The Battle for Paradise Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria is considered one of the most catastrophic hurricanes of the 21st century. It causes an extreme humanitarian crisis while displacing millions along its course. The effects of the hurricane highlighted Puerto Rico’s terrible vulnerability imposed by their relationship to the United States. Additionally, Puerto Rico has suffered from the shock doctrine because of Maria, which Naomi Klein defines as “the deliberate exploitation of states of emergency to push through radical pro-corporate agendas.” (45). Nevertheless, the citizens of Puerto Rico have a different say in the matter.

Many believe that the island can be remade under their own power with small farms, renewable power and a decentralized government.

Hurricane Maria destroyed the Puerto Rican power grid, causing the longest blackout in U.S. history. Densely populated, urban areas went months without full power. On the contrary, smaller, independent communities had power quickly restored. This seems opposite as to what we would think the case would be, this is because those small towns were not a part of the grid due to the use of solar power, thus it’s collapse did not affect their source of power.

One town in particular had a beacon of hope known as Casa Pueblo. Casa Pueblo was built twenty years ago by scientists and engineers, its roof is made of solar panels that did not rely on any sort of power grid. While power lines were down across the island, Casa Pueblo was able to hand out 14,000 solar lanterns that people could use as a source of light.

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These small communities were not as reliant on imports for fuel and food like the rest of the island was. This is because places like Casa Pueblo had a renewable fuel source (solar power) and were able to grow their own food. The Puerto Rican government recognizes this, an official states “we look at crisis as an opportunity to change”. They want to build a more resilient grid that does not rely on imports and can easily be rebuilt in the event of another natural disaster.

Puerto Rico has long been taken advantage of, they are often overlooked and not taken care of. After Hurricane Maria, their economy took a huge hit. In the months following the storm, the government desperately tried to attract capital to the island since they were on the edge of bankruptcy. The government offered extremely low corporate tax rates, even when compared to Donald Trump’s recent cuts at the time. Puerto Rico’s fiscal policy cut tax rates as an attempt to bring U.S. corporations to the island. The government wanted new residents to come to the island so that they could raise capital and rebuild, however the current Puerto Rican citizens do not share the same amount of enthusiasm for new residents as the government did. In fact, a significant amount of the population left the island. At first this was for safety measures but it was quickly noticed that a lot of these people did not plan on returning to the island. The governor’s office predicts that a “cumulative decline” of Puerto Rico’s population will occur by twenty percent over the next five years.

Despite the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Maria, a high point from it all is the coming together of Puerto Ricans. Instead of just looking to the United States for help, they are able to strategize and develop plans among themselves to rebuild their island. This type of resiliency against overwhelming odds speaks to their history of constantly resisting colonization. In coming together, they were not only able to rebuild but ask themselves “what do we want instead?” They want to improve on many specific areas like their food and school system. In one area of Puerto Rico’s central mountain region, agro-ecological farming has helped the citizens and children put the trauma of the storm behind them. “After Maria, we encourage the students to touch the plants and let the plants touch them because that’s a way of healing the pain and anger.” (33) This quote comes from Dalma Cartagena, a trained agronomist. Her message to the kids is that despite all the damage the storm has done, they should develop a strong relationship with nature because she offers great protection.

After Maria struck, the lesson of self-sufficiency took on practical urgency in Puerto Rico. The storm unveiled the extreme vulnerability of the nation’s food supply. The farmers recognized this, came together, and were able to get the attention of the Organización Boricuά, which got about 30 farmers from across Latin America to help rebuild farms. This collaboration between Puerto Ricans allows a wealth of knowledge to be spread in what they need, self-sustaining energy systems, better shelter, etc. Organización Boricuά has been stressing that the island convert to agro-ecology, the study of ecological processes applied to agriculture production systems, for the basis of Puerto Rico’s food system. This is because it is capable of adequate, affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. Unfortunately, it took the influence of a disastrous natural storm for the people of Puerto Rico to realize how agro-ecology is a crucial tool for surviving a rocky future.

The shock doctrine existed way before Hurricane Maria hit, being composed of four parts, desperation, distraction, despair, and disappearance. In 2009 a policy was passed as an economic “state of emergency” that was used to lay off 17,000 public sector workers and strip benefits and raises from even more. Even before 2009 there were shock doctrine policies being issued, such as in 2006 when a policy was instituted that used tax breaks to bring U.S. manufactures to the island. The tax breaks would be allowed to expire and cause extreme capital flight to the island. This was such a major shock to the island’s economy that in May of the same year, most of the schools and government on the island were temporarily shut down. In 2016 when Hurricane Maria hit, each of the four categories of the shock doctrine were amplified. Desperation was increased due to lack of relief and little construction efforts.

To that, many people on the island are still experiencing power outages and the governor is still issuing warnings that the island can go dark again at any instance. Daily life on the island becomes rough. Every hour is taken up by worrying about if you have enough food, water, or electricity and not being able to pay bills, if possible at all since so many work places are closed. The burdens of survival have a taxing effect on the citizens, not giving them much hope for the future. The intensified desperation, despair, and distraction have caused thousands of Puerto Ricans to disappear from the island. Most were hoping to quickly get to the mainland to places like Florida. Instead of helping the people on the island and giving them shelter, they were encouraged to leave altogether.

Puerto Rico’s future is uncertain, it consists of a battle between different ideologies. The “Paradise Reforms” idea of Puerto Rico is moving along almost too fast. The government will allow the land to be taken up by malls, golf courses, and hotels, leaving little room for farming or renewable energy projects. This is all an attempt to make Puerto Rico desirable to possible future residents, portraying it as the next South Beach. On the other side, movements that do not deal with capital move not nearly fast enough. These type of movements aim to strengthen democracy and find ways for the ordinary person to be heard. Fortunately, Puerto Ricans are not doing this from scratch, they have generations of experience to build from. Quietly, for generations they have been building their idea of an ideal future, joining other hidden, sovereign islands. They believe that these islands have strengthened them, building them up for the future and whatever challenges may lie ahead.