“Blackout in Puerto Rico” is a documentary produced by PBS to keep track of Puerto Rico’s coping strategies after surviving Maria and Irma, some of the deadliest hurricanes affecting the region, in 2017. In spite of power-related changes that Latin American states have seen between the times of imperialism in the nineteenth century and the 2010s covered in the film, many things, such as limited access to basic products, remain the same (“Blackout in Puerto Rico” 00:05:00). Puerto Ricans experienced a range of devastating Atlantic hurricanes in the imperialist past, including St. Lucia and Santa Rosa, causing intense human suffering. In the 2010s, despite enjoying external assistance from the FEMA in the post-Irma and post-Maria periods, Puerto Ricans still could not receive enough help (“Blackout in Puerto Rico” 00:06:00). Among other things, it was manifested in the absence of safe and clean water delivered to them (“Blackout in Puerto Rico” 00:06:00). Thus, despite massive technological progress since the era of imperialism, Latin America still lacks effective and human-centered emergency response strategies.
In terms of relationships between the U.S. and Latin America, the documentary reveals the former’s ongoing attempts to benefit from the latter’s resources. Based on Sergio Marxuach’s perspective, U.S.-based investors’ interest in developing Latin American territories dropped as Puerto Rico’s bonds acquired more risks attached to them (“Blackout in Puerto Rico” 00:17:13). The U.S. continues viewing Puerto Rico’s people as citizens “with a different set of rights” and ignoring belonging-related inconsistencies in Puerto Rico’s status under admiralty and tax laws (“Blackout in Puerto Rico” 00:12:22). To some degree, the U.S. seems to continue building relationships with Latin America based on the latter’s strategic and economic value, thus treating these countries, especially Puerto Rico, as wallets. In this regard, the documentary can become an eye-opening resource for common U.S. citizens.
Work Cited
“Blackout in Puerto Rico (Full Documentary, Spanish Captions Available).”YouTube, uploaded by Frontline PBS, Web.