"Puerto Rico’s colonial reality"
October 13, 2017 12:30 PM Subscribe
The Way We Talk About Puerto Rico Is Bullshit
The Media Really Has Neglected Puerto Rico
Everything that's been reported about deaths in Puerto Rico is at odds with the official count - "News reports cite the deaths of more than 450 additional people since the hurricane, and 69 people have been reported missing."
FEMA actually can stay in Puerto Rico indefinitely
The bill also contains $16 billion in debt relief — just not for Puerto Rico’s crushing debt.
Minuto a minuto: cargada la agenda de Paul Ryan en Puerto Rico
Los estadounidenses dicen que Trump no ha hecho suficiente por la isla
Paul Ryan… tenemos serios problemas
The Media Really Has Neglected Puerto Rico
Everything that's been reported about deaths in Puerto Rico is at odds with the official count - "News reports cite the deaths of more than 450 additional people since the hurricane, and 69 people have been reported missing."
FEMA actually can stay in Puerto Rico indefinitely
The bill also contains $16 billion in debt relief — just not for Puerto Rico’s crushing debt.
Minuto a minuto: cargada la agenda de Paul Ryan en Puerto Rico
Los estadounidenses dicen que Trump no ha hecho suficiente por la isla
Paul Ryan… tenemos serios problemas
As a part of work that I've been doing over the course of some years, I've been periodically aware of what's been going on with Puerto Rico's debt. It's awful. Puerto Rico is being held hostage by a couple of holdout investment banks.
But even that doesn't capture how bad it is. The origination of that debt is a crime that we as a country have perpetrated on Puerto Rico. John Oliver, as usual, has a cogent explanation.
posted by janey47 at 12:45 PM on October 13, 2017 [14 favorites]
But even that doesn't capture how bad it is. The origination of that debt is a crime that we as a country have perpetrated on Puerto Rico. John Oliver, as usual, has a cogent explanation.
posted by janey47 at 12:45 PM on October 13, 2017 [14 favorites]
Puerto Rico is being held hostage by a couple of holdout investment banks.
Which banks? (poised to write down names and start the call to bailout)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:48 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Which banks? (poised to write down names and start the call to bailout)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:48 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Which banks? (poised to write down names and start the call to bailout)
This is one of the greedy jerks.
I'm Puerto Rican, most of my family on the island still doesn't have power, or access to drinking water etc. etc. etc. The Jones Act, which prevents ships from other countries from docking on the island was allowed to expire. The rhetoric coming from Trump's mouth is astonishingly cruel, even for the low bar he's already set. There is already a humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean (this is not isolated to PR), and it's being purposefully neglected, and will become a full blown Walking Dead style theme park (with real people*) in time for Halloween.
*well Puerto Ricans, do they count as people? (Not that 45 has an inkling of what it means to be a human being.)
posted by nikoniko at 1:02 PM on October 13, 2017 [36 favorites]
This is one of the greedy jerks.
I'm Puerto Rican, most of my family on the island still doesn't have power, or access to drinking water etc. etc. etc. The Jones Act, which prevents ships from other countries from docking on the island was allowed to expire. The rhetoric coming from Trump's mouth is astonishingly cruel, even for the low bar he's already set. There is already a humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean (this is not isolated to PR), and it's being purposefully neglected, and will become a full blown Walking Dead style theme park (with real people*) in time for Halloween.
*well Puerto Ricans, do they count as people? (Not that 45 has an inkling of what it means to be a human being.)
posted by nikoniko at 1:02 PM on October 13, 2017 [36 favorites]
Thank you for this post - I was at a SURJ meeting last night discussing news framing and in a small group discussion with a few other folks we agreed that its pretty much impossible to look at the situation post-hurricane in Puerto Rico without taking into account the islands long-term history of being abused by Spain and then US.
politically motivated ingrates may yet be the most despicable thing any president has said about his own citizens . . . and then you have todays gem from POTUS on twitter:
"The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the H's. I will always be with them!"
wherin it appears he acknowledges that the the storm wasn't some sudden catastrophe which turned things 180 degrees . . . but also totally ignores any role colonialism and US economic exploitation might have played in those pre-existing troubles.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:15 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
politically motivated ingrates may yet be the most despicable thing any president has said about his own citizens . . . and then you have todays gem from POTUS on twitter:
"The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the H's. I will always be with them!"
