A Puerto Rican flag was draped outside a community gallery in Caguas, Ruerto Rico, on June 7. Puerto Ricans have been sharply divided over White House-backed legislation designed to reboot their economy.
By Stephen Kinzer, The Boston Globe
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‘DO NOT MAKE peace until we get Porto Rico,” Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 1898 to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, his closest friend and political partner. Lodge’s answer was reassuring: “Porto Rico is not forgotten and we mean to have it.”
A few weeks after that exchange, American troops landed in Puerto Rico, seized it, and proclaimed it part of the United States. The colonial experiment has not gone well. By most standards - health, education, per capita income, rates of violent crime - Puerto Rico compares poorly to even the most backward US states. Now it is broke.
Puerto Rico’s governor has restricted withdrawals from the government development bank and placed the highway authority in a “state of emergency” so creditors cannot seize its assets. Hundreds of businesses have closed. Schools lack electricity. Hospitals have reduced their services. The Zika virus is spreading and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may afflict one-fourth of the population by the end of this year. Planeloads of Puerto Ricans are emigrating each week, including many teachers and other professionals. The remaining population is older, poorer, and more in need of services the government cannot provide.
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