Título en español.

Abstract

The expropriations of the U.S. Navy in Vieques took place in the context of a preexisting situation of land concentration. The transition from land concentration in a sugar plantation economy to concentrated military landholding did not provide alternative means of economic development to the population. Vieques residents were reconcentrated in the central third of the island. During the 1940s, the population of Vieques remained practically the same, despite the takeover of two thirds of the land by the U.S. Navy. During World War II, employment in military construction dampened the impact of the expropriations. When construction stopped, Vieques was overtaken by economic crisis, and the situation of the population has been precarious ever since. Landowners received compensation, but agricultural workers did not. They were simply expelled from their homes. The evictions eliminated traditional usufruct rights of the population and the possibility of keeping garden plots and fruit trees, resulting in long-term impoverishment. The process of pauperization of the population is a subject for further studies based on interviews of local residents.