement. 106 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 2: Things are more difficult now. For example, Marie LUs has 107 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 2: noted that there are no longer assistant positions to help 108 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 2: special education teachers. In twenty fifteen, Marielus moved to Florida. 109 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 2: She lives there with her husband, daughter and two grandchildren. 110 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 2: In the midst of her retirement, she started receiving letters 111 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 2: from the US Federal Court, all of them about the 112 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 2: bankruptcy case on the Promesa. 113 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 5: And Meliao is Sebo today to the Jelist. 114 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 2: It was June twenty eighteen when she received the first 115 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 2: forms that had to be filled out as part of 116 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: what she describes as a struggle to get the money 117 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 2: that is old, but Marielus received is part of any 118 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 2: bankruptcy process. When a dator contacts a creditor, the. 119 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 6: Proof of claim is basically a four where a creditor 120 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 6: would state what's the debt that he's owed and what's 121 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 6: the classification of that debt if it is an unsecured 122 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 6: or secured or priority dead. 123 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 2: This is Jessica Mendez Kolbert a lawyer in Ponser. She 124 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 2: has been practicing law for six years and has represented 125 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 2: creditors in Puerto Rico's bankruptcy since the start of the 126 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 2: case in twenty seventeen. 127 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 6: They received these letters saying you need to file your 128 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 6: proof of claim and they didn't even know if they 129 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 6: were owed something or not. 130 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 2: And these people received these letters after being listed as 131 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 2: potential government creditors. The first of this list identify more 132 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:43,959 Speaker 2: than half a million persons and entities. 133 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 6: So people started receiving these notices with the deadline. 134 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 2: One of them was mari Luis, and she and all 135 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 2: the others received a letter with a form. In that document, 136 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 2: they had to detail all that was owed to them to. 137 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 5: Nell KJon of Basal de p dea Yo. 138 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 2: Wow or, as Marie LUs puts it, they had to 139 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 2: detail all the government's promises. What she means is all 140 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,439 Speaker 2: the wage increases that were promised by the Commonwealth of 141 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 2: Puerto Rico and its administrators but which never materialized. For example, 142 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 2: Marielus mentions a one hundred dollars monthly increase from a 143 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,079 Speaker 2: law that then Governor Sila Maria g Leron signing to 144 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 2: law in two thousand and two. Mari LUs never saw 145 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 2: that in her checks, and a lot of ex TA 146 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 2: shirts and thousands of public servants had similar experiences. So 147 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 2: when these letters from the court came in. 148 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 4: You cut out of pape. 149 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 2: Everyone went a little crazy looking for these forms, she recalls. 150 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 2: When Marielus received their own, she had only two days 151 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 2: left until the deadline to send back her information. She 152 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 2: was not alone. A lot of her co workers also 153 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: didn't get a lot of advanced notes. None of them 154 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 2: were very clear on how the process worked and were 155 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 2: even less sure of how much the government owed them. 156 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 2: So she decided to meet with some of the people 157 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 2: that were in the same boat. 158 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:20,319 Speaker 4: Salon. 159 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 2: She went to her old school and met with all 160 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 2: the other teachers in a pack classroom, all of them 161 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 2: frantically filling out forms. Picture the scene, dozens of elementary 162 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 2: school teachers, most of them retired, sitting at the desks 163 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,719 Speaker 2: of their former students, figuring out the math behind pay 164 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 2: races they never received for. 165 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 4: Yo Mahammedu Mahamedo communities. 166 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,319 Speaker 2: Her estimate was seventy five thousand dollars, and of course 167 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 2: felling that out was just the beginning. They had to 168 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 2: turn it in there were six locations on the island 169 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 2: for people to bring their forms in person, and she 170 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 2: went to the one in the city of Ponce, the 171 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 2: only one in the south of the island. It was 172 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,559 Speaker 2: a the federal courthouse there. 173 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 7: Esia Tremendol Marilus says she's grateful that coronavirus didn't exist 174 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:20,559 Speaker 7: when she filed her claim because the crowd didn't allow 175 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 7: for social distancing. 