Puerto Rico, a colonial territory of the US since 1898, has faced a fiscal crisis since the deep recession of 2006. Unable to declare bankruptcy due to its political status of “belonging to, but not a part of” the US, the archipelago was placed into an economic conservatorship by the US Congress in 2016 under the PROMESA Act.
The law designated the appointment of a Fiscal Control Board to decide how Puerto Rico repays its debt – mostly though austerity measures and budget cuts to health, education, and retirement pensions.
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s already crumbling infrastructure. Faced with power outages lasting up to a year in some areas, the ensuing disaster was a product of corruption, mismanagement, and crass negligence from the Puerto Rican and Federal Government. Thousands of deaths in Maria’s wake could have been prevented if the aid arrived on time and if there was a well-maintained electrical grid.
