Our land, our survival: Vulnerabilization and decolonial resistance through communal land in Puerto Rico and Barbuda

This dissertation explores the crucial role of communal land tenure in the fight against the climate crisis, with a focus on Puerto Rico and Barbuda. It scrutinizes the aftermath of the devastating 2017 hurricane season, examining external factors contributing to vulnerabilization within these communities and analyzing their resistance strategies. Emphasizing the prioritization of international capital over local needs, especially evident in coastal areas, the study reveals how this dynamic has spurred land grabbing
and displacement. Yet, communal land systems empower communities to mobilize collective responses, protect their rights, and conserve their natural environment. By shielding communities against post-disaster displacements driven by foreign capital, this research highlights how communal land ensures continuity and fosters deeper cohesion. It serves as a foundation for mutual aid initiatives, enhances political influence, and fosters international solidarity.

This study underscores how communal land embodies an ethos of interconnectedness between humans and nature, nurturing counterhegemonic ‘epistemologies of the land’ that challenge dominant colonial and patriarchal narratives of property. By advocating for a reevaluation of property notions through tenure plurality, it underscores the necessity of amplifying local voices and countervailing knowledges to effectively confront the climate emergency. Centering Caribbean communities, this dissertation unveils the interconnectedness between land tenure systems and global crises, advocating for a paradigm shift away from viewing land as mere property towards a holistic understanding of human-earth relations. It reframes these communities not as passive victims but as proactive agents crafting essential counterhegemonic knowledges to inform global responses, thereby paving the way for sustainable land use and equitable development.