176 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 2: She recalls how the placing Ponce was just a mess. 177 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 2: She even saw people filling out their papers right there 178 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 2: on the spot. Hundreds of retired public servants were gathered, 179 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 2: most of them over the age of sixty. 180 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 6: It was very sad because you know that they are 181 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 6: there because they they feel that they need to do this, 182 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 6: but they don't actually know what they're doing. 183 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 2: Jesse come in this the lawyer we heard before, remember 184 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 2: seeing all of them. Her office is very close to 185 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:54,439 Speaker 2: the courthouse. 186 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 6: And watching them making these long lines under the sun, 187 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 6: the heat of bones, for example, and not knowing what's 188 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 6: going to happen. 189 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,439 Speaker 2: So so it was very very heartbreaking, and these scenes 190 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 2: unfolded in all of the places where retirees were turning 191 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 2: in their paperwork back in someone. There were reports in 192 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 2: the Puerto Rican media about it. This is sound from 193 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 2: a social media video from one of the major news 194 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 2: radio broadcasters on the island. You can see the reporter 195 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 2: approaching an elderly woman who is sitting on the sidewalk. 196 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 2: She's trying to cover herself with an umbrella from the 197 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 2: Syrian sun, so. 198 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: You know they could be tamo. 199 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 2: The reporter asked her if she's all right. She told 200 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 2: him since she has lupus, she had to take a break, yes, lupus. 201 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 2: She had been under the sun for one hour waiting line. 202 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,720 Speaker 2: At that moment. The line was so long it went 203 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 2: around the whole building. Many others were there for the 204 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 2: same reason that Marilous was there, seeking money from a 205 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 2: promised pay race for public employees. And then the reporter asked, 206 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 2: but that race was never given right, no, as you 207 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 2: see in case. The reporter then followed up and asked, 208 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 2: even though it was a law, yes, it was legislated 209 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 2: and approved, but it was never given. All of these 210 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 2: people are creditors of the government of Puerto Rico. They 211 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 2: are part of a big and diverse group of individuals, organizations, 212 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 2: and companies that asked for over forty three trillion dollars. Yes, 213 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 2: that's right, trillion with a T. But not all creditors 214 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,680 Speaker 2: will get their money back because not all creditors are equal. 215 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 2: When Puerto Rico's debt bubble broke and Promesa was enacted, 216 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 2: eventually leading to the bankruptcy process, most media outlets referred 217 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,199 Speaker 2: to a very specific creditor. 218 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 8: We should point out that Goldman Sacks really isn't the 219 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,079 Speaker 8: biggest holder of Puerto rican dell okay okay, hedge funds 220 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 8: own it. 221 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 2: Forty percent is owned by retail investors. 222 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: The hedge funds went all in in March of twenty 223 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: fourteen when Puerto Rico issued three and a half billion 224 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: dollars of general obligation bonds. 225 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 2: Along with two other relatives. 226 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 8: Her Vasio Garcia Rodriguez, his wife Maria, and her brother 227 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 8: say they lost almost two million dollars duped into putting 228 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 8: their retirement savings into funds filled. 229 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 4: With Puerto Rico bonds. 230 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 2: The bondholders these are the institutions and people who knowingly 231 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: bought Puerto Rico's municipal bonds, and these bondholders come in 232 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 2: many flavors, ranging from the sudent Thai Wall Street type 233 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 2: to the middle class Barricua pensioners who invested their life 234 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 2: savings in Puerto Rican bonds. But Marie Lusa and thousands 235 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 2: of other Puerto Ricans like her fit a whole different profile. 236 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 6: So the social creditor, it's a figure that's not necessarily 237 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 6: recognized before these proceedings began. 238 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 2: Mendes knows social creditor groups very well. She alongside her 239 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 2: law firm partner Rolando Manueli, have represented various public sector 240 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 2: employee unions since the beginning of the bankruptcy process. 241 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 6: They are parties in the proceedings that are affected by 242 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 6: these proceedings because we have the overside board that comes 243 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 6: to establish austerity ventures and cuts all over in essential services. 244 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 2: The overside Board la Junta. 