Puerto Rico — a group of islands in the center of the Caribbean and a colony of the United States since 1898 — has recently come to the attention of the United States Congress due to its inability to pay over $72 billion dollars in public debt.

The passage of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) in June — which established a seven-member federal oversight board to supervise the island government — did more than just demonstrate Puerto Rico’s lack of sovereignty. It also opened the door to the imposition of extreme austerity measures on a territory already hard-hit by a decade-long recession.

The oversight board has one priority — to ensure that Puerto Rico makes good on its obligations to its creditors, many of whom are private American investors.