State of Exception as Economic Policy: A Socio-Legal Analysis of the Puerto Rican Colonial Case

Authors

  • Jose Manuel Atiles-Osoria University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

Keywords:

State of Exception, Colonialism, Economic Crisis, Puerto Rico, Depoliticization, Estado de excepción, colonialismo, crisis económicas y financieras, despolitización

Abstract

This article argues that the Puerto Rican colonial-economic, political and legal development has been based on the state of exception. By analyzing the Puerto Rican constitutional history and the sociopolitical events taking place after the 1980’s it shows that in PR, a double exceptionality operates: a colonial state of exception, which refers to the US’s uses of this paradigm as a colonial domination technique; and an internal state of exception, which refers to the uses of this paradigm by the Puerto Rican government as a dispositive to tackle economic and financial crises. This innovative approach portrays a more complex understanding of the state of exception, one that better portrays the intertwined relations between colonialism, economy and law.

Este artículo muestra que el estado de excepción es la base del desarrollo económico, jurídico, político y colonial de Puerto Rico (en adelante, PR). A partir del análisis de la historia constitucional de PR y los eventos sociopolíticos que han ocurrido a partir de la década del 1980 muestra que en PR opera una doble excepcionalidad: el estado de excepción colonial, o el uso de este paradigma por parte de EEUU como técnica de dominación colonial; y, el estado de excepción interno, o el uso de este paradigma por parte de los gobiernos locales para atender las crisis económicas y financieras. Esta aproximación innovadora representa una comprensión más compleja y rica del estado de excepción, ya que nos permite mostrar la interconexión entre colonialismo, economía y derecho.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-0975

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Author Biography

Jose Manuel Atiles-Osoria, University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

Assistant Professor

Department of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus

FCT Postdoctoral Researcher

CES, University of Coimbra

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Published

13-12-2017

How to Cite

Atiles-Osoria, J. M. (2017) “State of Exception as Economic Policy: A Socio-Legal Analysis of the Puerto Rican Colonial Case”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 8(6), pp. 819–844. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/973 (Accessed: 8 December 2024).