There are less than seven weeks left before Election Day, a good time to pose interesting questions about some of the many issues affecting Puerto Rico, such as economic stagnation, the post-Maria reconstruction process, and the roles of the government and the private sector as they relate to economic development. Today we begin our seven-week series, FOCUS 2020, dedicated to those subjects. First in line is a brief historical background that will frame the discussion to follow over the next few weeks.

This week we provide an update on Washington D.C. With only 21 days left on the legislative calendar before elections, we discuss if that is enough time for Congress to strike a deal. We also present an infographic depicting how U.S. consumers spent their stimulus payments.

This week we summarize some aspects of the agreement between PREPA and LUMA that in our opinion raise important concerns. We also explore the prevalence of short-term rentals through digital platforms such as Airbnb and its effect on affect housing affordability in Puerto Rico.

This week’s issue of the Weekly Review is a Special Edition dedicated to providing a little bit of the background of our analysis of the agreement between PREPA and LUMA Energy for the operation and management of PREPA’s transmission and distribution system, which is a key part of the process to transform Puerto Rico’s power system.

In case you missed it, we share Sergio Marxuach’s latest column “Institutional Stagnation”. This week we also take a look at the current crisis the U.S. Postal Service is confronting, as well as the Decennial Census and the threat to these government institutions.