PUERTO RICANS are all too conscious that the mainland treats them like second-class citizens. That sad fact was laid bare with the recent leak of coarse and dismissive messages exchanged among Gov. The leak was seemingly the last straw for Puerto Ricans weary of government that doesn’t serve their interests. A federal oversight board was created by Congress in 2016 to help manage Puerto Rico’s recovery from its debt crisis, but its effectiveness has been hampered. Puerto Ricans, said one protester, have been “putting up and holding back” for “too many years,” and it took the devastation of Hurricane Maria to open their eyes to how thoroughly government had failed them.

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2019 23:03 UTC