The transcript of Dialogos Radio’s interview with Déborah Berman-Santana, retired professor of Geography and Ethnic Studies at Mills College in Oakland, California, who spoke with us about the economic crisis and long history of colonial subjugation in Puerto Rico and the many similarities which exist with Greece. This interview aired on our broadcasts for the week of October 8-14, 2015. Find the podcast of this interview here.
MN: Joining us today on Dialogos Radio and the Dialogos Interview Series is Déborah Berman-Santana, recently retired professor of Geography and Ethnic Studies at Mills College in Oakland, California, who will speak to us about what has been happening recently in Puerto Rico, economically and politically, and the comparisons that have been made to the situation in Greece. Déborah, welcome to our program today.
DBS: Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here.
MN: To get us started, Puerto Rico is, of course, not an independent or sovereign country, but a colonial territory of the United States. Share with us a brief history of the colonial exploitation, if you will, of Puerto Rico.