Roberto J. Ortiz

Collapse and Transformation? Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Energy Crisis of “Showcase” Peripheries in World-Ecological Perspective

Introduction

Collapse and transformation? cuba, puerto rico and the energy crisis of “showcase” peripheries in world-ecological perspective. Explore Cuba & Puerto Rico's energy crises from a world-ecological perspective. Uncover how oil-fueled development led to unsustainability, prefiguring future global dilemmas.

Abstract

The rise of oil-fueled accumulation in the global North produced an energy regime that by the mid-twentieth century was being extended to the semiperipheral and peripheral zones of the world-system. There it took the form of petroleum-driven development. This is especially the case for peripheral “showcases” in the Caribbean region. In the context of the Cold War, these two islands became opposing models of global South development—Puerto Rico’s industrialization program functioning as the American empire’s “showcase” to the Third World and Cuba emerging as an example of successful antisystemic developmentalism allied with the USSR. At least since the 1990s, both countries have experienced a long period of recurrent crises. Proposing a world-ecological and world-historical explanation, this article argues that while these islands represented different politico-economic regimes, both were nonetheless dependent on the oil-fueled accumulation dynamics of the capitalist world-ecology. Puerto Rico’s export-led industrialization and Cuba’s agrarian-based state socialism were underpinned by decades-long access to cheap oil. Thus, the crises—which have had the energy sector at its core—are in part the product of the unsustainability of their oil-fueled developmentalist regimes. Lastly, the article reflects on the ways in which the ongoing crises—and the respective responses taking place in Puerto Rico and Cuba—might prefigure some of the dilemmas that will characterize future world-ecological trajectories.

Review

This article presents a compelling and timely analysis of the energy crises in Cuba and Puerto Rico, two Caribbean "showcase" peripheries. Employing a world-ecological and world-historical perspective, the authors argue that despite their vastly different Cold War-era political and economic alignments – Puerto Rico as an American capitalist model and Cuba as a Soviet-allied socialist experiment – both islands ultimately relied on unsustainable, oil-fueled accumulation dynamics of the broader capitalist world-ecology. This fundamental dependency, the article posits, is at the root of their protracted and recurrent crises since the 1990s, offering a fresh lens through which to understand their distinct but parallel struggles. The strength of the article lies in its innovative comparative framework, moving beyond conventional geopolitical rivalries to uncover deeper structural dependencies. It skillfully traces how the global North's oil-fueled energy regime extended to these peripheral zones, manifesting as "petroleum-driven development." Whether through Puerto Rico's export-led industrialization or Cuba's agrarian-based state socialism, decades of access to cheap oil underpinned their respective developmentalist regimes. By revealing this shared energetic foundation, the article compellingly demonstrates that the crises besieging both nations, with the energy sector at their core, are less about ideological failure and more about the inherent unsustainability of their oil-dependent economic models within the capitalist world-ecology. This unified analysis of two historically antagonistic cases provides a robust contribution to understanding peripheral development and its ecological limits. Beyond its specific case studies, the article’s concluding reflections on how the ongoing crises and responses in Cuba and Puerto Rico might "prefigure some of the dilemmas that will characterize future world-ecological trajectories" significantly elevate its academic and policy relevance. This forward-looking perspective positions the research as more than just a historical or regional analysis; it offers crucial insights into the broader challenges of global energy transitions and the inevitable reckoning with the limits of oil-fueled growth, particularly for dependent economies. The paper thus makes an important contribution to world-systems theory, political ecology, and development studies, providing a thought-provoking framework for anticipating and addressing the systemic vulnerabilities facing numerous regions in an era of climate change and energy insecurity.

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