Daily Skimm Weekend: The autumn leaves of red and gold

Puerto Rico

Blackout: Nearly a week after Hurricane Fiona pummeled Puerto Rico, more than a quarter of the island still doesn’t have power. A third are without water. And millions are once again picking up the pieces after a natural disaster. All of which is putting a renewed spotlight on the island’s fragile state — and its complicated ties to the US.

The Story

Just over five years ago, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. It caused an estimated 3,000 deaths, at least $90 billion in damage, and one of the longest blackouts in US history. It took years — basically, up until now — for PR to even start to recover. And the power grid (controversially controlled by a private company) has been unreliable. The slow, painful path to recovery was still going on when Hurricane Fiona hit this week and undid years of hard work. Since many thought the federal response to Maria was “deeply inadequate,” people are worried this time could be no different. That’s reigniting a debate over the island’s ties to the US.

Explain.

For more than a century, Puerto Rico has been a US territory. Meaning, Puerto Ricans are American citizens by birth and can travel freely within the US. But the island doesn't have any voting power in Congress and its residents can’t vote for president — even though the US controls things like Puerto Rico’s trade, mail service, and access to federal resources. Puerto Ricans don’t get the same access to things like disability benefits and food assistance that Americans do in the states. (Despite the fact that they pay billions annually in federal taxes that fund programs like Social Security and Medicare.) And 40% of the island’s population lives in poverty — so when disaster strikes, it’s especially hard to bounce back.

Is anything being done?

For a few years now, many have called for Puerto Ricans to have more of a political say. In 2020, the island held its sixth referendum for statehood and voted in favor for the third time (though, some actually prefer independence). There’s a bill in Congress that could start to make statehood a reality — and then-candidate Joe Biden supported the idea on the campaign trail. But given Congress’s slow approach to just about everything...it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Arizona. Where a judge’s ruling has effectively outlawed all abortions. The decision is likely to be appealed. But in the meantime, doctors and clinicians will have to stop providing abortions or risk criminal charges. And people seeking the procedure will have to go to other states. All to comply with an abortion ban that was first enacted in 1864, decades before Arizona even became a state. (Yes, you read that right.) But it’d been blocked for nearly 50 years thanks to Roe v. Wade. Now, a judge has said that it can be enforced again, since Roe no longer stands. And people no longer have a Constitutional right to abortion.