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


  • Gary Wilson
    The Alaska summit and the crumbling proxy war in Ukraine
    20 Aug 2025
    Washington's strategy of endless war in Ukraine is collapsing under its own weight. The Alaska summit isn't a victory for diplomacy but a stark admission of its defeat.
  • State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China
    Full text: The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2024
    20 Aug 2025
    A new report from Beijing reveals the hypocrisy of U.S. human rights rhetoric, revealing a nation where gun violence, political corruption, and poverty are not anomalies but features of a broken…
  • Mohammed El-Kurd
    Guilty by Affiliation
    13 Aug 2025
    The Israeli murder of heroic Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif was bookended by accusations that he was part of Hamas. For many of our allies, the instinct is to prove his innocence by proving…
  • Edzorna Francis Mensah
    Understanding the plot to break Ghana and destroy the AES Countries
    13 Aug 2025
    When Ghanaian hospitals run out of basics and power grids fail, it’s not mismanagement; it’s the deliberate unraveling by the west of a society that dared to partner with anti-imperialist neighbors.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Trump and Democrats Fuel the Washington DC Crime Panic
    13 Aug 2025
    Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department is not merely a result of his racist and authoritarian tendencies, nor is it new. It is part and parcel of a history of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us