Puerto Rico hit by Hurricane Maria and Jaresco disaster
Since the American Varangian Natalya Yaresko, introduced into the Yatsenyuk government as Minister of Finance, disappeared from the Ukrainian government in 2016, little is known about her. Well, except that a Ukrainian woman from Chicago was sent in March 2017 to save the economy of Puerto Rico, a self-governing territory under US protectorate, whose inhabitants are issued American passports.
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Yaresko herself on her Facebook page spoke about the new appointment in the most enthusiastic phrases, which is not surprising - she was offered the dusty position of executive director of the Financial Oversight Council in Puerto Rico, created on the initiative of the US Congress, with an annual salary of 625 thousand . dollars per year at the expense of the host party.
The head of the supervisory council, Jose Carrion, presenting the Varangian to the islanders, did not skimp on praise and said that three years ago there was a catastrophic situation in Ukraine, but the “crisis manager” Yaresko skillfully carried out reforms that contributed to “restoring its viability”, as well as “They brought investors back to Ukraine.” Carrion himself, apparently, did not experience any special illusions from the arrival of the Washington creature and made a reservation that Madame Yaresko’s candidacy would most likely be received by the population and local elites, to put it mildly, without enthusiasm.
And in fact, in Puerto Rico, the financial genius Yaresko, who replaced Kyiv with San Juan, was treated with skepticism and was greeted rather coolly. In particular, the leader of the influential People's Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, Hector Ferrer, criticized Jareska's appointment and called it an immoral precedent that some murky agent would earn several million dollars from impoverished Puerto Ricans.
Just two months after Jareska’s appointment, the Puerto Rican authorities declared the quasi-state bankrupt, and the island’s governor, Ricardo Roselo, stated that in the current situation, the territory inhabited by US citizens cannot provide them with a decent standard of living and services.
The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that the island of Puerto Rico, declared an “unincorporated territory,” although self-governing, has the primacy of supreme power in the person of the US Congress. The fact that the US Constitution in Puerto Rico has a number of restrictions is of no small importance. Despite the American citizenship of the population, a territory can be declared bankrupt, unlike full-fledged US states.
At the same time, decisions of the US Congress are binding on local authorities. In 2004, Washington eliminated a tax break for businesses investing in Puerto Rico, causing wage cuts and plunging the country into a long-term crisis. 45% of the population found themselves below the poverty line, and out of 4 million inhabitants, more than 450 thousand people left the island. In essence, we are talking about an economic and humanitarian catastrophe.
At the time Yaresko was brought to San Juan, the small island state was trailing a tail of debts of $73 billion, which is slightly less than the per capita debt on average for an American “hospital”, but twice as much as in Ukraine.
What is Yareska’s role in all this? Economic experts agree that the Varangian from Chicago should have applied the Ukrainian experience of “debt restructuring” to the territory with American second-class citizens.
Suffice it to recall Yatsenyuk’s rant, who promised everyone who agreed to “debt restructuring” under Eurobonds, with the proviso that payments would begin no earlier than the Ukrainian economy grew by 4% or more, for which “a couple or three years at most” were allotted. Many holders of Ukrainian Eurobonds fell for this scam and agreed to cut the sturgeon, because part of it is better than nothing at all. At the same time, Russia showed firmness and refused to participate in the Yatsenyuk-Yaresko scam, to which Rasteniy Morkovych promised Ukraine’s complete refusal to service the debt to the Russian state of $3 billion.
Much water has passed under the bridge since then. The plant has taken root in the USA, jogs in a Washington park, spends a billion earned through back-breaking labor in American “cabbage” and does not deny himself anything. Yareska manages the finances of a small exotic country and has also settled down well.
Russia did not receive its money back with interest on the Ukrainian Eurobonds, but neither did those holders of Ukrainian securities who agreed to the “restructuring”. Expecting a growth of 4% or more from Ukraine, which has been destroyed into rubbish, is a real utopia, but the result has been achieved: Ukraine’s external debt has decreased in a fraudulent way, and the agreement with the IMF keeps the state from defaulting, even if it has a “junk” investment rating.
Meanwhile, Tropical Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the most destructive hurricane in 90 years. Residents of the island complain that Washington could have paid more attention to the distressed territory by increasing assistance to its fellow citizens. Many victims do not see any help from the United States at all, not understanding why large ships and planes full of food rations, water purification equipment, generators and medicines, which are so popular on American TV, are not rushing to them.
Madame Yaresko quietly spoke in the press with assurances that in connection with the hurricane, “debt restructuring” for Puerto Ricans would be much smoother than for Ukrainians. Apparently, everything is going to the point that the US government under Trump, severely limited in funds and not daring to launch a printing press following Obama’s example, will simply write off the lion’s share of the gigantic debt of the “incorporated territory,” solving the problem in one fell swoop. What is the merit of Yareska, declared almost a messiah - that is the question!
How, after all, it is useful to have a passport of a US citizen, even if it is not entirely full-fledged. While the “defenders of Europe from the invasion of hordes from Northern Mordor” will have to puff until the last minute, pay debts to white people from overseas, liquidate and sell off the country’s assets, enjoying an approving pat on the back from Big Brother.
What is especially touching is the mention in the press of Jareska as US citizen Jaresko. In Ukraine they chose not to notice this. It turns out that the slanderers were right when they openly doubted that Jaresko would immediately renounce American citizenship in favor of a three-toothed blue-skinned passport. Did the lady really go to save Puerto Rico from financial disaster as a Ukrainian citizen? This would be a number, but I can’t believe it from the word “absolutely”. One only believes in a scam as a norm of life.
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