Puerto Rico’s Small Businesses Are Still Hurting From Hurricane Maria
Estimates say 5,000 to 8,000 may have closed permanently. For others, recovery has been slow.
A worker stands in a cherry picker while fixing power lines on a utility pole in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, on May 18, 2018.
Photographer: Xavier Garcia/Bloomberg
After Hurricane Maria destroyed the roof of her artisan business incubator in the Santurce area of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carla López de Azúa spent about $14,000 to rebuild it. Her insurer covered just $9,000 of that. It hasn’t yet paid her business continuity claim, though López de Azúa believes it eventually will. Her monthly electricity bills have been erratic, sometimes spiking above $2,000 for reasons the utility can’t explain.
López de Azúa is experiencing a mix of frustration and optimism about the future of Puerto Rico’s small businesses. Demand for the spaces she rents to young designers and fledgling startups is increasing. Seven tenants have expanded from her location to open their own independent stores since Maria touched down. The government wants to help, but López de Azúa believes officials don’t fully grasp the obstacles faced by people like her tenants. “There are a lot of people 35 and under who are willing to stay in Puerto Rico and work, but the environment doesn’t cater to them,” she says. “That’s the talent that is leaving the island. Those are the people who will pay the taxes, buy the houses and cars, whose kids will go to school.”