245 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 6: Well, they are a board of seven members and an 246 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 6: executive director, and they are appointed by the President of 247 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 6: the United States. And we need to remember that in 248 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 6: Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans don't have the right to vote 249 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 6: for the President of the United States or any member 250 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 6: in Congress, except for the Resident Commissioner, who has no 251 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 6: vote in Congress. 252 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 2: And these elected officials have a long reach. 253 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 6: They can have a say and to what laws are 254 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 6: going to be enacted. If those laws are going to 255 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 6: affect the budget and the restructuring process are not, and 256 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 6: they can even resume those laws if they deemed it 257 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 6: that they are not compliant with the fiscal plan. 258 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 2: And since twenty seventeen, la Junta basically controls Puerto Rico's checkbook. 259 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 2: They have the last word in any debt negotiations while 260 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 2: acting as a legal guardian of the elected Puerto Rican 261 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: government in the debt proceedings, and many like Mendez, see 262 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 2: a conflict between what the board is doing and what 263 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 2: serves Puerto Ricans. 264 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 6: Their focus is on restructuring the debt, but given as 265 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 6: much as they can to the bondholders instead of the 266 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 6: well being of the people. 267 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 2: I reached out to the Physical Control Board to ask 268 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 2: for an interview about how they see their role in 269 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 2: the bankruptcy, but they had not reply by the deadline 270 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 2: for this piece. To summarize, in the vast ecosystem of 271 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,159 Speaker 2: people and entities that are owed money by the government 272 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 2: of Puerto Rico, there are two main categories, the bondholders 273 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 2: and the rest of the creditors. Most of them are 274 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 2: social creditors. 275 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 3: And of course the difference between these groups can be huge, 276 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 3: and that fact is often reflected in the legal representation 277 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 3: each group has. As Marilous tells us, when she sent 278 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 3: her claims letter to the court, she had to write 279 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 3: it herself by hand because she didn't have a way 280 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 3: to type it out. When we come back, we'll hear 281 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 3: more proof of that divide handwritten letters and they're not 282 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 3: the romantic kind. 283 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 2: Will be right back. 284 00:17:53,760 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 3: This is Lebdega and we're back to La Brega. Puerto 285 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 3: Rico's debt is like a big ocean with a lot 286 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 3: of fish. You can find all kinds of government creditors. 287 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 3: The most powerful hedge funds in the world are the 288 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 3: big fish. Then you have the small fish. Those are 289 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 3: the unions and government contractors, and then even smaller ones 290 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 3: like Marilous, who we met at the beginning of this story. 291 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 3: And she's not the only one. There are more teachers, 292 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 3: police officers, and other public employees who never received the 293 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,880 Speaker 3: raises they were promised by the government. The bankruptcy case 294 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 3: seems to have given them the opportunity to cash in 295 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 3: on these promises, but most of them don't have the 296 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 3: means to pay lawyers, so they enter into this complicated 297 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 3: judicial process almost blind. The situation begs the question why 298 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 3: is it so important to settle debts with creditors like these? 299 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 3: What is owed to them for their service? Luis Valentine 300 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 3: continues the story from here. 301 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,359 Speaker 2: Marielus has felt like quitting many times since she waited 302 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 2: in line under the sun in Bonse. It's been two 303 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 2: years since that day, and nearly two decades since she 304 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 2: was promised that salary increase that never arrived. 305 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 4: By Momento Dadum Karyota Melbido. 306 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,120 Speaker 2: Sometimes, Marilus told me she forgets about the whole thing. 307 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 2: For her, it's hard to grasp the process around her 308 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 2: case on what she has to do to navigate it. 309 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 2: When she receives a new letter from the court, or 310 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 2: some of her retired friends bring it up, or perhaps 311 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,880 Speaker 2: when a news reporter calls to ask about her situation, 312 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 2: then she starts thinking about the prospect of finally getting 313 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 2: that money. My calls have rekindled some hope in her, 314 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 2: she tells me. Well, she waits. She keeps all the 315 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 2: off official correspondence she receives. She has a box full 316 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 2: of what she calls her court sentences. What she's referring 317 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 2: to are actually official orders from judge Lauda Taylor Swain, 318 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 2: the appointed federal judge from New York who is leading 319 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 2: the bankruptcy proceedings. 