The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) — es, Compañía de Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico (or simply ''Fomento'')— is a
government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico authorized and empowered to induce
private capital
In economics, capital goods or capital are "those durable produced goods that are in turn used as productive inputs for further production" of goods and services. At the macroeconomic level, "the nation's capital stock includes buildings, eq ...
into
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
in order to establish
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
,
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
s, and industrial operations in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. As its primary function, PRIDCO is known for providing
incentive
In general, incentives are anything that persuade a person to alter their behaviour. It is emphasised that incentives matter by the basic law of economists and the laws of behaviour, which state that higher incentives amount to greater levels of ...
s to both native and foreign companies that either
manufacture in Puerto Rico or export from Puerto Rico.
History
PRIDCO was created by the government of Puerto Rico in 1942 along with the
Puerto Rico Government Development Bank
The Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico (GDB) — es, Banco Gubernamental de Fomento para Puerto Rico (BGF)— is the government bond issuer, intragovernmental bank, fiscal agent, and financial advisor of the government of Puert ...
(GDB) during the governorship of
Rexford G. Tugwell. Its purpose was to finance the construction and operational management of
industrial park
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...
s where stateside manufacturing companies could find low-rent venues for their operations.
For decades, PRIDCO operated as a subsidiary of the Puerto Rico Economic Development Administration (PREDA); the agency that oversaw the systematic operation which transformed the
economy of Puerto Rico
The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank and as the most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum. The main drivers of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmac ...
from
an agricultural economy into
an industrial one known as
Operation Bootstrap
Operation Bootstrap ( es, Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is ...
. Bootstrap was the brainchild of PREDA's first administrator,
Teodoro Moscoso
José Teodoro Moscoso Mora
Rico Puerto Rico. Noticel. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012. ...
. Other notable industrialists served in PREDA as well, such as
Hugo David Storer Tavarez who served as the director of promotion for some years, and
William Riefkohl
William Riefkohl López (born October 8, 1939) was the executive director of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association 2002–2013.
Early life
William Riefkohl was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, to William Riefkohl Villodas from Patillas and M ...
who served as its deputy administrator from 1988 to 1992.
As PREDA continued to transform Puerto Rico, PRIDCO eventually became an independent agency. A government reorganization eventually merged PREDA into PRIDCO, establishing PRIDCO as the focal agency for all manufacturing in Puerto Rico while PREDA ceased to exist.
Today, PRIDCO also oversees the program to promote
Puerto Rican rums which enjoy
cover-over subsidies Cover-over subsidies are annual payments from the U.S. government to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico out of federal excise taxes. For example, when a bottle of rum is produced in either the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, and then sold in ...
when sold in the United States. The agency is also now under the umbrella of the
Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico responsible for the economic development in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and all its commerce related matters.
...
(DDEC), an
executive department
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ba ...
.
In 2019, the agency was tasked with creating a database of business owners who are veterans of the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
with a mandate to adhere to a law that requires supporting and helping veteran business owners.
Along with the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, in 2019, the organization discussed plans to import coffee beans from different locations in order to mix and cultivate new coffee plants in Puerto Rico.
In August, 2019 employees of PRIDCO protested against the direction of
PROMESA
The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) is a U.S. federal law enacted in 2016 that established a financial oversight board, a process for restructuring debt, and expedited procedures for approving critical in ...
, the non-elected board working on restructuring Puerto Rico's debt. PRIDCO employees demanded more transparency and more consideration for the work PRIDCO has been doing for decades.
In early 2020, the police were investigating the illegal transfer of funds by PRIDCO to overseas accounts.
Executive directors
As PREDA
*
Teodoro Moscoso
José Teodoro Moscoso Mora
Rico Puerto Rico. Noticel. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012. ...
*
José Madera
*
Manuel Dubón
*
Xavier Romeu
Xavier Romeu Matta is a counselor and litigator, with expertise in securities litigation and regulation, and corporate, commercial and employment litigation. He is a former politician, and an advocate of statehood for Puerto Rico, and of the appoin ...
As PRIDCO
*
Enrique Rodríguez Negrón
Enrique Rodríguez Negrón (born July 14, 1933 in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) served as a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1989 to 2001. From 1993 to 2001, he chaired the Senate Tourism Committee and partnered with then Executive Director of t ...
*
Xavier Romeu
Xavier Romeu Matta is a counselor and litigator, with expertise in securities litigation and regulation, and corporate, commercial and employment litigation. He is a former politician, and an advocate of statehood for Puerto Rico, and of the appoin ...
*
Jaime Morgan Stubbe
*
William Riefkohl
William Riefkohl López (born October 8, 1939) was the executive director of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association 2002–2013.
Early life
William Riefkohl was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, to William Riefkohl Villodas from Patillas and M ...
*
Jorge Silva Puras
Jorge Silva Puras (born August 23, 1966 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto-Rican public servant and government official.
Early life and education
Silva Puras is a 1988 graduate of Yale University where he majored in political science and econo ...
*
Boris Jaskille
*
Javier Vazquez Morales
* 2011–2013:
José Pérez Riera
* 2013–present:
Antonio Medina Comas
*
Rafael L Ignacio Torres 1961-1965 vice-president PRIDCO
Rafael may refer to:
* Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin
* Rafael, California
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology
* Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane
Fiction
* ''R ...
*
Rafael L Ignacio Torres 1984-1990 President of PRIDCO
Rafael may refer to:
* Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin
* Rafael, California
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology
* Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane
Fiction
* ''R ...
References
{{authority control
1942 establishments in Puerto Rico
Financial services companies established in 1942
Government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico
Industrial development agencies
Manufacturing in Puerto Rico