Plan B: The Economic Development of the Eastern Region of Puerto Rico Through the Decolonization of Vieques (ePub)

Vieques, PR is an island community of over 8,000 US citizens who do not enjoy the privileges of self-determination. Laws and regulations are enacted by the US Congress and administrative agencies, while we have no vote. We are small and removed from the government of Puerto Rico who controls and exploits us, treating our inhabitants as inmates. Our needs are overshadowed by powerful special interests on the main island. The PR government does NOT govern for or with us, but rather does unto us whatever it wishes. Our schools are the worst of the worst, our medical care is dismal, our infrastructure is decayed, our crime rate is horrible, and access to services on the main island is restricted by the collapsed government run ferry service.

Vieques is a colony of a colony, and we need to become an independent country, as the US has repeatedly offered to PR as an option. The efforts we've made over the many decades within the system to improve our condition have been stifled by the Commonwealth and/or Federal governments. It's time to think and act outside of the normal system: outside of the box.

There is an abundance of opportunity awaiting us. The possibilities are exciting to envision, but most concepts flounder in a sea of funding uncertainty. Fortunately, we have a plan to leverage government obligations to make us financially and environmentally sustainable as an independent country.