wherin it appears he acknowledges that the the storm wasn't some sudden catastrophe which turned things 180 degrees . . . but also totally ignores any role colonialism and US economic exploitation might have played in those pre-existing troubles.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:15 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am still so furious about this. 1% of the US population lives in Puerto Rico, more than Montana, Alaska, Idaho or Wyoming. Literally millions of Americans are being affected by this.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:16 PM on October 13, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by aspersioncast at 1:16 PM on October 13, 2017 [44 favorites]
The Media Really Has Neglected
Yuppity yup yup yup.
posted by Melismata at 1:36 PM on October 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yuppity yup yup yup.
posted by Melismata at 1:36 PM on October 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
How the Pentagon Spun Hurricane Maria "U.S. officials inadvertently included a Bloomberg reporter on an internal email list. Here’s a glimpse into their bid to put relief efforts in a positive light."
posted by indubitable at 1:43 PM on October 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 1:43 PM on October 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
So this is how the US treats Puerto Ricans
disaster relief employees “used the triage tents that are supposed to be for medical care and instead brought in local Puerto Rican residents to give the medical workers cut-rate manicures and pedicures,” all while on the clock. (hat tip)
Puerto Ricans Are So Desperate They're Trying to Drink Toxic Water at Hazardous Waste Sites.
Heck of a job Trumpy you fuckwad.
posted by adamvasco at 2:10 PM on October 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
disaster relief employees “used the triage tents that are supposed to be for medical care and instead brought in local Puerto Rican residents to give the medical workers cut-rate manicures and pedicures,” all while on the clock. (hat tip)
Puerto Ricans Are So Desperate They're Trying to Drink Toxic Water at Hazardous Waste Sites.
Heck of a job Trumpy you fuckwad.
posted by adamvasco at 2:10 PM on October 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
I saw on Facebook today that a friend of mine had just landed in San Juan. He works for our local branch of the hotel workers' union (and is fluent in Spanish), and they're deploying people to help with relief efforts in concert with the San Juan local. The union pulled him off a picket line to do it. Selfishly, my first thought was "I hope he doesn't see anything that traumatizes him too badly."
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:14 PM on October 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:14 PM on October 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
In the weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, you will have no doubt seen some variation of the words “Puerto Ricans are Americans.” It’s a well-meaning refrain coming from a wide range of people—including writers on this site—who are outraged over the shameful response from the U.S. government to the crisis on the island.
Actually, this doesn't reflect what I've typically heard in media reports, even ones that are sympathetic to the plight of people suffering in Puerto Rico, and I think it's part of the problem. The media accounts I've heard almost without exception refer to Puerto Ricans as "American citizens," rather than simply as Americans. People in Texas and Florida and Louisiana were just Americans, but Puerto Ricans were apparently something a little bit less.
I think the Splinter article, which presciently talks about the way Puerto Ricans are different from other Americans in terms of their relationship with the U.S. government is useful and full of helpful specifics. But I also think part of the problem with the reporting around the diaster is the failure to focus on how the Puerto Ricans are absolutely no different from other Americans in terms of their reasonable expectations of service from the government in the wake of the hurricane.
Every time I heard some newscaster refer to Puerto Ricans as "American citizens," it made me mad.
posted by layceepee at 3:18 PM on October 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
Actually, this doesn't reflect what I've typically heard in media reports, even ones that are sympathetic to the plight of people suffering in Puerto Rico, and I think it's part of the problem. The media accounts I've heard almost without exception refer to Puerto Ricans as "American citizens," rather than simply as Americans. People in Texas and Florida and Louisiana were just Americans, but Puerto Ricans were apparently something a little bit less.
I think the Splinter article, which presciently talks about the way Puerto Ricans are different from other Americans in terms of their relationship with the U.S. government is useful and full of helpful specifics. But I also think part of the problem with the reporting around the diaster is the failure to focus on how the Puerto Ricans are absolutely no different from other Americans in terms of their reasonable expectations of service from the government in the wake of the hurricane.
Every time I heard some newscaster refer to Puerto Ricans as "American citizens," it made me mad.
posted by layceepee at 3:18 PM on October 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
Every time I heard some newscaster refer to Puerto Ricans as "American citizens," it made me mad.
Hmm, I thought of it more as educating people that they are not only Americans, but citizens. Since according to polls lots of people didn't know that.
What I mean is --- many people refer to green card holders as Americans (OK, this is probably just people on the left, but I know many who do) but they are obviously not citizens. The idea that the government is abandoning citizens as well (since we already know Trump has abandoned anyone who is not a citizen) was the point, I thought.
