Understanding the impacts of human rights violations in Puerto Rico through the analysis of Hurricane Maria: identifying Puerto Rican resistance

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which Hurricane Maria revealed the impacts of human rights violations in Puerto Rico. Through the analysis of colonial history, austerity measures, and neoliberal ideologies, sources of vulnerability in Puerto Rico are identified and Hurricane Maria’s impact is denaturalized. I identify local interventions based in grass roots and mutual aid models of solidarity that work to minimize Puerto Rican vulnerabilities. Interventions based in social work are also identified as possibilities to reduce vulnerabilities. Using a human rights framework, recommendations for policymaking are additionally presented.