320 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 4: Yeah, and. 321 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 2: Marie LUs is under the impression that those letters are 322 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 2: a big pile of nothing, But it's not where the 323 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 2: past year, the Physical Control Board and the Court have 324 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 2: denied thousands of claims, most of them from social creditors. 325 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 2: One of those claims belonged to Marielous, and as part 326 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 2: of that claim, Marielus sent a letter addressed to the court. 327 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 4: Yeah. 328 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 2: Marilus tells us that she poured her heart into this 329 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 2: letter and she read it out loud. 330 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 5: For USA milbente latu manon. 331 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 2: She wrote it on the eighteenth of February twenty twenty 332 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 2: by hand because she didn't have a way to type 333 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 2: it out. Even so, it employs the formal language of 334 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 2: court documents. 335 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 4: Lisi so completely informacion. 336 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 2: I am a retired teacher. She wrote and worked for 337 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 2: thirty years and nine months. I completed information required by. 338 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:39,119 Speaker 5: You elcim singo min on mass a. 339 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 2: Her claim is for seventy five thousand dollars or whatever 340 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 2: she is legally entitled to. And the thing that gets 341 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 2: me about her letter is that it was written by 342 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,200 Speaker 2: a teacher who dedicated her life to educating some of 343 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 2: the most underserved students in Puerto Rico. And you can 344 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 2: sense the deep hope that she will finally get paid 345 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:14,639 Speaker 2: what she was Promisedslo Sin and in this part she 346 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,479 Speaker 2: mentions the two thousand and two paid race that never arrived. 347 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 2: And there are more more letters from where weekends were 348 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 2: claiming money oh to them, like the San Tomatos, Filos 349 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 2: and mild She worked for the Department of Education for 350 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 2: thirty one years, and she refers to a previous pay 351 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 2: race in the eighties, one promise by bank Governor Carlos from. 352 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 9: Excellencia. 353 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 2: She writes that she was a responsible and excellent employee 354 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 2: and she just wants what is rightfully hers. Here's another 355 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 2: one from a man called. 356 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 4: Jose Bystrico del. 357 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 3: Puerto Rico. 358 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 2: He's a police officer asking for benefits that he never received, 359 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 2: benefits that were passing thro law during his years of service. 360 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 4: In Una. 361 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:19,719 Speaker 1: Or al Rachie. 362 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 7: To Go and Nun. 363 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 2: Here's a letter from Jesus Rauel who wrote his in English, 364 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 2: claiming five hundred dollars that the government owes him due 365 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 2: to the death of his sister, a public servant. 366 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 9: I feel confident that the filing of this objection as 367 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 9: to my proof of claim has been an inavertent error 368 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 9: in this voluminous case. 369 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 2: And the letters come from all different kinds of places. 370 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 2: This next one was written by Daniel Almera Medina, who 371 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 2: is incarcerated Juan Lucandoon. 372 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 5: Medicean Omesa. 373 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 2: Daniel says that when he was arrested, the police appropriated 374 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 2: money that was for his son. Eight years later, he writes, 375 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 2: they tell him about the Promessa Loo and the Puerto 376 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 2: Rico is in crisis, but he still believes he can 377 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 2: claim his money back and he's fighting for it. And 378 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 2: this is how I found out about Marilous while reading 379 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 2: letters like these from a bankruptcy case docket alongside thousands 380 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 2: of legal motions and objections. A group of actors read 381 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 2: these letters for this story to give a better idea 382 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 2: of their content. We kept them in the original language 383 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,879 Speaker 2: that they were written in, even though the language of 384 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 2: this court case is English. 385 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 9: I feel confident the filing of this objection Aloria Taylor Swain. 386 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 2: So how does Judge Swain deal with these letters? We 387 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 2: know that the whore dismisses a lot of them for 388 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 2: technicalities like not including an English translation, for example, but 389 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 2: the letters keep on coming. The judge does not talk 390 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 2: to the media, so I decided to contact a Puerto 391 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 2: Rican lawyer that knows the bankruptcy case. 392 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 10: Well, my name is John Mudd. I'm sixty two years old, 393 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,640 Speaker 10: and I am unfortunately a lawyer by profession. 