Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment
Puerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory, faces systemic governmental neglect that disproportionately affects public health, particularly in the wake of disasters. Systemic patterns of political corruption, and post-disaster mismanagement, rooted in colonial governance, have shaped PR’s longstand...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595830/full |
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| author | Sergio Rivera-Rodríguez Adrian Santiago-Santiago Sheilla R-Madera Mark Padilla Nelson Varas-Díaz Kariela Rivera-Bustelo Claudia Mercado-Rios John Vertovec Arturo Massol-Deyá Jeffrey Ramos Genevieve Reid Rebecca Rodríguez-Banch Kevin Grove Emil Varas-Rodríguez |
| author_facet | Sergio Rivera-Rodríguez Adrian Santiago-Santiago Sheilla R-Madera Mark Padilla Nelson Varas-Díaz Kariela Rivera-Bustelo Claudia Mercado-Rios John Vertovec Arturo Massol-Deyá Jeffrey Ramos Genevieve Reid Rebecca Rodríguez-Banch Kevin Grove Emil Varas-Rodríguez |
| author_sort | Sergio Rivera-Rodríguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Puerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory, faces systemic governmental neglect that disproportionately affects public health, particularly in the wake of disasters. Systemic patterns of political corruption, and post-disaster mismanagement, rooted in colonial governance, have shaped PR’s longstanding vulnerability reflecting in frequent power outages and energy delays. This study examines political abandonment feelings in Puerto Rico through the lens of energy insecurity and disaster governance, focusing on the rural municipality of Adjuntas. Using Atiles’ framework of Normalization of Exceptionality and (In)Security, we investigate how state inaction, privatization, and bureaucratic inefficiencies perpetuate vulnerability in disaster-prone communities. Using qualitative in depth-interviews with Adjuntas’ residents living with chronic conditions (n = 45) and stakeholders (n = 15), we explore the impact of political abandonment in energy instability. We employed thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes within the dataset. We focus on three primary themes: feelings of political abandonment, political corruption, and community response. Many participants expressed feeling abandoned by the government, particularly in the wake of energy crises and disaster recovery failures. Our findings reveal that political abandonment is not merely a failure of governance but an intentional strategy that limits recovery efforts and sustains structural inequalities. The privatization of PR’s electrical grid has exacerbated disparities, reinforcing patterns of disaster capitalism. Casa Pueblo, a community organization, demonstrate community-driven resilience, offering a model of decentralized energy solutions that counteract state neglect. These findings contribute to broader discussions on disaster governance, energy justice, and health disparities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e56a9aa8422b4305b17b29c96db89ef2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e56a9aa8422b4305b17b29c96db89ef22025-08-20T03:17:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15958301595830Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonmentSergio Rivera-Rodríguez0Adrian Santiago-Santiago1Sheilla R-Madera2Mark Padilla3Nelson Varas-Díaz4Kariela Rivera-Bustelo5Claudia Mercado-Rios6John Vertovec7Arturo Massol-Deyá8Jeffrey Ramos9Genevieve Reid10Rebecca Rodríguez-Banch11Kevin Grove12Emil Varas-Rodríguez13CUNY School of Public Health, New York, NY, United StatesPonce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesPonce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesUniversity of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, Mayagüez, PR, United StatesUniversity of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesFlorida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesMayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United StatesPuerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory, faces systemic governmental neglect that disproportionately affects public health, particularly in the wake of disasters. Systemic patterns of political corruption, and post-disaster mismanagement, rooted in colonial governance, have shaped PR’s longstanding vulnerability reflecting in frequent power outages and energy delays. This study examines political abandonment feelings in Puerto Rico through the lens of energy insecurity and disaster governance, focusing on the rural municipality of Adjuntas. Using Atiles’ framework of Normalization of Exceptionality and (In)Security, we investigate how state inaction, privatization, and bureaucratic inefficiencies perpetuate vulnerability in disaster-prone communities. Using qualitative in depth-interviews with Adjuntas’ residents living with chronic conditions (n = 45) and stakeholders (n = 15), we explore the impact of political abandonment in energy instability. We employed thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes within the dataset. We focus on three primary themes: feelings of political abandonment, political corruption, and community response. Many participants expressed feeling abandoned by the government, particularly in the wake of energy crises and disaster recovery failures. Our findings reveal that political abandonment is not merely a failure of governance but an intentional strategy that limits recovery efforts and sustains structural inequalities. The privatization of PR’s electrical grid has exacerbated disparities, reinforcing patterns of disaster capitalism. Casa Pueblo, a community organization, demonstrate community-driven resilience, offering a model of decentralized energy solutions that counteract state neglect. These findings contribute to broader discussions on disaster governance, energy justice, and health disparities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595830/fulldisasterspolitical abandonmentenergy insecuritysolar powerrural communitiesaging population |
| spellingShingle | Sergio Rivera-Rodríguez Adrian Santiago-Santiago Sheilla R-Madera Mark Padilla Nelson Varas-Díaz Kariela Rivera-Bustelo Claudia Mercado-Rios John Vertovec Arturo Massol-Deyá Jeffrey Ramos Genevieve Reid Rebecca Rodríguez-Banch Kevin Grove Emil Varas-Rodríguez Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment Frontiers in Public Health disasters political abandonment energy insecurity solar power rural communities aging population |
| title | Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment |
| title_full | Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment |
| title_fullStr | Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment |
| title_short | Disaster governance, energy insecurity, and public health in rural Puerto Rico: how communities resist political abandonment |
| title_sort | disaster governance energy insecurity and public health in rural puerto rico how communities resist political abandonment |
| topic | disasters political abandonment energy insecurity solar power rural communities aging population |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595830/full |
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