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A. W. Maldonado tells the story of Puerto Rico's extraordinary climb from poverty to economic success. Operation Bootstrap, a program conceived, promoted, and implemented by Teodoro Moscoso (1910-1992), succeeded in attracting worldwide capital investment that by the mid-1950s had transformed the island from an economic backwater into a bustling industrial society. Though much of the credit went to Puerto Rico's governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, Maldonado focuses on Moscoso to describe how and why the economic miracle took place.

Moscoso was deeply involved in all aspects of the Puerto Rican economy and culture, and Maldonado follows his relationships and battles on a number of fronts, from his initial differences with Rexford Tugwell, the last American governor of the island, to conflicts with Governor Muñoz, who was constantly concerned that Moscoso was pushing change too quickly. In the worlds of business and culture, Maldonado shows how Moscoso employed advertising guru David Ogilvy to propagate the image of a people engaged in a cultural renaissance. He also highlights Moscoso's decisive actions at critical junctures (such as his success in pushing tax exemptions and tourism in the late 1940s) and his personal persuasiveness, as with Pablo Casals, who at the age of eighty was persuaded to establish his Casals Festival at San Juan.

Maldonado shows that Moscoso was the architect of the "economic miracle" that economists and presidents believed could not happen in Puerto Rico. His account sheds new light on the man who provided U.S. administrations with a democratic success story to counter the allure of the Cuban revolution and who was called on by President John F. Kennedy to organize and head the Alliance for Progress.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Acknowledgments(p. ix)
• Prologue(p. x)
• Part 1. Liberation(p. 1)
• 1 Moscoso's Conversion(p. 3)
• 2 Rexford Tugwell's Call(p. 12)
• Part 2. The Fomentarian Revolution(p. 23)
• 3 The Idea of Fomento(p. 25)
• 4 Industrialize Puerto Rico?(p. 32)
• 5 Despite the Odds(p. 37)
• 6 Munoz's Conversion(p. 46)
• 7 From Public to Private Ownership(p. 61)
• 8 From Operation Bootstrap to Operation Serenity(p. 69)
• Part 3. How To Perform a Miracle(p. 79)
• 9 Industrial Promotion and Economic Research(p. 81)
• 10 How to Change an Abysmal Image(p. 103)
• 11 Tourism: The Fighting Word(p. 119)
• Part 4. The Soul and Muscle of Bootstrap(p. 135)
• 12 The Price and Wages of Success(p. 137)
• 13 Migration: To New York and Brazil(p. 144)
• 14 Winds of Change(p. 155)
• Part 5. The Battle for Democracy in Latin America(p. 161)
• 15 Moscoso in Venezuela(p. 163)
• 16 The Alliance for Progress(p. 173)
• Part 6. The Age of Section 936(p. 187)
• 17 A Superport and a Confession(p. 189)
• 18 From 931 to 936(p. 203)
• 19 Bootstrap under Siege(p. 214)
• 20 Summing Up(p. 222)
• Epilogue(p. 230)
• Notes(p. 232)
• Bibliography(p. 239)
• Index(p. 247)

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CHOICE Review

This is a beautifully written and magnificently researched book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in Puerto Rico's recent past. Focusing on Teodoro Moscoso, one of the insiders who helped to set the Puerto Rican economy on its particular trajectory of industrialization since the 1940s, the book seamlessly combines biography, history, economics, the ins and outs of political bargaining in San Juan and Washington, and just enough gossip to whet anyone's appetite. Moscoso not only played a pivotal role in creating and sustaining Operation Bootstrap but he also worked for a time in the Kennedy administration, most prominently as head of the Alliance for Progress. Maldonado (a well-known journalist in San Juan), assisted by Carmen Casellas-Marcou, has told the story of Puerto Rico's economic transformation through the life of one man, and has done so with sympathy for Moscoso's vision. Highly recommended for all levels. J. L. Dietz; California State University, Fullerton

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

A. W. Maldonado , a journalist in Puerto Rico for 37 years, is a former editor of El Mundo and El Reportero and currently writes a column for the San Juan Star . His articles have appeared in numerous U.S. publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, Newsday , and The Nation.