Unmasking PROMESA: The unelected board perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico first became a US colony in 1898—and remains so well into the 21st century. Today, that colonial relationship is structured through PROMESA, an unelected board that controls the island’s budget and has unleashed a vicious cycle of debt and privatization that has mired Puerto Ricans in poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment. Rafael Bernabe joins Solidarity Without Exception to discuss PROMESA’s role in perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico, and the longer history of the island’s oppression under US rule.Rafael Bernabe is a Puerto Rican activist, sociologist and historian. He was one of four island-wide representatives of the Movimiento Victoria Cuidadana (MVC) who won office in the 2020 elections. He is the author of Walt Whitman and His Caribbean and co-author of Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898 with César J. Ayala.Read the transcript of this podcast here. Credits:Hosted by Blanca MisséPre-Production: Blanca MisséAudio Post-Production: Alina NehlichMusic Credits: Venticinque Aprile (“Bella Ciao” Orchestral Cover) by Savfk |https://www.youtube.com/savfkmusicMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/solidarity-without-exception--6535723/support.Become a member and join the Solidarity Without Exception Supporters Club today!Follow Solidarity Without Exception on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetwork