7. la Junta - the debt collector
The FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT & MANAGEMENT BOARD (aka LA JUNTA)
The FOMB, or Fiscal Control Board, or La Junta, was a requirement of PROMESA, Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, the US federal law passed by Congress. It is a seven-member, unelected federal board, in addition to executive director Natalie Jaresko, legal counsel Jaime El-Koury, and revitalization coordinator Noel Zamot. See PROMESA post for more info.
Natalie Jaresko - The Viceroy of Puerto Rico
Executive Director appointed head of Puerto Rico FOMB - March 2017
American-Ukrainian Natalie Jaresko gets paid $625,000/yr as executive director of the FOMB
Financial Oversight and Management Board Chairman José Carrión said the $625,000 yearly salary to be paid to Natalie Jaresko, the board’s new executive director, is justifiable because Puerto Rico’s financial crisis is a “world-class problem” that demands “world-class experience.”
Sorting Out Ukraine Conflict’s History By James W. Carden, Consortium News, June 15, 2017
Five things to know about Natalie Jaresko By Caribbean Business, March 30, 2017
A Glimpse of Natalie Jaresko By José A. Delgado, El Nuevo Día, March 29, 2017
Ex-Ukraine finance minister sets sights on Puerto Rico By Roman Olearchyk, Financial Times, March 24, 2017
Former Ukraine Minister Named To Manage Puerto Rico's Financial Crisis Radio Free Europe, March 24, 2017
Fiscal board chairman: Extent of Puerto Rico crisis justifies new executive director’s salary By Eva Lloréns Vélez, Caribbean Business, March 23, 2017
Phony ‘Corruption’ Excuse for Ukraine Coup By Robert Parry, Consortium News, November 2, 2016
Carpetbagging ‘Crony Capitalism’ in Ukraine By Robert Parry, Consortium News, November 13, 2015 -- Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and other key officials were given overnight Ukrainian citizenship — with the law requiring them to renounce their old allegiances — but the American-born Jaresko has balked at that mandate...
How Ukraine’s Finance Chief Got Rich By Robert Parry, Consortium News, November 10, 2015
US Tax Dollars and Ukraine’s Finance Minister By Robert Parry, Consortium News, October 3, 2015
Chicago child of immigrants takes on 'near-impossible' task in Ukraine By Kathy Bergen, Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2015
Ukraine’s Oligarchs Turn on Each Other By Robert Parry, Consortium News, March 24, 2015
Atlantic Council - Natalie Jaresko
Jaime El Koury, Legal Counsel
Noel Zamot, Revitalization Coordinator
______________
Puerto Rico oversight board appointed
By Susan Cornwell, Nick Brown, August 31, 2016, Reuters
"House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Republicans, each chose two members of the board, while House and Senate Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, Democrats, made one pick apiece. Obama chose the seventh member."
Who are the Members of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Control Board?
by Patricia Guadalupe, NBC News, Aug.31.2016
(this article is source of board member descriptions quoted below)
A little levity in an otherwise bleak scenario: via @elcalcePR José Carrión III (center) and Carlos García (bottom left)
1. José B. Carrión III, Chair and Member, Republican
"President and principal Partner of HUB International CLC, LLC. He previously served in various positions in the island government, including the Workers Compensation Board."
José Carrión continúa otorgando donativos a republicanos clave
El presidente de la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal le otorgó $10,000 en agosto pasado al comité de Paul Ryan Por José A. Delgado Robles, El Nuevo Día, 5 de febrero de 2018
New Administrator of the Government’s Finances - Carrión, who possesses great experience in the insurance industry, has also navigated the political circles and raised funds for Republicans By José A. Delgado, El Nuevo Día, October 1, 2016
2. Andrew Biggs, Member, Republican (picked by Paul Ryan)
"Currently with the conservative neocon think tank the American Enterprise Institute and served in the George W. Bush administration, including in the Social Security Administration and supports privatizing the system."
3. Carlos García, Member, Republican
Former Santander Bank Exec and former GDB CEO on Fiscal Oversight Board, see The Many-headed Monster post.
"CEO of BayBoston Managers LLC and managing partner of BayBoston Capital L.P., a company he founded in 2013. He has held several financial positions in the past, including president and CEO of island's Government Development Bank. García, who favors statehood for the island, is considered the architect of Puerto Rico's controversial Ley 7 (7 Law), which allowed the government to temporarily declare a fiscal emergency and lay off thousands of public sector employees in response to Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis."
The Bankers Behind Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis — The commonwealth’s financial woes didn’t happen by accident—they were the result of decades of public immiseration and private gain. By Michelle Chen, The Nation, June 8, 2017
“Starting around 2008, under the conservative Luis Fortuño administration, García was appointed to head Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank (GDB) and its Public Private Partnerships Authority, two agencies designed to draw investment capital into the crumbling public sector. Bootstrapping his corporate cronyism with his governmental connections, he led the abrupt liquidation of an infrastructure fund known as the Corpus Account, a public financing vehicle for infrastructure projects aimed at upgrading the island’s dilapidated water and sewage systems to meet Federal Clean Water and Drinking Water Act. CBB argues that, despite the glaring conflict of interest, García had free rein to issue unsustainable bonds from 2009 to 2011, “his former employer, Santander, earned millions as a lead or participating underwriter in these transactions.””
4. David Skeel Jr., Member, Republican
"Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, having previously taught at Temple University in Philadelphia and in private practice. He authored the book, "True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World.""
5. Arthur González, Member, Democrat
"New York University School of Law. Judge Gonzalez previously served on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York from 1995 to 2012, retiring as Chief Judge in 2010."
6. José R. González, Member, Democrat
"CEO and [resident of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. He has served in a variety of banking and financial services positions, including with Credit Suisse First Boston and with the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico. A former Santander executive."
7. Ana Matosantos, Member, Democrat
"The only woman on the board, is president of Matosantos Consulting and has been director of the California Department of Finance and deputy director of budgets for the state."
