Puerto Rico's Disasters in Historical Perspective
Natural and Human-Made Disasters
Puerto Rican society is shaped by colonial histories and ongoing projects. Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1493 marked the beginning of Spanish colonization, which endured for over four centuries. Under Spanish rule, the indigenous Taíno population suffered exploitation and disease. In 1898, Puerto Rico fell under American control after the Spanish-American War, significantly changing political and economic structures. The Jones Act of 1917 granted US citizenship to Puerto Ricans, but their representation remained limited. Today, the archipelago continues to grapple with colonial processes that shape the country’s political status and economic crisis.
Treaty of Paris (1898)
Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States following the Spanish-American War. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam, to the United States.
Foraker Act (1900)
The Foraker Act established a civil government in Puerto Rico and provided limited self-government. It created a Puerto Rican House of Delegates and established a U.S.-appointed governor and executive council. However, Puerto Ricans did not have full citizenship rights. They were subject to the authority of the U.S. Congress.
Jones Act (1917)
Amid WWI, Congress passed the Jones Act that granted U.S. citizenship to all Puerto Ricans born on or after April 25, 1898. This meant that Puerto Ricans could move freely across the United States and qualified them for the dangerous WWI draft. The act restructured Puerto Rico’s political and economic structure, giving it more power in some areas and enforcing the U.S.'s empire in others. To this day, Puerto Ricans haven’t been granted the right to vote in presidential elections or voting representation in Congress.1
Operation Bootstrap (1947)
To industrialize Puerto Rico and stimulate economic growth, the Puerto Rican government, with the support of the United States, implemented Operation Bootstrap. This program attracted American businesses with tax incentives and cheap labor, leading to significant urban development and increased employment opportunities. While these measures allowed some families to get out of poverty, Puerto Rico’s industrialization also cemented the reign of American corporations over the Puerto Rican population and caused massive displacement and migration.
Commonwealth Status (1952)
Puerto Rico adopted its constitution in 1952, establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This status allowed residents to retain U.S. citizenship and gave the archipelago a measure of self-government and greater control over internal affairs. However, Puerto Rico remained a U.S. territory under the authority of the U.S. Congress.
Political Status Debates Begin (1989)
In 1989, Puerto Rico’s acting governor requested a referendum to determine the island’s future status.2 This opened the doors for many other plebiscites and referendums in the following years. Plebiscites have been ineffective in solving Puerto Rico's current colonial status, whereas Statehood and Commonwealth status received overwhelming support. However, a definitive resolution has yet to be reached, and the question of Puerto Rico's political status remains a topic of ongoing debate.
2https://www.teachingforchange.org/important-dates-puerto-rican-history/
Debt Crisis (2015)
The economic model imposed in Puerto Rico, propelled by the actions of financial institutions and the government, led to the accumulation of a public debt totaling over $70 billion.3 Due to its status as an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico cannot declare formal bankruptcy, making recovery efforts even more difficult.
PROMESA was enacted (2016)
President Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) to manage the island’s debt. It appointed seven, mostly American, members to a Financial Oversight Board that controls the government’s budget and attempts to restructure Puerto Rico’s economy.4 In subsequent years, Puerto Ricans saw slashes to the nation’s public education, health, and essential services budgets while corruption remained rampant.5
4https://oversightboard.pr.gov/about-us/
5https://claridadpuertorico.com/junta-de-control-fiscal-un-fiasco-a-cinco-anos-que-tenemos
Hurricane María (2017)
Hurricane María, a category 4 storm, devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017. It was one of the strongest storms to hit the archipelago, leaving Puerto Ricans without power or access to essential services for months. Puerto Ricans sought and relied on local and federal government authorities to get help and support in the aftermath of the storm. At the same time, the state’s shortcomings and unpreparedness led many people to rely on their communities and community-based organizations for help. People supported each other through mutual aid, community kitchens, and their localized environmental knowledge. In 2023, the hurricane’s damage is still visible, leaving houses with blue tarp roofs, an unreliable power grid, and collective trauma.
The Summer of 2019 (2019)
Protests across Puerto Rico erupted after journalists published the contents of a chat that included communications between Governor Roselló and other government officials. The chat revealed information about the abuse of political power; participants in the chat bragged about Hurricane María’s mismanagement and disrespected countless Puerto Ricans.6 The discontent among the population reached a boiling point after years of rejecting the Financial Oversight Board, requests to audit the nation’s debt, and petitions to reform the island’s major political parties.7 After weeks of protests, Governor Ricardo Rosselló publicly announced his resignation.
Earthquakes (January 2020)
In the early morning of Three King’s Day, a popular national holiday, the southwestern part of Puerto Rico faced a series of significant earthquakes and aftershocks that led to 8,300 damaged homes.7 These natural phenomena exposed the public’s distrust of the government and its lack of emergency planning after hurricane María.8 Many struggled to house their families and deal with the loss and uncertainty, but Puerto Ricans from other parts of the island and worldwide came together to provide aid.
8https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/puerto-rico-earthquakes-fema.html
9https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/puerto-rico-earthquakes-fema.html
COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
Not yet recovered from the series of earthquakes, Puerto Rican lives were thrown for another loop when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Strict curfews and closures were instated, but the government’s lack of coordination, misinformation, and corruption was apparent.10 Once again, Puerto Ricans turned to each other for help to deal with a high number of COVID cases, food insecurity, the public health impact of tourism, and a mental health crisis.11 12 13 Against all odds, Puerto Rican scientists developed more efficient testing, contact tracing procedures, and educational campaigns later adopted by government entities. Community-based organizations identified where the government’s response was lacking in its provision of reliable information, public health campaigns, and management of public and private spaces, and leveraged their resources to build networks of collective care.
10https://nacla.org/news/2020/08/21/puerto-rico-state-emergency
12https://www.thedailybeast.com/deluded-anti-mask-tourists-swarm-covid-plagued-puerto-rico
Hurricane Fiona (2022)
Almost six years after Hurricane María hit, another category four hurricane brought unprecedented rainfall, flooding, and landslides.14 Hurricane Fiona was a grim reminder that the climate crisis made these catastrophic storms more frequent while the island’s infrastructure kept decaying. Already experienced in disaster responses, community-based organizations jumped into action while the government depended heavily on the response of these organizations.
14https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/18/weather/tropical-storm-fiona-sunday/index.html