394 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 2: He, like Mendez, the lawyer we heard from earlier in 395 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 2: this story, also represents creditors. So I asked his opinion 396 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:28,680 Speaker 2: about just Swain. 397 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 10: I'm not going to answer that except to say that 398 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 10: she always is extremely polite, and she always always is 399 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,879 Speaker 10: obvious that she reads everything, even the letters, even the letters, 400 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 10: and I'm sure they affect her because she's a human 401 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,120 Speaker 10: being and some of those letters are heart rendering. 402 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 4: But she has to do her job. 403 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 2: So even though the two lawyers we have spoken to 404 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 2: represent the same type of creditors, they have different perspectives 405 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 2: about this process. We heard Mende say that the board 406 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 2: seeks to pay bondholders more by promoting us thurdy measures 407 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 2: that affect the majority of Puerto Ricans. But Maud tells me. 408 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 10: I thought that the board would do more control. I 409 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 10: never thought the board would fight so much against bondholders 410 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 10: as it has fought and is fighting. 411 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 2: But there is something that they both agree on that 412 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 2: the process is really difficult for small social creditors like 413 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 2: Marilus for starters, they normally don't have the means to 414 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,640 Speaker 2: pay an attorney to guide them through the process. 415 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 10: How are you supposed to get an a journey who 416 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,880 Speaker 10: knows about this? Who's going to charge you for? Puerto 417 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 10: Rico standards a lot of money. 418 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 2: On an island where almost half its population lives on 419 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 2: their poverty Access suggests this is a serious issue. 420 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 6: With people worried, stressed, anxious about all of these proceedings 421 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 6: and not knowing if they are involved. If they are 422 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 6: not involved, they should do something else if they need 423 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 6: legal assistance or not. 424 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,600 Speaker 2: Mariluce, for instance, doesn't have a lawyer. 425 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 4: It does. 426 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,679 Speaker 2: She tells me she has received a lot of letters 427 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 2: with quote unquote court sentences. She has also received a 428 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 2: lot of date changes regarding hearings in front of Judge Swain, 429 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 2: and that is her hope, she says, to have her 430 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 2: day in court, but the experience can be intimidating. The 431 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,360 Speaker 2: courtroom has tall ceilings and is very cold. It has 432 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 2: a dozen wooden benches at each side, divided by a 433 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 2: corridor that leads to a lonely podium, and there's a 434 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 2: dais looming over it all, with the judge sitting in 435 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 2: the middle. On days where there is an actual hearing, 436 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 2: they only put up a single wooden bench for the 437 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 2: attendees and the press. All the other spaces are occupied 438 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 2: by lawyers, most of them belonging to white shoe law 439 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,920 Speaker 2: firms from the United States. They tend to build one 440 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 2: thousand dollars an hour. They have been part of the 441 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:15,479 Speaker 2: biggest bankruptcy cases in the world and Ron Argentina, Detroit GM, 442 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,760 Speaker 2: you know, the big leagues. Mendez describes it this way. 443 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 6: You have this courtroom full of people, full of the 444 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 6: media and the other attorneys that are not from here. 445 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 6: Everybody in English, but we're in Puerto Rico, so we 446 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 6: still speak Spanish. And it's pretty intimidating, and you know, 447 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 6: you know what's at stake. So if it is intimidating 448 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 6: for me, imagine someone that has never stepped into a 449 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 6: courtroom before. 450 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 2: She actually had the opportunity to witness a scene like 451 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 2: that one in a hearing in twenty nineteen. 452 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 6: I remember that the judge decided to give opportunity to 453 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 6: people to speak. She wanted to hear from the people, 454 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 6: and it was stating for me to see that they 455 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 6: were given just five minutes. That's nothing, that's nothing, and 456 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 6: five minutes turns into two minutes or three minutes at 457 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 6: the most because they need a translator. So it was 458 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 6: very devastating for me to see these people be brave 459 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 6: and stand in the podium and face the judge and 460 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 6: the other people president at the courtroom and state their frustration, 461 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 6: their fear about what's going on and how their income 462 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 6: is being affected. 