Until your comment I didn't read it as othering, but I guess it can totally be read that way --- but it might also be a helpful point to the nearly half of Americans (presumably not those in PR...) who didn't know PR was part of America.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:34 PM on October 13, 2017 [16 favorites]
Hmm, I thought of it more as educating people that they are not only Americans, but citizens. Since according to polls lots of people didn't know that.
What I mean is --- many people refer to green card holders as Americans (OK, this is probably just people on the left, but I know many who do) but they are obviously not citizens. The idea that the government is abandoning citizens as well (since we already know Trump has abandoned anyone who is not a citizen) was the point, I thought.
Until your comment I didn't read it as othering, but I guess it can totally be read that way --- but it might also be a helpful point to the nearly half of Americans (presumably not those in PR...) who didn't know PR was part of America.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:34 PM on October 13, 2017 [16 favorites]
Vice called every hospital in Puerto Rico. Whatever the real death toll is, nobody knows, it's a lot higher than the official count, and some hospitals are desperate. And those are the ones doing well enough that they could be reached. The failure to take care of people here, to even acknowledge they still exist, is astonishing.
69 Republicans voted against the relief bill (which also has funds for Florida and Texas).
posted by zachlipton at 4:51 PM on October 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
69 Republicans voted against the relief bill (which also has funds for Florida and Texas).
posted by zachlipton at 4:51 PM on October 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
Lest any of us Mefites feel too good about ourselves, I feel compelled to point out that Five Thiety-Eight article is over 2 weeks old.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:41 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:41 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Costa Rica: Red Cross scales up emergency relief as heavy flooding leaves more than 500,000 people without drinking water
The effects of hurricanes take a while to be felt in full.
posted by MrVisible at 10:29 PM on October 13, 2017
The effects of hurricanes take a while to be felt in full.
posted by MrVisible at 10:29 PM on October 13, 2017
Whether or not emergency reconstruction funds arrive, Puerto Rico now lies at the mercy of rapacious vulture funds and a fiscal control board imposed for the purpose of ensuring their profits. President Trump, with characteristic panache and uncommonly precise punctuation, has made clear as much in several of his tweets. Puerto Rico, he tells residents living without electricity, is in troubled waters; it has “billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and banks, which, sadly must be dealt with.”Fernando Tormos-Aponte and Jose Ciro Martinez, Puerto Rico at the Precipice, Jacobin (5 October 2017).
Reconstruction will be guided by the interests of the Junta, which seeks to ensure that bondholders are reimbursed. What little infrastructure remains in the people’s hands will be privatized; public beaches will be sold off to the highest bidders. Recovery efforts will be concentrated in Puerto Rico’s wealthy districts and tourist sector, while its resident captive consumers continue to prop up America’s shipbuilding industry. The University of Puerto Rico, the island’s premier public university and a long-standing beacon of intellectual life and affordable education in the country, will be stripped of what scarce assets it still holds. Student fees will rise. Development will be for the few, rather than the many.
[...]
The commitment to profits over lives comes as no surprise to those who follow the island’s travails. Nor will it astonish those who have been fighting the hardline measures imposed after Detroit’s bankruptcy. These are but a small indication of what awaits America if the free-market dreams and pork-barrel policies so beloved by Republican speaker Paul Ryan and his allies are implemented.
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:12 AM on October 14, 2017 [6 favorites]
Mark Walker (R, NC) is rapidly becoming the biggest dickscrape in the house since Louie "terror babies" Gohmert, which is really saying something.
Anybody who has more info about how to help PR, please share.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:51 AM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anybody who has more info about how to help PR, please share.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:51 AM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anybody who has more info about how to help PR, please share.
The folks on Pod Save America recommended GlobalGiving. Their Charity Navigator rating is good.
posted by jazzbaby at 12:07 PM on October 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
The folks on Pod Save America recommended GlobalGiving. Their Charity Navigator rating is good.
posted by jazzbaby at 12:07 PM on October 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
> Which banks? (poised to write down names and start the call to bailout)
This is one of the greedy jerks.
After Maria, Vulture Firms Are Trying to Bleed Puerto Rico Dry. They Must Be Stopped. Jonathan Westin of New York Communities for Change discusses why Puerto Rico’s debt needs to be canceled.
Vultures in Puerto Rico: They want huge profits – and they will push austerity to secure them
posted by homunculus at 1:25 PM on October 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is one of the greedy jerks.
