Waves of Disaster: The Normalization of exceptionality and (In)Security in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Puerto Rico’s (PR) recent history (from 2016 to 2020) and its experience with a continuity of crises and disasters demonstrate the normalization of the use of the state of exception and executive orders to deal with threats to public safety and security. This paper looks at the United States and PR governmental imposition of the state of exception to: address the economic crisis; administer the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017); police the anti-corruption mobilizations that ousted Governor Ricardo Rosselló in the summer of 2019; respond to the recent earthquakes (2019/2020) in the southern region of the Island, and to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. As a whole, my analysis shows how this normalization of exceptionality, and the militarization of policing during periods of “emergency” instead of guarantying public safety and security, creates the conditions for further waves of disaster.

Keywords

• State of exception
• disaster management
• public insecurity
• corruption
• Puerto Rico