Fantasy Island: Colonialism, Exploitation, and the Betrayal of Puerto Rico

The tragedy of US involvement in Puerto Rico, tracing the decades of economic and political exploitation that led to the debt crisis, hobbled the hurricane recovery efforts, and forced the island into a state of despair.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 17 October 2019
Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.

For the past century,Puerto Rico has been a testing ground for the most aggressive and exploitative U.S. economic, political, and social policies. Hurricane María in 2017 exposed the devastation of the island, revealing how the entire island was deteriorating and the merciless path of destruction created by the island's debt crisis could no longer be covered up.

In his book "Fantasy Island," journalist Ed Morales uncovers the roots of the crisis. Puerto Rico has been a colonial satellite, a dumping ground for U.S. manufactured goods, a tax shelter, and now a blank canvas for disaster capitalism on the frontlines of climate change. The suffering and struggle of Puerto Ricans are colossal evidence of the colonial wound the U.S. has inflicted on much of Latin America, and a nagging harbinger of the potential fate of the rest of the United States.

Morales takes readers from San Juan to New York City and back, showing us both the machinations of financial leaders and politicians in the U.S. and the resistance efforts of activists in Puerto Rico. The fate of Puerto Rico depends on how it survives the critical years ahead, and "Fantasy Island" is a necessary account of the forces that brought the island to its knees.

Weight: 570g
Dimension: 163 x 243 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781568588995