barriomulas.com - The Trump Stump

The planned Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande has recently received heat for being construction on natural land, lacking permits, and occupying public lands (in Puerto Rico, all coastal land is public land.) This is not a rare occurrence, for the Costa Serena and Paseo Caribe projects in Loiza and San Juan share similar concerns. Development patterns such as this has plagued Puerto Rico in previous years often rising concern among certain sectors over their questionable acquisition and permitting permits, their closing off of public beaches, and negative effects that they can have on the environment or sites of historic interest. Costa Serena was a long battle, Paseo Caribe is reaching its peak as you read this, and Trump International Golf Club is surly the next showdown site.

Such conflicts will continue for as long as the state seeks such a form of development. Some criticize such an "attack" on private investors and signal the possible "negative" effects that damaged confidence will have on foreign investors.

The truth is, is that such companies are far from vestiges of capitalist economics and entrepreneurship. Subsidies and loans are often offered by government agencies and public lands are put at the disposition of private mega developers. Not to mention, once the project is built, the Puerto Rico Tourism Department will continue to serve it with more subsidies and free promotion.

Meanwhile, these foreign businessmen pull in filthy profits, all of which are sent off to far away lands. Very little of that stays here. We give them the land and the money to build mega-hotels in exchange for private beaches and shitty wages half the size of their stateside counterparts. After paying the minimum wage of workers of construction workers (those that are Puerto Rican), the incentive-ridden taxes, and the low wages of hotel employees all of those riches and profits built off a foundation of state subsidies are exported to the exterior. I would seriously consider endorsing such mega-hotel projects if the state were to receive a share of the enterprise.

Puerto Rico's Isla Verde tourist district was often referred to my friends as "Vice City" due to its similarities to the video game.

Miami-like condos line the beach while Wendy's and Pizza Hut localities spot the avenue. One has to walk a while just to find a place that serves Puerto Rican food. Isla Verde is far from pleasant in comparison to Old San Juan and was much like Loiza prior to adopting its current form. Loiza, the home of a long strip of small mom-and-pop pubs, pool halls, restaurants, and food stands was until recently targeted by developers to become a practical extension of Isla Verde. Proponents of the project hailed the "economic benefit" that the community would have received, but the reality is much different. A glance at Isla Verde's hotel workforce demonstrates white faces with bilingual tongues lacking any trace of Spanish accent - far from the characteristics of the Piñones population.

Many people criticize opposition to such models of construction as "anti-development" and contrary to the economic well-being of our country. Truthfully, the Puerto Rican state spends more than it receives on tourism. The mom-and-pop paradores and food stands of Loiza do much more to foment small and medium business, entrepreneurship, and community development than does Hilton and Wyndham. Despite the numerous programs, incentives, and subsidies, Americans fly in on an American airline, rent an American car, stay in an American hotel, and eat at American restaurants. We'll take the crumbs.