October 15, 2009
San Juan, Puerto Rico

National day of protest. The island essentially shut down as a huge mass of protesters took to the streets in reaction to the governor's plan to lay off 17,000 government employees. Virtually every labor union supported the national work stoppage. Unemployment in Puerto Rico is roughly double what it is in the mainland U.S, and per-capita income is far lower than that of the poorest U.S. state. These photographs were taken near the hub of the largest demonstration, in front of the largest shopping mall in Puerto Rico, Plaza Las Americas, which was forced to shut down for the day.

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