At its annual Economic Symposium, held in the Senate’s Leopoldo Figueroa hall, Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board (JCF) convened economists from the island and abroad, who concluded the economy remains weak and that 2027 is expected to be negative. The board says the exercise prepares for its possible exit and transfers to the government its methods for building and evaluating a budget based on data, not assumptions.
Executive director Robert Mujica warned against approving initiatives that "feel good today but will make things worse." Joelle W. Scally of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said credit card delinquency on the island in 2026 exceeded the U.S. rate (8.1% vs. 7%) and that even if emigration stopped suddenly, Puerto Rico would lose almost a quarter of its population by 2050.
Gustavo Rojas Matute of Moody’s Analytics called the economy "very weak, very fragile," saying construction activity peaked late last year and has declined all this year, while employment and manufacturing are static and vulnerable to energy costs. Xavier Diví of V2A Consulting cited falling consumption, thin business margins and bankruptcies running 40% above last year.
Leslie Adames of Estudios Técnicos said new jobs are largely part-time, inflation-adjusted retail sales are contracting, and her firm estimates 500,000 island positions are vulnerable to artificial intelligence. UPR professor Indira Luciano Montalvo urged broader development tools beyond tax incentives.