Shutdown
On 1 May 2006, with the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Governor having failed to reach an agreement, 45 government agencies, including island public schools, closed and 15 others were partially closed, leaving 95,762 people temporarily unemployed. The only agencies remaining open are security related, such as police and firefighter agencies, and health related agencies. 1,600 public schools were shut down, leaving 500,000 pupils without facilities.
There were several protests on 1 May, some in front of the Puerto Rican Capitol, and another in the Golden Mile financial district. Another protest occurred in front of the Department of Labor, where a confrontation between protesters and police broke out when students started to throw rocks at the windows of several banks. Several people were injured in the incident.
On 2 May the shut down continued. The New Progressive Party held a meeting and decided to stick with the 5.5% tax proposal, stating that there wouldn't be any type of negotiation. Another meeting between the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Governor ended in dispute with the Governor leaving less than 15 minutes after the meeting started. Protests were held also in front of the main offices of Popular, Inc. in Hato Rey and the Capitol.
On 3 May, Governor Acevedo Vilá accepted an invitation by José Aponte, Speaker of the House, to meet with him alone in the Capitol. Acevedo Vilá suggested to Aponte that Senator Kenneth McClintock, President of the Senate, should be present. Aponte didn't agree. Acevedo Vilá arrived to the Capitol in company of Alfredo Salazar, the President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank, Juan Carlos Méndez,Secretary of Treasury, and Aníbal José Torres, Secretary of Government. Aponte, as agreed, asked Acevedo Vilá to meet alone with him. Fifteen minutes after the meeting Acevedo Vilá left abruptly. According to Acevedo Vilá, Aponte began to complain at some point during the meeting, specifically mentioning that a few days earlier, the Secretary of Treasury changed the financial numbers given under oath in a public hearing, and that the Secretary was absent in a meeting one week earlier, making it difficult for the House to reach him. At some point during the meeting, Acevedo Vilá noticed a smiling face in Aponte and commented that he was happy to see him smile during such time of crisis. At this point, versions differ. Allegedly, Aponte told Acevedo Vilá that he has "seen the face of distress" of Acevedo Vilá in recent days, and that if he needed a handkerchief for his tears, he could let him know. At that point Acevedo Vilá left, feeling that "it was an insult to the Puerto Rican people left in the streets". Aponte denied this, and accused the Governor of lying.
On 4 May, Acevedo Vilá marched from La Fortaleza, the Governor's house, to the Capitol. It was the first time in Puerto Rican history that such an event has happened. In Puerto Rican custom, the Governor walks from the Capitol to La Fortaleza when he takes the oath of office. Acevedo Vilá was criticized due to the similarities between this march and an episode of the TV series The West Wing, in which the President of the United States (portrayed by Martin Sheen) walks from the White House, home of the President, to the U.S. Capitol, home of the U.S. Congress, in order to resolve a federal budget crisis.
On 8 May, Moody's downgraded Puerto Rico's general obligation debt to Baa3 from Baa2, and appropriation bonds to junk status at Ba1 from Baa3.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Puerto Rico Budget Crisis