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Introduction
We will be doing an audio podcast about imperialism in Puerto Rico. First, we will 
mention the Bad Bunny documentary that we watched in class together as a hook to introduce 
the history behind Puerto Rico. We will speak about how the US has gained control of Puerto 
Rico, being oppressed by the US, and how this has led to discrimination, displacement, erasure, 
and more. 
Current Events and the State of Puerto Rico
We will then move on to discussing the current events in Puerto Rico and the state that 
Puerto Rico is in. Ashish will go into how Puerto Rico is a popular tourist place, how traveling is
easier for US citizens as it is a domestic territory, and how U.S citizens don’t have to pay federal 
taxes, inviting many wealthy visitors and remote workers to Puerto Rico. Then, Victoria will go 
into how the two main discussion topics are displacement and gentrification, with the mention of 
Bad Bunny’s documentary about a family that is being evicted due to rising rent prices. Victoria 
will then go in-depth about Act 22, which is now a part of Act 60, which offers tax breaks to 
wealthy people moving to Puerto Rico. Later, we will take a break, with Leena and Victoria 
introducing us to a fun advertisement, which implies how wealthy people moving to the US will 
displace Puerto Ricans and how new apartments were built from destroying former schools.
Sterilization
We will now go into sterilization, introducing Operation Bootstrap, in which Puerto 
Rican women were sterilized without permission to stop them from giving birth, eliminating the 
Puerto Rican population. We speak about the underlying reasons why the US did this. We will 
discuss how the US are looking for ways to benefit economically, with them also wanting to take
advantage of the laws, land, and resources in Puerto Rico, and how they make horrible decisions 


just for their gain. In addition, many of these sterilizations went to working-class Black and 
Latina women as well, which also brings up the issue of the mistrust of women of color in the 
US medical system.



Work Cited
Thomas, Piri, and Suzie Dod. “Puerto Rico — 500 Years Of Oppression.” Social Justice, vol. 19,
no. 2 (48), 1992, pp. 73–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/29766676. Accessed 21 Apr. 
2025.
Thimmesch, Nick. “Puerto Rico and Birth Control.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 30, 
no. 2, 1968, pp. 252–62. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/349251. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Dinzey-Flores, Zaire. “Islands of Prestige, Gated Ghettos, and Nonurban Lifestyles in Puerto 
Rico.” Latin American Perspectives, vol. 40, no. 2, 2013, pp. 95–104. JSTOR, 
http://www.jstor.org/stable/23466024. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
What Climate Change Means for Puerto Rico, 
19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-
pr.pdf. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. 
Chomphosy. “Taxes in Puerto Rico.” PUERTO RICO REPORT, 11 Apr. 2025, 
puertoricoreport.com/taxes-in-puerto-rico/. 
Jstor Home, www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40992748.pdf. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025. 
Manjeshwar, Sanjana. “America’s Forgotten History of Forced Sterilization - Berkeley Political 
Review.” Berkeley Political Review - UC Berkeley’s Only Nonpartisan Political Magazine, 
Berkeley Political Review, 30 June 2022, bpr.studentorg.berkeley.edu/2020/11/04/americas-
forgotten-history-of-forced-sterilization/. 



Germain, Edward St. “No Taxation without Representation - Meaning, Origins & More.” 
AmericanRevolution.Org, www.americanrevolution.org/no-taxation-without-representation/. 
Accessed 25 Apr. 2025. 
“Taxation without Representation in Puerto Rico?” Puerto Rico 51st, 15 Oct. 2021, 
www.pr51st.com/taxation-without-representation-in-puerto-rico/.

BLS 1003 - Imperialism in Puerto Rico Podcast

Summary
 Puerto Rico is currently facing an economic crisis with poor economic growth. I believe that the
U.S. imperialist colonial policy toward Puerto Rico is the cause of Puerto Rico's economic crisis.
To be more specific, the U.S. dismantled Puerto Rico's economy through the Jones-Shafroth Act 
of 1917, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, and the Operation Bootstrap of the 1940s.
 First of all, the United States won the Spanish-American War of 1898 and was able to gain 
control of Puerto Rico through the Treaty of Paris. After the acquisition of control, the United 
States took Puerto Ricans’ land to grow sugarcane on Puerto Rico's land and exploited their labor
in order to gain profit from the land. While Puerto Ricans were suffering from this hardship 
situation, in 1917, the United States introduced the Jones-Shafroth Act, which grants Puerto 
Ricans American citizenship and allows them to establish an autonomous government. As a 
result, Puerto Rico was subject to U.S. federal law and was required to fulfill its obligations as a 
U.S. citizen, but it did not receive the same benefits as a U.S. citizen. The Jones Act also made 
Puerto Rico subject to provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The bill forced Puerto 
Rico to import and export U.S. port-to-port transportation only by U.S. ships, which eventually 
led to an increase in consumer prices. Finally, the Operation Bootstrap project, which was 
implemented in the 1940s, made the Puerto Rico to change from an agricultural economy to an 
industrial economy. It was achieved by providing tax incentives to attract U.S. companies to start
their businesses in Puerto Rico. However, with the gradual abolition of tax cuts in 1996, U.S 
corporations started to leave Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico's high dependence on the U.S. made 
their economy even more difficult. For Puerto Rico's economy to revive, I believe that Puerto 
Rico should either be incorporated into a formal U.S. state or become completely independent 
from the U.S.




Works Cited
International Monetary Fund. “Https://Www.imf.org/External/Datamapper/Profile/PRI.” 
Www.imf.org, www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/PRI.
Palmer, Gary. “A Forward Thinking Solution for Puerto Rico.” Congressman Gary Palmer, 7 
June 2016, palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/forward-thinking-solution-
puerto-rico. Accessed 2 May 2025.
Pr51st. “Puerto Rico Statehood: Pros and Cons | Puerto Rico 51st.” Www.pr51st.com, 4 Apr. 
2022, www.pr51st.com/puerto-rico-statehood-pros-and-cons/.
Puerto Rico Report. “A Page from History: Operation Bootstrap - PUERTO RICO REPORT.” 
PUERTO RICO REPORT, 26 Aug. 2024, puertoricoreport.com/a-page-from-history-
operation-bootstrap/.
Reyes, Jacoub. “Puerto Rico and the American Plantation System.” UCSF Library, 29 Mar. 
2023, www.library.ucsf.edu/news/puerto-rico-and-the-american-plantation-system/.
Schoen, John W. “Here’s How an Obscure Tax Change Sank Puerto Rico’s Economy.” 
Www.cnbc.com, 26 Sept. 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/09/26/heres-how-an-obscure-tax-
change-sank-puerto-ricos-economy.html.
Yglesias, Matthew. “The Jones Act, the Obscure 1920 Shipping Regulation Strangling Puerto 
Rico, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 27 Sept. 2017, 
www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/27/16373484/jones-act-puerto-rico.

The Impact of US Imperialism on the Puerto Rican Economy

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