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FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT BD. FOR 
PUERTO RICO v. AURELIUS INVESTMENT, LLC 
SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring in judgment 

revised Federal Tax Code conferred preferential tax treat-
ment on productive industries in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
developed  robust  pharmaceutical  and  manufacturing  sec-
tors. 
Issacharoff,  Bursak,  Rennie,  &  Webley,  What  Is
Puerto Rico? 94 Ind. L. J. 1, 27 (2019). 

Eventually, however, the island and its people confronted 
several economic setbacks.  Congress repealed Puerto Rico’s
favorable tax credits, and manufacturing growth deflated,
precipitating  a  prolonged  recession.    Steady  outmigration 
correlated  with  persistently  high  unemployment  rates 
greater  than  8  percent.  Dept.  of  Labor,  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  Databases,  Tables  &  Calculators  by  Subject 
(May 28, 2020).  Deprived of its primary sources of income, 
the Commonwealth began borrowing heavily.  The island’s 
outstanding debts rose to approximately $70 billion, a sum
greater  than  its  annual  economic  output.    Puerto  Rico’s 
credit ratings were  downgraded  to junk levels, D. Austin, 
Congressional Research Service, Puerto Rico’s Current Fis-
cal  Challenges  4,  13  (June  3,  2016),  rendering  borrowing
practically impossible.  Without any realistic ability to set
its finances on the right course, the island declared bank-
ruptcy in 2016.

Months  later,  Hurricane  Maria  made  landfall,  causing 
immense  devastation  and  a  humanitarian  emergency  the 
likes  of  which  had  not  been  seen  in  over  a  century.  The 
island  suffered  thousands  of  casualties  and  an  estimated 
$90  billion  in  damages.  Most  recently,  significant  earth-
quakes have further rattled an already shaken population
and economy still recovering from the impact of Hurricane
Maria.  Robles,  Months  After  Puerto  Rico  Earthquakes, 
Thousands  Are  Still  Living  Outside,  N. Y.  Times,  Mar.  1, 
2020. 

C 
Congress  passed  the  Puerto  Rico  Oversight,  Manage-
ment,  and  Economic  Stability  Act  (PROMESA),  130  Stat.