After Maria, Vulture Firms Are Trying to Bleed Puerto Rico Dry. They Must Be Stopped. Jonathan Westin of New York Communities for Change discusses why Puerto Rico’s debt needs to be canceled.
Vultures in Puerto Rico: They want huge profits – and they will push austerity to secure them
posted by homunculus at 1:25 PM on October 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
On The Media spends 13 minutes giving the most harrowing up-to-date reporting on the situation in Puerto Rico I've heard.
posted by hippybear at 5:04 AM on October 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 5:04 AM on October 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
FEMA: 'Not Our Job to Deliver Water and Food' to Puerto Ricans.
U.S. Vets: FEMA Is Lying To Us About Puerto Rico. In a remote section of western Puerto Rico, a group of veterans turned volunteers have become a lifeline for residents who have seen little in the way of official aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
posted by adamvasco at 2:25 PM on October 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
U.S. Vets: FEMA Is Lying To Us About Puerto Rico. In a remote section of western Puerto Rico, a group of veterans turned volunteers have become a lifeline for residents who have seen little in the way of official aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
posted by adamvasco at 2:25 PM on October 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
Selfishly, my first thought was "I hope he doesn't see anything that traumatizes him too badly."
Recognizing that trauma affects witnesses, as well as those who experience a threat to their own lives, is not at all selfish.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:03 PM on October 15, 2017
Recognizing that trauma affects witnesses, as well as those who experience a threat to their own lives, is not at all selfish.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:03 PM on October 15, 2017
It is absolutely nuts that this isn't a bigger deal right now. Is there anything a continental-based American can do to help, out of curiosity?
posted by karmachameleon at 9:33 PM on October 15, 2017
posted by karmachameleon at 9:33 PM on October 15, 2017
FEMA isn’t coming: how one town organized for food and community by Molly Crabapple
posted by The Whelk at 6:09 PM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 6:09 PM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
The community kitchen mentioned in the article has a Facebook page with needs
posted by The Whelk at 6:10 PM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 6:10 PM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hurricane Maria Could Offer A Chance To Build A New Tech Infrastructure In Puerto Rico (NPR, Oct. 16, 2017) -- don't worry about food and water now, what you need is a tech reboot! And then there's the money (trail):
posted by filthy light thief at 11:16 AM on October 17, 2017
KELLY: Well, that prompts my last question, which is, who will pay? Because Puerto Rico is broke, and these technologies are not going to be cheap.Part of me loves the idea to start over and do it better, but then I realize that is only an option because the US has failed Puerto Rico in recovery efforts, so it's created this void that private companies are trying to fill, for a cost.
FRIED: Yeah, the tech companies aren't going to provide this for free. So, I mean, ultimately it will have to come through either the dollars being allocated for the relief effort or additional investments. These will be costly expenditures. Hopefully the political will will be there to make this happen. But certainly none of these companies are offering to rebuild it for free.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:16 AM on October 17, 2017
Who Owns Puerto Rico’s Debt, Exactly? We’ve Tracked Down 10 of the Biggest Vulture Firms. Financial firms are still fighting to get billions out of the bankrupt island as it tries to rebuild.
As Puerto Rico Faces $95 Billion Cleanup, Exposé Reveals Vulture Firms Who Own Its $74 Billion Debt
posted by homunculus at 3:19 PM on October 18, 2017
As Puerto Rico Faces $95 Billion Cleanup, Exposé Reveals Vulture Firms Who Own Its $74 Billion Debt
posted by homunculus at 3:19 PM on October 18, 2017
Democracy Now: Rosa Clemente on Puerto Ricans Drinking Toxic Water & San Juan Mayor’s Message to the Diaspora
posted by homunculus at 3:20 PM on October 18, 2017
posted by homunculus at 3:20 PM on October 18, 2017
MeFi hivemind: What are the best PR relief organizations an average citizen should be thinking about contributing to? Or other related orgs.