463 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 2: In October of last year, I had a chance to 464 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 2: see a social creditor in action. The court had set 465 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 2: several dates for claim hearings and I met with Esequierro Riguez, 466 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 2: one of the producers of this story, to attend. We 467 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 2: are at two fifth people on se Leona A Venue 468 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 2: were satellite hearings for the optibus objections from the war 469 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 2: are supposed to be held. Yep, you heard right. We 470 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 2: are not in court. The Federal Court in Puerto Rico 471 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 2: was closed due to COVID nineteen restrictions, and Judge Swayin 472 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,959 Speaker 2: wasn't in sand Juan. She attended via video conference from 473 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 2: New York. Same with the lawyers. 474 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 9: I'm sorry, sorry, that's okay, time for the person that 475 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 9: works for the court. 476 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, she's here, she's here, and I can I ask absolutely, 477 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 2: would you like some water or or snacks anything. 478 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 9: I got some good snacks. 479 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 3: So she's not in conference now, but then how you 480 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 3: guys can wait? 481 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 10: All right? 482 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 9: You always okay, thank you very well. 483 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 2: We were in a modern co working space in San Juan, 484 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 2: and on that day the place was basically empty except 485 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 2: for the security guard and a couple of office workers. 486 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 10: For the proctor. 487 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 1: Here just to go, I know that we can pay. 488 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 2: It is going on, and this friendly host took us 489 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 2: to one of the three private rooms they had rented 490 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 2: for the proceedings. The court prohibits record these, so we 491 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 2: can't share it with you. But you're not missing much. 492 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 2: No no claims, no, no social creditors show up today. 493 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 2: So the hearing was over in less than half an hour. 494 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,680 Speaker 2: Basically what happened is that the court and the judge, 495 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 2: Judge Swain, held the hearing, and even though the hearing 496 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 2: agenda included twelve people who were set to attend, not 497 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 2: a single one of them showed up. What happened is 498 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,440 Speaker 2: that these claims are now disallowed, so they can no 499 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 2: longer pursue these claims in this process. And this was 500 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 2: really hard for me to understand. How do we go 501 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 2: from hundreds of people and during long lines under the 502 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 2: sun to empty offices with granola bars? And what about 503 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 2: social creditors like marri LUs Would they ever get the 504 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 2: chance to speak to the judge? Weeks later, as second 505 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 2: hearing was called. It was in the same co working space. 506 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,720 Speaker 2: I listened in on my phone while we waited outside. 507 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 2: To my surprise, after the judge was stolen, nobody arrived 508 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 2: at the hearing. I saw some social creditors leave in 509 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 2: the building a conflict comunic This is Leticia Flores, and 510 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 2: she told me there was apparently a communications conflict, or 511 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 2: at least that's what she was told that none of 512 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 2: the people who arrived that day were on the courts 513 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 2: list of participants. She came all the way from Cedar, 514 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 2: a forty five minute drive, to help her husband, a 515 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 2: retired public servant, with his claim of unpaid salary races. 516 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 2: Then at least ten more people came out, all of 517 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 2: them with similar stories, but not all of them took 518 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 2: this as a mere communications error and no, no, this 519 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 2: is Carmel Lowez, who also is retired from the Department 520 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 2: of Education. She noted that everyone who came that day 521 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 2: had to travel from outside some wan, and she felt 522 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 2: that the whole event had been hastily put together. She 523 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 2: was the last person to come out that day and 524 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 2: her right leg was in a Castpoto Taylor, she told 525 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 2: me they're not on the same page. She was frustrated 526 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 2: and said she would write a letter to Judge Swain. Yes, 527 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 2: another letter, this time to let her know that social 528 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 2: creditors like her are not happy about the kind of 529 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:49,240 Speaker 2: treatment they're receiving. It is time for this to be over, 530 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,480 Speaker 2: she said, and for justice to be served for the 531 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 2: public servants. Marielous also received a letter telling her about 532 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 2: this hearing, but since she was in Florida, she saw 533 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 2: it way passes today. Weeks later, she received another letter 534 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 2: from the court and called me to discuss it. 535 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,080 Speaker 4: When dummy, when America will he coming home? 536 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,360 Speaker 2: She was happy. Every time she gets a letter, she 537 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,440 Speaker 2: hopes it's the one that tells her she will get 538 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 2: paid exactly. 