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Dr. Yarimar Bonilla wrote a guest essay recently for The New York Times entitled “Blackouts and the Collapse of Puerto Rico’s Colonial Bargain.” We’ve posted her essay on our website just in case any of our viewers missed it (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/puerto-rico-blackout.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Bk8.V-iN.Uh_d_f9COepM&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Opinion | Blackouts and the Collapse of Puerto Rico’s Colonial Bargain For over half a century, the island’s commonwealth status was justified by promises of security, stability and the material comforts of modern life. www.nytimes.com

). In another cruel twist, not mentioned by Dr. Bonilla in her guest essay, the New York Times is generally not available for home delivery in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Bonilla’s essay assails the unique relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. So we thought it might be helpful to correct the narrative she cunningly wove in support of what seems to be her near-religious fervor against Puerto Rico’s only benefactor. 

Dr. Bonilla calls Puerto Rico a colony of the United States. It is not. It was, however, a colony of the Spanish Empire for almost 500 years until it was liberated by the United States in the Spanish-American war. After liberating Puerto Rico from its Spanish overlords, the US granted Puerto Rico nearly unfettered autonomy to govern its internal affairs, and made Puerto Rico a Commonwealth and territory protected by the then most powerful military in the Western Hemisphere and, ultimately, in the world. For this, Puerto Ricans pay not a single dime in income taxes to the US. Indeed, unlike every colony since the world began, Puerto Rico isn’t even required to provide resources to its supposed imperial masters ruling from Washington, DC. We are sure Madrid wasn’t so benign.

On the other hand, Puerto Rico receives millions upon millions of dollars, billions even, from the United States in direct aid, every year. This firehose of US cash is meant to support Puerto Rico’s infrastructure; it’s roads, power grid, schools and just about anything else some Puerto Ricans, despite paying no income taxes to the US, may have come to take for granted. And this support doesn’t even contemplate the protection Puerto Rico receives from the world’s greatest military from any hostile forces that might wish it harm. Venezuela, anyone?

But Dr. Bonilla doesn’t mention any of that in her essay. Instead, she rails against the US for not providing sufficient financial support to support Dr. Bonilla’s aging mother with the “dignity” she deserves. We’re not against the elderly living in comfort with dignity. We wonder, though, who might bear more of the responsibility for providing those comforts and dignity to Dr. Bonilla’s mother: Dr. Bonilla or the US government? No power for her respirator and cooking her food on a camping stove? You’re her daughter, for God’s sake! Do something! 

And, by the way, what happens to the millions and millions of dollars gushing into Puerto Rico in aid of its infrastructure, schools, and power grid? Uh oh. Maybe somebody should check in with the island’s politicians about that. Also, Dr. Bonilla, maybe if you spent less time writing silly essays distorting Puerto Rico’s history and more time actually caring for your aging mother (the occasional guilt-ridden phone call doesn’t count as caring), your mother might not feel so abandoned.

In short, if Puerto Rico lacks “security, stability, and the material comforts of modern life” as charged by Dr. Bonilla, it isn’t the fault of the US. The US doesn’t cause Puerto Rico to experience storms and earthquakes. When they do happen, though, guess who’s standing there handing out even more money and resources to help repair the damage and hopefully make improvements to lessen the loss of life and property damage the next time? You guessed it! It’s good old Uncle Sam!

One final thought. Dr. Bonilla complains about the possibility that Act 60 might be extended for another 20 years. The horror! A law that incentivizes wealthy residents of the US to relocate themselves, their fortunes, and sometimes their businesses to Puerto Rico. Would Puerto Ricans really be better off without this additional on-boarding of wealth to their island? Act 60 participants pay income and other taxes to Puerto Rico. But even more crucially, they spend the money they’re not paying in federal income taxes to entertain themselves in Puerto Rico. Directly to Puerto Ricans! 

So be careful, Dr. Bonilla, about what you ask for. You might actually awaken the sleeping US taxpayers who take the time to read your essay. Taxpayers who were previously and blissfully unaware of the money their own government spends (some might say wastes?) in the socialist kleptocracy that Puerto Rico’s politicians have developed over many years. These US taxpayers may even join in your dream and elect politicians who will finally free Puerto Rico from its, er, US “chains.” And who are we to say? Maybe Puerto Rican President Bad Bunny will have an amazing plan to save Puerto Rico’s failing infrastructure, power grid and schools. And after all of that is figured out, the politicians in Puerto Rico can come up with a strategy to protect the island from storms, earthquakes and Venezuelan soldiers.