By Nick Brown
REUTERS - Elias Sanchez, a trusted adviser to Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello and the governor's liaison to Puerto Rico's financial oversight board, said on Thursday he has resigned from his post.
By Nick Brown
REUTERS - Elias Sanchez, a trusted adviser to Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello and the governor's liaison to Puerto Rico's financial oversight board, said on Thursday he has resigned from his post.
Sanchez, who was effectively the face of the Puerto Rican government on issues concerning the island's massive debt restructuring, said in an interview that he wanted to focus on opportunities in the field of law. Sanchez is a lawyer by trade.
"Right now I'm evaluating every alternative that I might have," in Puerto Rico and Central and South America, Sanchez said in a phone interview on Thursday morning.
Puerto Rico is in a historic economic crisis, with $72 billion in debt it cannot repay, a 45 percent poverty rate, and insolvent public pensions. Its finances are under the oversight of a federal board, given the task of helping the island craft and follow a blueprint for its fiscal turnaround.
As Rossello's liaison to the board, Sanchez had become a favorite target of investors unhappy with potential cuts to debt repayment.
Sanchez insists the decision to resign was his alone. "In no way was I pressured by anyone," he said.
"There's always going to be people who, whenever they want to channel a feeling they have, they do it in the form of an attack, but I'm very comfortable with everything I did on the board, which was being a voice representing the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico," Sanchez said.
In a statement, Governor Rossello praised Sanchez's "great professional skills."
As a non-voting member on the board, Sanchez did not have a direct role in board decisions. However, he acted as the governor's eyes, ears and voice on the board, helping the governor form positions on financial matters, and communicating them to the board and the public.
Sanchez said no decision has been made on a replacement as Rossello's liaison, a choice he said was the governor's alone. The position is unpaid, and Sanchez was technically not a government employee.
In May, the U.S. territory filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. municipal history, sparking hard-fought litigation between the board and Puerto Rico's creditors over the fates of the island's agencies and the loans that back them.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}