A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances filed in court Friday a long-awaited plan that it says would reduce the U.S. territory’s debt by more than 60 percent and pull the island out of bankruptcy in what government officials called a historic moment. The plan comes three years after U.S. Congress created the board and would reduce $35 billion in liabilities to $12 billion, a move that some believe would help ease Puerto Rico’s financial crisis amid a 13-year recession, pave the way to the board’s departure and allow Puerto Rico to regain fiscal autonomy. Puerto Rico was dragging more than $70 billion in public debt after decades of mismanagement, corruption and excessive borrowing to balance budgets.
