Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico and resulted in a death toll of almost 3,000. Hundreds of thousands have left PR to make new lives on the U.S. mainland. Those who remain carry the collective trauma of the terrible events they witnessed, but also possess a resilient spirit. Much like the catastrophic earthquake of 2010 turned international attention to the nation of Haiti which already suffered from extreme poverty, corruption, and environmental degradation prior to the disaster, so too Maria highlighted Puerto Rico's many problems that existed for years before the September 2017 storm. In the effort to rebuild in the wake of Maria's massive destruction, Puerto Rico has the opportunity to address these underlying issues; to do this, they will require the help of the federal government.

Laying the foundation for a Puerto Rico that is self-sustaining begins with an independent energy structure that has the infrastructure necessary to stand in the event of a catastrophic event. Puerto Rico's energy grid, already damaged from Hurricane Irma, was leveled by Maria, which destroyed 80% of power lines and led to the longest and most disruptive blackout in U.S. history. Trouble did not begin with the storm. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) was already mired in $9 billion of debt and suffering from corruption and inefficiency. Residents pay at least 40 percent more for energy than on the mainland U.S., and experienced blackouts at four times the rate.

Further, Puerto Rico is poised to break its near-total dependence on imported fossil fuels. Currently, imports make up 97 percent of total energy production (de Onis 2018). PREPA pays $2 billion each year on imported fuel.

Operation Bootstrap was an effort in the 1940s and 50s to industrialize the Puerto Rican economy, which was formerly comprised mainly of sugarcane plantations. Generous tax incentives brought manufacturing, notably pharmaceutical companies, but "[j]ust like the sugar plantation owners before them, they sent both the finished product and profits back home". Puerto Rico became dependent on imports. Then in the mid-90s through the mid-2000s the federal government removed tax breaks, and the Puerto Rican economy began to collapse. Over the next decade, Puerto Rico lost jobs and population, and with them, its tax base. "The government had to borrow just to keep running, until it couldn't pay back what it owed".

Before the storm, Puerto Rico imported 85 percent of its food for consumption. The Department of Agriculture hopes to lower this to 70 percent. Agroecological approaches are more resilient to storm damage, suffering less and recovering more quickly. Industrial agriculture requires imported inputs that can be difficult to obtain in the aftermath of a large storm. Self-sufficiency would increase Puerto Rico's food security and translate its natural resources into wealth that stays in communities.

Its climate is also ideal for industrial hemp production, with the potential for two or even three crops each year, and the ability to sustain an associated advanced manufacturing industry that can restore lost jobs.

Congress could go further and repeal the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) of 2016 and pass the U.S. Territorial Relief Act. PROMESA created a non-elected Fiscal Control Board, which approved "a number of austerity policies designed to slash the government's budget and free up money for creditors. Among these measures are cuts to pensions, health care, and the University of Puerto Rico". The U.S. Territorial Relief Act, on the other hand, "would provide Puerto Rico with a path to comprehensive debt relief". It would also require an independent audit of Puerto Rico's debt. Puerto Rico's economic woes as they exist today are primarily the result of decades of federal policies toward the island, and it makes sense that federal policy would reflect and address this history. Austerity is crippling PR, eroding many of its bases of economic recovery, such as the potential for energy independence, or adequate funding for the University of Puerto Rico, which provides education at a low cost to hundreds of thousands of students each year. Some see PROMESA as just another manifestation of PR's history of colonial exploitation. The U.S. Territorial Relief Act seeks to learn from the missteps of the past but looks forward to a future where Puerto Rico is freed from the ghosts of its economic hardships.

I wanted to share an inspirational message with you. It is: "Die trying." They say [apparently it was Gandhi], "be the change" which is great advice for easy-to-medium problems. Sure, if you can, be the change. But, (sorry this is American-centric) from abolition of slavery to women's suffrage, there have been important, brave leaders who worked their entire lives and never saw the fruits of their activism during their lifetimes.... If anyone can "be the change", it is likely you, but I also wanted to offer "die trying" as a possible counter-aspiration. There's no rush! I hope you live to be 120. And I hope we address the climate crisis in that time. But you are no fool. And we all die in the end. So maybe "die trying" is some kind of comfort, carry the torch in a time of darkness, hand it on, and maybe not see change in your lifetime but know you made a difference, you carried that torch in a time of darkness, you weren't able to "be the change" but you tried, you try your whole life, you die trying.

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