State of Exception, Necropolitics, and Puerto Rico: Naturalizing Disaster and Naturalizing Difference

ABSTRACT

Right after Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico and Florida, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico in September 2017. Around the same time Harvey hit Texas. The vast difference in the treatment of Puerto Rico as a US territory, compared to Florida and Texas on the “mainland,” sparked conversations about the location of Puerto Rico in the US imagination and policies. The media coverage of the disaster and the statements from officials made it clear that while certain populations are protected and saved, certain others are abandoned and “let die.” To provide an explanation for these different treatments, I explore two “naturalizing” processes. First, I show how the historical construction of Puerto Ricans as “naturally” inferior disguised their century-long exploitation. Second, I examine how the framing of Hurricane Maria as a “natural” disaster on the one hand concealed historical interventions by the United States in Puerto Rico and on the other hand, ignored how disaster capitalism has caused an increase in the intensity and frequency of disasters. I suggest that state of exception and abandonment are two concepts that can provide an explanation about how these converging processes have made disasters the norm in the colony, rather than an anomaly.

KEYWORDS:

• Colonialism
• capitalism
• “natural” disasters
• necropolitics
• Puerto Rico

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to my teacher and mentor, Dr. Elizabeth Aranda, for her encouragement and insight. I am also grateful to the reviewers and editors of the journal whose comments added depth to the analysis.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).