December 2001: 2001: Legacy of a Year of Uncertainty and Challenges

For Puerto Rico, the year 2001 started with its first female governor, Sila M. Calderón. Her election focused on two key issues: government corruption and a new economic plan. The year ended as it started, with a legacy of economic problems ranging from economic slowdown, fiscal deficits, increasing unemployment, increasing costs of the Health Care Reform Plan, fewer jobs, and many plans and measures attempting to crank the economy. During the year, the terrorist attacks of September 11 struck a sour note throughout the world. The U.S. economy accelerated the cyclical slowdown that started back in March with a recession, moving to an outright contraction. Find out how top economic events shaped the PR economy in 2001. Can the PR economy resume growth? Will the Government be able to at least alleviate some of the key economic challenges the economy faces? These are some of the issues we face in the coming year.