Puerto Rico

The governor, Pedro Pierluisi of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), lacks a majority in the bicameral Legislative Assembly, sustaining governability challenges. He now seems likely to face an internal PNP challenge to his bid for re-election in November 2024 from a rival, Jenniffer González. Given the opposition’s weakness, either would stand a good chance of winning another four-year term for the PNP. A full post-coronavirus reopening has enabled business and tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Mr Pierluisi now faces the policy challenges of guiding reconstruction efforts after various natural disasters (hurricanes in 2017 and 2022, and seismic activity in 2020). US federal assistance and domestic fiscal consolidation will help these efforts. EIU expects economic growth to weaken to 1% in the 2022/23 fiscal year (July-June) and to 0.8% in 2023/24, owing to a slowdown in the US. Looking beyond that, the economy will eventually resume its secular decline once federal support for reconstruction diminishes. 

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