Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Puerto Rico Crippled Before Hurricane Hit
Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
12 Dec 2017
🖨️ Print Article

Harsh austerity measures imposed by a federal financial oversight board set Puerto Rico up for disaster, said Lara Merling, a researcher for the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. A new study shows about 1,000 more deaths resulted from Hurricane Irma than were officially reported. “It’s not surprising that the Puerto Rican government had no ability to respond” to the storm, as a result of the spending cuts, said Merling.

Puerto Rico

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio March 6, 2026
06 March 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss past and present U.S.
Puerto Rico independence movement
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution and Struggle for Independence in Puerto Rico
06 March 2026
Brianna Alvarado Ramos of Diaspora Pa’lante Collective discusses the challenges
BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio September 19, 2025
20 September 2025
In this week’s segment, we discuss a new book that analyzes the latest iteration of fascism currently emerging in the United States.

More Stories


  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Fujimorismo 2.0: The Age of Keiko Fujimori: The Hard Right Advances in Latin America and the Caribbean, strengthening the Shield of the Americas
    01 Jul 2026
    Keiko Fujimori won the Peruvian presidency with help from the U.S. ambassador. Her victory solidifies the U.S. Shield of the Americas that is recolonizing the region.
  • Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Trump and America’s Fascist Forefathers
    01 Jul 2026
    Donald Trump is not an anomaly, but the heir of fascism which began in 1776 and continued throughout U.S. history.
  • Nick Estes
    The Indian Wars Continue: 150 Years After Victory at Greasy Grass
    01 Jul 2026
    What the Indian wars teach us about today's forever wars.
  • Elias Isquith
    White supremacy and slavery: Gerald Horne on the real story of American independence
    01 Jul 2026
    It's time to revisit America's heroic creation myth and what really happened in 1776, author-historian tells Salon.
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Slaveholders Who Signed the Declaration of Independence: Washington, Jefferson, and the People they Owned
    01 Jul 2026
    Black Agenda Report editors Margaret Kimberley and Ann Garrison discuss the personal and institutional hypocrisy that allowed those who said, "All men are created equal," to be slaveholders.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us