PBS News Weekend 
Season 8, Episode 6 of 99
Puerto Rico remains an island of economic distress, with high unemployment, a poverty rate three times the U.S. mainland, and a per-capita income half that of the poorest state, Mississippi. Beyond its recession, Puerto Rico is saddled with a massive $72 billion debt. The worsening economic conditions have prompted the flight of more than 450,000 Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens, for states like Texas and Florida in the last 10 years. On Sunday, just a month after Puerto Rico voted to become a full-fledged U.S. state, NewsHour Weekend's Ivette Feliciano reports on how new austerity measures imposed by Congress, and designed to reduce the debt, are being received.
