Título en español.

Abstract

The expropriation of land in Vieques took place in two stages: 1941-42 and 1947-48. Between the first round of expropriations and the second, Vieques experienced three very different economic periods. The first lasted from late 1941 through the summer of 1943. The construction of the Mosquito Base and its pier caused a boom in employment in Vieques. Wages were higher than in the sugar industry, without the interruptions of the dead season. The second period lasted from the summer of 1943 through January 1946. There was massive unemployment in Vieques when the military construction stopped and the Playa Grande sugar-mill closed, the last harvest ended in the summer of 1943. A third period began in January of 1946, when the Puerto Rico Agricultural Corporation (PRACO), a public entity, made investments in Vieques and employed 40 percent of the local labor force. The beginning of the second expropriations in late 1947 was a severe blow to PRACO operations and cancelled the partial gains obtained as a result of its investments.