More than a month after Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico — destroying houses, flooding streets, and laying waste to basic infrastructure — 80 percent of the island is still without electricity, and huge swathes lack clean water, adequate food, or a safe dwelling.

The causes of the ongoing crisis go beyond the immense power of the natural disaster.

Over the last decade, austerity policies have ravaged the island, deepening the rot of an economic model built on transferring public money to private hands. The inadequate preparation and the insufficient response to Maria were a direct result, shrinking the resources available to manage such a catastrophic situation. And government incompetence, both at the federal and local levels, made things even worse.