Puerto Rico is facing a $58 million debt repayment deadline Saturday as lawmakers are backing a federal bill to allow Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy. Earlier this week, a hedge fund-backed report called on the island to raise taxes and cut educational funding in order to repay its debt. On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the offices of BlueMountain Capital, a hedge fund that protesters say has bought Puerto Rico’s debt at a discount and has funded lobbyists to oppose proposed legislation to allow Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy. Renata Pumarol of New York Communities for Change spoke out.

Renata Pumarol: “They have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars ensuring that the Puerto Ricans have no right to restructure their debt, and have no right to file for bankruptcy, and they are now pushing for austerity measures. Their latest ask was that the Puerto Rican government close schools and fire teachers. If the austerity measures are implemented, it would be devastating for Puerto Rico. Former employees of the IMF are suggesting that Puerto Rico cuts its minimum wage by a third. This is, you know, to a country that already has 41 percent poverty. And no one can survive on a $2.13 minimum wage, so it’s absolutely devastating.”