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
  • omnibus

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

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

illustration of women political figures
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
International Working Women's Day
07 March 2025
Participants in an International Working Women's Day webinar explain the importance of the day in building international solidarity.
Colonialism is What’s Wrong With Puerto Rico
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Colonialism is What’s Wrong With Puerto Rico
23 July 2019
Progressive Puerto Ricans hope the mass protests that have rocked the colonized island will result in more than just the resignation of Governor Ri
Hurricane Aid Earmarked for Puerto Rico Debt Service
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Hurricane Aid Earmarked for Puerto Rico Debt Service
11 June 2018
The appointed board that controls Puerto Rico’s finances is trying to divert hurricane relief aid to pay off the islands debt, according to a repor

More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio June 6, 2025
    06 Jun 2025
    In this week’s segment, we hear about the repatriation of skulls taken from the bodies of Black New Orleanians 150 years ago and then sent to Germany for study in the practice of racist pseudo-…
  • Michael Langley
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Trump Continues U.S. Interference in Africa
    06 Jun 2025
    Our guest is Abayomi Azikiwe, publisher of Pan African Newswire. He joins us from Detroit to discuss Trump administration plans for the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, and remarks from its commander,…
  • Funeral for skulls brought back to Louisiana
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    New Orleans Buries African American Skulls Used in Racist Research
    06 Jun 2025
    Nineteen Black people who died at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December 1871 and January 1872 were decapitated and their skulls were removed and sent to Leipzig, Germany, where they…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Ukraine Terrorism and the Question of U.S. Involvement
    04 Jun 2025
    The U.S has been involved in every aspect of Ukraine’s military activity against Russia. The recent drone attacks and sabotage were likely committed with U.S. help. Of course, is possible that…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    MEMOIR: The Making of a Rebel, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1980
    04 Jun 2025
    “We cannot write in foreign languages unspoken and unknown by peasants and workers in our communities and pretend that we are writing for…those peasants and workers.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us