posted by christopherious at 1:01 AM on October 20, 2017
posted by christopherious at 1:01 AM on October 20, 2017
The Weather Channel is now only covering Puerto Rico: "America, this is still happening"
posted by homunculus at 12:29 PM on October 20, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 12:29 PM on October 20, 2017 [6 favorites]
A colleague in Puerto Rico was able to send up a tweet flare today, along with a blog post about her new daily routine:
The kids are enjoying the routine of back in school. They go Monday through Thursday, which gives us time on Friday to get together with friends. The days kind of run together without a continual check at the news or the calendar. I don’t mind it. It’s nice to wake up and just do what needs to be done for the day.posted by notyou at 11:16 AM on October 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
There’s no power or water service in our little Barrio, but some other areas are getting services back. Even in some parts of Rincon, there is water service back on. We make a trip two or three times weekly to the spring to fill up all our water containers. If it rains, we collect as much as we can. We have a good water filter (also a gift) so we can filter as much as we need for drinking water and use the rest for washing dishes, clothes, and ourselves. And, of course, for flushing toilets. I’ve gotta say, I never thought about how many times a day a family of 6 flushes the toilet… It’s a LOT. On a related note, I’m pretty sure that I’ve traded some fat cells for muscle cells on my upper arms. 🙂
On a typical day, we all wake up around the same time, usually around 7, from the combined energy of the sunshine and the music of the roosters, dogs, and chainsaws starting up for the day. There’s a mechanical music rhythm: chainsaws in the morning, generators in the night. But the coquis drown out the generators, and the roosters drown out the chainsaws.
I make a pot of coffee in a percolator on our gas stove. (I am SO thankful to have a stove that runs on propane!) Then I check our filtered water supply and usually start running some more through the filter, while the coffee percs. The kids shuffle in and eat breakfast, usually granola bars or trail mix and bananas or pineapple. It’s so hot and humid right now that fresh produce doesn’t keep for long without refrigeration. We try to pick up what we need for each day or two, no more.
Imagine a Puerto Rico Recovery Designed by Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rican Climate Activist: Aid Being Unfairly Distributed & Superfund Sites Continue to Overflow
posted by homunculus at 3:20 PM on October 24, 2017
Puerto Rican Climate Activist: Aid Being Unfairly Distributed & Superfund Sites Continue to Overflow
posted by homunculus at 3:20 PM on October 24, 2017
$300M Puerto Rico Recovery Contract Awarded to Tiny Utility Company Linked to Major Trump Donor: A tiny utility company linked to a prominent Trump campaign donor has been awarded the massive contract to help rebuild the crippled island.
posted by homunculus at 3:52 PM on October 24, 2017
posted by homunculus at 3:52 PM on October 24, 2017
Why Puerto Rico ‘doesn’t count’ to the US government
I began wondering: If the damage is that great, how much will overall U.S. gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation be affected by the devastation in Puerto Rico?posted by homunculus at 3:04 PM on October 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The answer surprised me: not at all.
U.S. government statistics generally do not include Puerto Rico’s numbers in national totals, even when they track them.
...
Exclusion or inclusion in key economic statistics is important. Being excluded means politicians in Washington have less incentive to fix Puerto Rico’s economic problems. No matter how bad the economic situation becomes on the island, exclusion means there is no impact on U.S. national statistics that could swing an election. And Puerto Ricans, living on the island, have no say in the U.S. general presidential election.
Puerto Rico Is Burning Its Dead, And We May Never Know How Many People The Hurricane Really Killed. People whose bodies are cremated are largely not being counted in the official death toll. The government says it’s the fault of funeral directors, while funeral directors say they’ve received no guidance from the government.
posted by homunculus at 3:07 PM on October 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 3:07 PM on October 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Condemns “Indefensible” Whitefish Contract & Calls for PREPA Chief’s Firing
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Trump, Shock Doctrine & “Disaster Capitalism” in Puerto Rico
posted by homunculus at 3:40 PM on October 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Trump, Shock Doctrine & “Disaster Capitalism” in Puerto Rico
posted by homunculus at 3:40 PM on October 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
Aida Chavez and Rachel M. Cohen in The Intercept: "Puerto Ricans Fear Schools Will Be Privatized in the Wake of Hurricane Maria"
The guerrilla campaign to open schools is running headlong into a separate effort from the top, to use the storm to accomplish the long-standing goal of privatizing Puerto Rico’s public schools, using New Orleans post-Katrina as a model. Last month, Puerto Rico’s Public-Private Partnerships Authority director spoke optimistically about leveraging federal money with companies interested in privatizing public infrastructure.posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:17 PM on November 8, 2017
Puerto Rico’s Education Secretary Julia Keleher has already called New Orleans’s school reform efforts a “point of reference” — tweeting last week that Puerto Ricans “should not underestimate the damage or the opportunity to create new, better schools.” She repeated these sentiments on Monday, saying that the aftermath of Maria provides a “real opportunity to press the reset button.”
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posted by numaner at 12:32 PM on October 13, 2017 [4 favorites]