Students protest massive budget cuts at the University of Puerto Rico in May 2017, one result of a debt crisis manufactured by US imperialism
PUERTO RICO— In the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastating blow to the island, almost the whole population is without power –perhaps for months. Supplies of food, medicine and drinking water are running low. The working class, using all the creativity and collectivity it can muster, is in a desperate situation.
Trump’s racist- capitalist response: “Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with.”
The Puerto Rican working class owes NOTHING to Wall Street and the banks, which have been exploiting and extorting it for over a century. They are held hostage to US imperialism, which – by law – charges them 20% more than mainland prices for consumer goods.
That’s an extra $7 billion per year, of which 85% goes to US corporations. Median household income in Puerto Rico is HALF of that in the poorest US state (Mississippi).
In 2008, Puerto Rico received a total of $4.6 billion in federal dollars. That same year, it sent $71.6 billion back to the US economy – mostly profits. Every penny of the bosses’ profits come from exploiting workers’ labor. Some 72,000 industrial workers in Puerto Rico produce almost half its gross domestic product.
How should workers “deal with” Wall Street and the banks? By mobilizing masses for a communist society where our collectivity and creativity will be unchecked by money and markets. Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, that’s more urgent than ever.
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