FOMB Certified Fiscal Plan for Puerto Rico (2022)

The Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), established by PROMESA in 2016, has issued annual fiscal plans that serve as binding budgetary frameworks for the Puerto Rican government. The 2022 Certified Fiscal Plan is representative of the austerity paradigm that has governed Puerto Rico since PROMESA.

Key Provisions:
- Required structural reforms to reduce government spending
- Mandated pension cuts for public employees (average reduction of 8.5% for retirees)
- Required continued reductions to the University of Puerto Rico budget
- Directed the government to reduce its workforce
- Required healthcare system restructuring
- Set targets for privatization of government services and assets

Debt Restructuring: Under the fiscal plan framework, Puerto Rico's debt was restructured through a Title III process (similar to municipal bankruptcy). The 2022 Plan of Adjustment reduced the total debt from approximately $72 billion to $37 billion, but:
- Required continued austerity measures for decades
- Prioritized bondholder repayment over public services
- Imposed spending caps that limit the government's ability to invest in infrastructure, education, and healthcare
- Pension reductions affected approximately 170,000 retirees

Democratic Deficit: The fiscal plan is binding on the elected Puerto Rican government. The governor and legislature cannot override the FOMB's budgetary decisions. The seven board members are appointed by the U.S. President and congressional leaders — none are elected by Puerto Ricans.

The FOMB fiscal plans represent the most direct exercise of colonial plenary power in the modern era: an unelected board, appointed by a government for which Puerto Ricans cannot vote, imposing binding austerity on a population that had no voice in its creation.