539 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 4: Dore and Litterminado. 540 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,279 Speaker 2: This was new The court was informing her that her 541 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 2: claim will now be handled by government agencies outside the 542 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 2: bankruptcy case. More than fifteen thousand claims like hers were 543 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 2: transferred to this administrative process, and l Ariso there is 544 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 2: not a lot of information of how this will work, 545 00:34:53,120 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 2: and Marie Luis has no idea what she has to do. Aquila, 546 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 2: she feels that they delayed the whole thing to discourage 547 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 2: people in this new process. For instance, her claim can 548 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 2: take months to be resolved and she could end up 549 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 2: without seeing a single cent. 550 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,880 Speaker 4: So majorns and when. 551 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 2: She says she's worried about her many co workers who 552 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 2: are older than her, that they might die without seeing 553 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 2: a final resolution to their. 554 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,120 Speaker 4: Claims, I would have a sapienzo. 555 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 2: She told me. Sometimes I think we will never see 556 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:42,359 Speaker 2: this come to an. 557 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:46,840 Speaker 4: End, pour Kate, I turned to turn to. 558 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:53,480 Speaker 2: Throw We won't see it because the government has so 559 00:35:53,640 --> 00:36:00,680 Speaker 2: many problems it so this will probably end up in 560 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:08,600 Speaker 2: a big pile of papers. Rice and a letter from 561 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 2: a poor teacher that retired in twenty thirteen. She told me, 562 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:24,000 Speaker 2: it makes me want to cry. When former Governor Garcia 563 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,840 Speaker 2: Padilla said that the Porto Rican debt was unpayable. He 564 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:30,359 Speaker 2: was referring to the bondholders. But there's another kind of debt. 565 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 2: What do we owe to social creditors. These Porto Ricans 566 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,280 Speaker 2: who worked for decades in government jobs and who received 567 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 2: blow after blow from years of financial crisis and economic depression. 568 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,800 Speaker 2: Their salaries were low, and they dedicated the most productive 569 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:49,680 Speaker 2: years of their lives to public service. And when they 570 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 2: were promised a bit more, the government failed them. Now, 571 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 2: after almost three years of letters and waiting in line, 572 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,120 Speaker 2: the promises are once again broken and the debt keeps 573 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:03,759 Speaker 2: piling up. 574 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:12,200 Speaker 3: Luis Valentine is a reporter with Elcentro de Perioismo Vetiatio 575 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 3: based in San Juan. As of today, more than sixty 576 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:20,360 Speaker 3: thousand creditors claims have been rejected. There are still fifteen 577 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 3: thousand pending claims, most of them are from retired public servants. 578 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,919 Speaker 3: As of this recording, Marielous is still in the dark 579 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:41,800 Speaker 3: about the status of her claim. Labrega is a co 580 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,800 Speaker 3: production of WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios. This episode was 581 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 3: a collaboration between Labrega and SEPE, the Center for Investigative 582 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:55,240 Speaker 3: Reporting in Puerto Rico. It was produced by Esequiel Rodrigue 583 00:37:55,239 --> 00:37:58,759 Speaker 3: Sandino with help from Me. It was edited by Luistrelles 584 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,800 Speaker 3: and Cala Minette, with additional editing for the English version 585 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 3: by Me, fact checking by Istra Pacheco. Our engineer was 586 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:10,520 Speaker 3: Jennifer Munson. Original music for Labrega was composed by Balloon 587 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 3: and our theme song is by Ife. Art for this 588 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:17,280 Speaker 3: piece was done by Mia Pagan. Leadership support for Labrega 589 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,279 Speaker 3: is provided by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the 590 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:24,000 Speaker 3: john S and James L. Knight Foundation, with additional support 591 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:25,600 Speaker 3: provided by Amy Liss. 592 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 2: Deep gratitude to. 593 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 3: Lucien Ernandez, Jesus Ravel, Rolando, EMMANUELI, Ivon Gonzalez, David Caravajo, 594 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 3: Sonia Palazios, marilln Goico, Gonstrujamos Odro Acuerdo, and Armando Santiago. 595 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,040 Speaker 3: Asta Labroxima. 596 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 8: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Ford Foundation, 597 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 8: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 598 00:38:56,239 --> 00:39:01,520 Speaker 8: The John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and W. K. 599 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:06,359 Speaker 8: Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where Children Come First.