NEW YORK (Sputnik) — New York State government officials are visiting Puerto Rico in an attempt to persuade the US Congress to approve a debt restructuring deal for the economically troubled US territory, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
"This crisis has been decades in the making, and we will not allow the situation to continue deteriorating simply because of a lack of political will in Washington," Cuomo stated on Thursday. "New York stands shoulder to shoulder with Puerto Rico in the fight for fairness and economic parity, and the federal government should do the same."
Cuomo attended a rally in San Juan where he was joined by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Puerto Rico Governor Garcia Padilla.
"Puerto Ricans on the Island and the mainland must join together to call on Washington to enable the Commonwealth to address our problems," Padilla said.
Cuomo announced his plans to hold a summit later in November in New York to address Puerto Rico’s economic crisis.
Puerto Rico has recently been beset by financial problems after it defaulted on its $73 billion debt in August.
Despite President Barack Obama establishing an interagency task force on Puerto Rico to leverage available US federal assistance to help the US territory, the White House has stated it does not envision a bailout.
New York has the largest population of Puerto Ricans living outside the US territory. Overall, about five million Puerto Ricans live on the US mainland.
