Operation Bootstrap
Encyclopedia
For other uses, see Bootstrapping
and Bootstrapping (law)
.
Operation Bootstrap (Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico
in the mid-20th century.
. By the middle of the twentieth century it remained one of the poorest in the Caribbean (never mind that the very name Puerto Rico means "rich port" in Spanish), and in 1948 the United States government began Operation Bootstrap, which invested millions of dollars into the Puerto Rican economy. Envisioning that a densely populated island like Puerto Rico with now over 1000 persons per square mile could not subsist on an agrarian system
, the government's Departamento de Fomento ("Department of Economic Developement") encouraged the establishment of factories.
Puerto Rico enticed US companies by providing labor at costs below those on the mainland, access to US markets without import duties, and profits that could enter the country free from federal taxation. The Departamento de Fomento invited investment of external capital, importing the raw materials, and exporting the finished products to the United States. To entice participation, tax exemptions and differential rental rates were offered for industrial facilities. As a result, Puerto Rico's economy shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing and tourism
. The manufacturing sector has shifted from the original labor-intensive industries, such as the manufacturing of food, tobacco, leather, and apparel products, to more capital-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, and electronics. Through this project, a rural agricultural society was transformed into an industrial working class.
Although initially touted as an economic miracle, by the 1960s, Operation Bootstrap was increasingly hampered by a growing unemployment
problem. As living standards and wages in Puerto Rico rose, manpower-intensive industries faced competition from outside the United States. It also faced criticism from civil rights groups and the Catholic Church, who perceived the government promoting birth control, encouraging surgical sterilization, and fostering the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States
.
As of 2005 the United States remains Puerto Rico's major trading partner, received 86% of Puerto Rico's exports and providing 69% of its imports.
Bootstrapping
Bootstrapping or booting refers to a group of metaphors that share a common meaning: a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help....
and Bootstrapping (law)
Bootstrapping (law)
The bootstrapping rule in the rules of evidence dealt with admissibility as non-hearsay of statements of conspiracy in United States federal courts...
.
Operation Bootstrap (Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in the mid-20th century.
History
The island's traditional economy was based around sugarcane plantationsSugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
. By the middle of the twentieth century it remained one of the poorest in the Caribbean (never mind that the very name Puerto Rico means "rich port" in Spanish), and in 1948 the United States government began Operation Bootstrap, which invested millions of dollars into the Puerto Rican economy. Envisioning that a densely populated island like Puerto Rico with now over 1000 persons per square mile could not subsist on an agrarian system
Agrarian system
An agrarian system is a concept used to describe the dynamic set of economic and technological factors that affect agricultural practices. It is premised on the idea that different systems have developed depending on the natural and social conditions specific to a particular region...
, the government's Departamento de Fomento ("Department of Economic Developement") encouraged the establishment of factories.
Puerto Rico enticed US companies by providing labor at costs below those on the mainland, access to US markets without import duties, and profits that could enter the country free from federal taxation. The Departamento de Fomento invited investment of external capital, importing the raw materials, and exporting the finished products to the United States. To entice participation, tax exemptions and differential rental rates were offered for industrial facilities. As a result, Puerto Rico's economy shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. The manufacturing sector has shifted from the original labor-intensive industries, such as the manufacturing of food, tobacco, leather, and apparel products, to more capital-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, and electronics. Through this project, a rural agricultural society was transformed into an industrial working class.
Although initially touted as an economic miracle, by the 1960s, Operation Bootstrap was increasingly hampered by a growing unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
problem. As living standards and wages in Puerto Rico rose, manpower-intensive industries faced competition from outside the United States. It also faced criticism from civil rights groups and the Catholic Church, who perceived the government promoting birth control, encouraging surgical sterilization, and fostering the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
As of 2005 the United States remains Puerto Rico's major trading partner, received 86% of Puerto Rico's exports and providing 69% of its imports.
See also
- United States Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of AgricultureThe United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
- Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc.Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc.Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc. was an oil refinery established in the towns of Peñuelas and Guayanilla in Puerto Rico in the middle of the 20th century. The project started as part of Operation Bootstrap with the first unit being constructed in 1954. The company started operations in 1955...
- Progress Island U.S.A.Progress Island U.S.A.Progress Island U.S.A. is a 1973 short subject film made by the Economic Development Administration of Puerto Rico to promote the burgeoning U.S. Commonwealth....
- Puerto Rican PotteryPuerto Rican PotteryPuerto Rican Pottery was one of two potteries that established Mid Century Modern Pottery/Ceramics on the Island of Puerto Rico. The pottery operated from 1948–1966 in Santurce, Puerto Rico...
Further reading
- Teodoro Moscoso and Puerto Rico's Operation Bootstrap by A.W. Maldonado. GainesvilleGainesville, FloridaGainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
: University Press of Florida, 1997. ISBN 0-8130-1501-4 - Las campañas de control de la natalidad contra las mujeres, by Gloria Arimón en Servir al pueblo, número 233, 1984.
- Economic History of Puerto Rico: Institutional Change and Capitalist Development, by James L. Dietz. PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, NJNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
: Princeton University Press, 1986. - The Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the United States in the Twentieth Century, by Ronald Fernández. 2ª ed. WestportWestport, Connecticut-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
CTConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
: Praeger, 1996. - Factories and Food Stamps: The Puerto Rico Model of Development, by Richard Weisskoff. BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.