Ricardo Rosselló Wants 2020 Candidates Talking About Puerto Rico

By almost any metric, it’s a difficult time to be the governor of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017, resulting in 3,000 deaths and the largest power outage in modern U.S. history. On top of that, the territory is trying to climb out from under $123 billion in debt, which has spiraled into a major bankruptcy crisis. Ricardo Rosselló, the island’s 40-year-old governor, has been trying to bring Puerto Rico back from these woes—while simultaneously pushing for statehood for the territory, a once-fringe cause on the mainland that has been thrown into the heart of the Democratic presidential primary.

Rosselló, whose father also served as the governor of Puerto Rico, is trying to spur investment on the island and is working to privatize many of its services—controversial choices in a place where many people. Add to that an uncertain relationship with the White House, a congressionally mandated to supervise fiscal choices, and a bankruptcy judge in New York the island has to pay its creditors. It’s complicated.