Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla has confirmed the commonwealth will default on some of its scheduled debt repayment on January 1. Congress could have prevented a default, but passed on its opportunity earlier this month. On Wednesday, García Padilla told reporters, “We know that our creditors have spent a fortune lobbying against the people of Puerto Rico.” Hedge funds have spent the last year aggressively lobbying against legislation granting Puerto Rico limited bankruptcy protection similar to what is available for cities and municipalities inside U.S. states. Click here to watch Democracy Now! co-host Juan González’s recent speech about how Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is tied to the commonwealth’s legacy of U.S. colonialism.