Living in the Northeast I know a lot of people with roots in Puerto Rico so this book was something I decided to pick this up. I am not well acquainted with the island's story but it fits very much into the US history of colonialism and predatory capitalism especially in the days since Reagan. Puerto Rico's status has always been problematic since the US took it in the Spanish American War but it has been more of a problem in the neoliberal era and acute under Trump especially when hurricane Ma

Living in the Northeast I know a lot of people with roots in Puerto Rico so this book was something I decided to pick this up. I am not well acquainted with the island's story but it fits very much into the US history of colonialism and predatory capitalism especially in the days since Reagan. Puerto Rico's status has always been problematic since the US took it in the Spanish American War but it has been more of a problem in the neoliberal era and acute under Trump especially when hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on its underinvested electrical grid. Its people are US citizens but because they are not a state they are subject to one-sided treatment by the Federal Government without representation in congress. A lot of Neoliberal policies have gutted its infrastructure and education system and many have left the island for the mainland and billionaires are moving in. As I said I am only a little acquainted with the island but the situation is unsustainable and probably a more acute version of what is going happening on the mainland.