La Junta, the shadow state, and the possibility of emancipatory community practices in Puerto Rico

This article examines the evolution of neighbourhood organising initiatives in Puerto Rico following Hurricane María and amid austerity policies imposed by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (La Junta). It explores how grassroots responses to state retrenchment have transformed into semi-private welfare systems, embodying both potential emancipatory practices and contradictions shaped by dynamics of colonial neoliberalism. Drawing on literature from critical urban studies, political economy and colonialism, the study relies on interviews and field observations to examine 17 neighbourhood organising initiatives across Puerto Rico and highlight the emergence of a shadow state run by neighbourhood activists who resemble unwaged semi-private street-level bureaucrats. While activists strive for neighbourhood autonomy or independence, their workload, internal frictions, and reliance on resilience narratives hinder broader anti-colonial or radical mobilisation. Ultimately, the work of the shadow state underscores the deep tensions between pragmatic community practices and the transformative aspirations needed to confront the Archipelago's colonial and economic realities.