What the Puerto Rican hurricanes make visible: Chronicle of a public health disaster foretold

Publication date: Available online 12 June 2019Source: Social Science & MedicineAuthor(s): Joan Benach, Marinilda Rivera Díaz, Nylca J. Muñoz, Eliana Martínez-Herrera, Juan Manuel PericàsAbstractGarcía Márquez's novel, “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, narrates the multiple strands of a story leading up to a murder in a small Caribbean village. The novel shows both the incredulity of those who do not believe it possible that this tragic death could occur, and the impotence of those who see it coming but can do nothing to prevent it. Something akin to this double incapacity seems to be occurring today in Puerto Rico. In September 2017, the passage of Hurricanes Irma and María caused a public health disaster with large-scale death and destruction. Paradoxically, this catastrophe has made visible the need to evaluate the critical socio-environmental situation of this country, and to analyse the underlying social factors contributing to the problems caused by the hurricanes. Why did neither the US nor the Puerto Rican government react as expected when faced with such a serious situation? For decades, this country has been suppressed by colonial domination, exploitation of the workforce, and health discrimination. It has been a “laboratory”, where colonial practices have institutionalized social control, racism, and inequality, with profound negative effects on society, quality of life and health equality. Poverty and unemployment have always been very high, and thou...
Source: Social Science and Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research