--- title: How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's | TIME description: Puerto Rico's governor said the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt. Add high unemployment to the equation, and that's a bleak economic picture. canonical: https://time.com/video/6LVpckuh/ og:title: How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's og:description: Puerto Rico's governor said the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt. Add high unemployment to the equation, and that's a bleak economic picture. og:url: https://time.com/video/6LVpckuh/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6LVpckuh/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's twitter:description: Puerto Rico's governor said the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt. Add high unemployment to the equation, and that's a bleak economic picture. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6LVpckuh/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's [Watch (HLS stream): How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6LVpckuh.m3u8) (1:43)  _Published 2015-06-29. Puerto Rico's governor said the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt. Add high unemployment to the equation, and that's a bleak economic picture._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:29 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Puerto Rico's Death Toll From Hurricane Maria Rises to 45](/video/Re0H0g9T/) ### Puerto Rico's Death Toll From Hurricane Maria Rises to 45 [Puerto Rico Debt Crisis Could Hit U.S. Mutual Funds](/video/vVmWgZu1/) ### Puerto Rico Debt Crisis Could Hit U.S. Mutual Funds [Puerto Rico's Financial Crisis: Is The Island The New Greece?](/video/4J1YQOCG/) ### Puerto Rico's Financial Crisis: Is The Island The New Greece? --- ## Transcript Puerto Rico's Governor fore warned the island won't be able to pay it's $ 72 billion public debit. In the interview with the New York Times Puerto Rico's Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said " The debit is not payable.... I would love to have an easier option. This is not politics, this is math ." and the math, Is daunting. Puerto Rico's $ 72 billion is more than 3 times the debt Detroit had in 2013, when the city filed for bankruptcy. The Commonwealth's $ 72 billion debt is larger per capita than any state in the country. A report on the Puerto Rican economy by former International Monetary Fund officials paints a damning picture of the Caribbean island's finances. Mountains of debt, an awful unemployment rate and a government bank low on cash. Basically this is all coming to a head, like you said. They've got this big payment coming up, they've got this report coming out and they also are trying to pass a budget. And And to add insult to injury, this crisis in Puerto Rico will affect millions more across the United States who own mutual funds with Puerto Rico bonds. According to Time, nearly 70 % of all US mutual funds have Puerto Rico bonds. And, if you ask those who have followed the debt crisis, this problem is years in the making. Many US companies left the island. The 2008 financial crisis gave a strong blow to the island's tourism. And because there was no economic growth, people kept leaving the island. Puerto Rico government officials are lobbying the You asked to get this law changed. Currently the Commonwealth, just like American states, cannot file for bankruptcy with the U. S. government. Only U. S. cities can file under chapter 9, which is exactly what Detroit did in 2013. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Puerto Rico's Record Debt Is Worse Than Detroit's","description":"Puerto Rico's governor said the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt. 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