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SAN JUAN WEATHER
Junta Fiscal

Debt Negotiations Enter Their Final Stretch Without Visible Advance

With the calendar marking and less than a month for the term in which the judicial gates are opened and the claims of creditors against the Government of Puerto Rico are activated, there does not appear to be any progress in the negotiations with the creditors that anticipates an extrajudicial agreement of restructuring.

What was officially pending was a request from the Government of Puerto Rico for federal judge Francisco Besosa to initiate a mediation process, above the freezing order of the ball that issued the First Circuit of Appeals against the judge.

But at the end of last week, creditors appeared before the judge with different views about whether or not a court-supervised mediation process could be initiated and the government itself, by motion, withdrew its request for mediation because both The government as some creditors and the Fiscal Control Board (FCB) had begun a process of voluntary private mediation.

In the motion, the government said there was 'progress' in private mediation, but offered no further details.

However, in the motions of the creditors, it is said that the negotiations have not even begun.

Specifically, the group of plaintiffs representing bondholders of GO bonds said on Friday that 'we note that plaintiffs have sought, and are still seeking, direct and immediate interaction with the Government of Puerto Rico and The Supervisory Board to begin constructive negotiations.'

In contrast, the group of plaintiffs-who are senior creditors of the COFINA bonds- said on Friday that they had agreed to enter the privately-sponsored mediation process since Sunday last week.

Finally, a group of COFINA creditors who identify themselves as the 'Puerto Rico funds,'told the judge in their Friday motion that all parties had been invited to a private mediation process to be conducted between the 10th and April 13 but that they, the Puerto Rican group, had not yet decided how to respond to the invitation.

But that conclave seems not to have the group of COFINA creditors who identify themselves as the 'major', who said on their part to the judge that they oppose a mediation and that they will put their positions in writing after May 1 , When the stoppage of PROMESA lawsuits expires.

In a Friday order, Judge Besosa said the parties should ask Monday for a clarification to the Circuit about whether court-supervised mediation is allowed.

In what is a summary of the confused state of the negotiations, the judge stated that:

'The past administration has scorned the purpose of PROMESA's (' me vale') litigation standstill. The current administration seems to want to negotiate in good faith, and if the bondholders want to do so, it's hard to say.'

José Carrion III and Elías Sánchez (NotiCel Archive)
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