Thousands Strike Across Puerto Rico Demanding End to PROMESA, Austerity, and Privatization in National Day of Action

On February 18, 2022, thousands of publicly-employed union workers, retirees, and university students participated in a national strike and march that spread throughout Puerto Rico, with the largest contingent filling streets in San Juan. Demonstrators marched behind a banner declaring ‘People before Debt – Salary Justice – Dignified Retirement – Collective Bargaining – No Privatization,’ directly challenging the austerity regime imposed by the PROMESA fiscal control board and implemented through McKinsey’s consulting. Labor unions participating included the Puerto Rican Workers’ Union, Central Workers’ Federation, United Auto Workers (Treasury Department), Electrical Workers’ Union, and multiple teachers’ unions—representing a broad coalition against six years of unelected governance and financial extraction. The strike targeted PROMESA’s suspension of collective bargaining agreements, wage freezes lasting years, pension cuts of up to 25%, and ongoing privatization of public assets including the electrical grid. Protesters emphasized U.S. responsibility for the crisis, with organizers stating ‘PROMESA has been a mechanism that has revealed the true face of US imperialism.’ The demonstrations reflected accumulated rage over the fiscal board paying over $150 million to McKinsey while imposing brutal austerity: closing hundreds of schools, cutting healthcare for a population where half relied on Medicaid, eliminating employer pension contributions, and forcing exodus of over 500,000 Puerto Ricans since 2005. Workers demanded debt audits to expose potentially illegal or illegitimate bonds, noting that billions in restructuring costs went to mainland lawyers, bankers, and consultants rather than education, healthcare, or infrastructure. The strike demonstrated that five years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans increasingly understood their debt crisis as colonial extraction—manufactured by Wall Street, enabled by Congress, implemented by unelected boards, and profited from by consulting firms like McKinsey that advised both creditors and supposed representatives of Puerto Rican interests.