A year after Hurricane Maria swept across Puerto Rico, leaving some 2,975 people dead and knocking the economy on its back, it is becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. territory may never fully recover from the storm. 
 
 Puerto Rico was already insolvent before the 2017 storm, with creditors and the island's government deep in negotiations about how to jumpstart the economy or strip it bare to pay off $70 billion owed to bondholders. And the island's government owes another $50 billion it doesn't have to cover current and future pensions. Even before Maria, half a million people had left Puerto Rico and its economy had been steadily shrinking since 2005. After the hurricane, there's even less to work with. 
 
 While power and water have finally been restored to more than 99 percent of the island's remaining 3.2 million residents, the economy is moribund. Economic output is projected to fall 13.3 percent this year, manufacturing jobs are drying up, tax receipts are down, small businesses are shuttering, and the reconstruction boom that follows many natural disasters is stymied by the slow pace of federal aid and the fact that most Puerto Ricans had little savings or insurance before the storm. Only 15 percent had homeowners insurance, and only 1 in 3 residents has a bank account. 
 
 "I am not hugely optimistic," says Brad Setser, an economist at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, who has written extensively on Puerto Rico. The challenge for the island is whether it can harness the growth that comes with an expected $9 billion in recovery spending in 2018 and 2019. "If Puerto Rico doesn't experience strong growth in fiscal 2019, it never will," said Setser. 
 
 Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rosselló, blames what he calls the island's status as a "colony" of the united States. He wrote to President Trump this week urging the U.S. to make Puerto Rico the 51st state. "The biggest impediment for Puerto Rico's full and prosperous recovery: the inequalities Puerto Rico faces as the oldest, most populous colony in the world," Rosselló wrote. 
 
 Granting statehood, however, would be a multi-year process facing daunting political odds. In the meantime, Puerto Rico's economy is in a tailspin. 
 
 How hard is life in Puerto Rico? A fiscal plan published by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico in June outlines many of the challenges. Here's a look at the numbers: ||||| Aaron and Diana Umpirerre gather in the parking lot to meet others to head to West Palm Beach for a protest, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018 in Hollywood, Fla. Activists marking the one-year anniversary of... (Associated Press) 
 
 Aaron and Diana Umpirerre gather in the parking lot to meet others to head to West Palm Beach for a protest, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018 in Hollywood, Fla. Activists marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico are staging a rally and caravan focused on President Donald... (Associated Press) 
 
 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Dozens of vehicles slowly approached President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday afternoon, blasting reggaeton and salsa as they drove by. They honked their horns and waved Puerto Rican flags draped from their car windows and trunks. They were on their way to a rally a few miles away to mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria. 
 
 Despite the scorching hot sun, hundreds of activists showed up at the Meyer Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Buses full of protesters came from as far as Miami and Orlando. The crowd was lively. People spread out on the grass and walked around carrying posters that read "Respeta Mi Gente" (Respect My People) and "Justice for Puerto Rico." To one side of the stage, a giant blowup balloon of Trump depicted as a baby had been inflated. Crowds waited in line to take photographs in which they gave the orange balloon the middle finger. 
 
 Event organizers encouraged those in attendance to vote in the midterm elections in November. Anyone with a microphone was constantly telling people to vote, to register to vote, and to spread awareness about voting. 
 
 "We're honoring the lives that were lost," said Marcos Vilar, the president and executive director of Alianza for Progress, one of the event organizers. "We are recognizing all the people that were displaced and are living here in South Florida, central Florida and throughout the state." 
 
 Vilar believes that although Puerto Ricans are citizens, the current administration's response to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria has proven that Puerto Ricans are not treated equally. 
 
 Nearly 3,000 people have died as a result of Hurricane Maria, according to a study conducted by the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. The president has repeatedly rebuked the death toll. Last week he tweeted that researchers had inflated the numbers "like magic" saying the amount was "FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER -NO WAY!" 
 
 Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during the event. 
 
 Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who was in attendance, called the current situation in Puerto Rico "inexcusable" and characterized Trump's comments as offensive. "How much more insults do (Puerto Ricans) have to take after being treated like they have?" he asked. 
 
 He also criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts, saying that their treatment of Puerto Ricans has been "cold-hearted" and that the agency must do more to provide displaced people with temporary housing assistance. 
 
 Nelson is locked in a tight re-election race with Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who must leave office because of term limits. The large Puerto Rican vote in Florida is seen as a crucial bloc in the state. Scott has visited Puerto Rico numerous times since the hurricane. 
 
 Dayavet Velez, 17, said that her home in Adjuntas, a small municipality tucked away in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, had been destroyed by Hurricane Maria. She and her family have been living in central Florida for nearly a year. "We came here because we lost everything there," she said. 
 
 Velez said that when Trump visited Puerto Rico, he didn't see the full devastation that Maria had caused, he saw only a distorted reality. He didn't visit the areas that were most affected by the storm. 
 
 Despite the hardships she and her family have faced, the high school senior remains hopeful. 
 
 "We're not going to be torn down," she said. "We're going to stand up for ourselves ... we're going to be strong ... we're going to progress here."
– Dozens of vehicles slowly approached President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday afternoon, blasting reggaeton and salsa as they drove by. They honked their horns and waved Puerto Rican flags draped from their cars on their way to a rally a few miles away to mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria. Despite the scorching sun, hundreds showed up in West Palm Beach, with buses full of protesters from as far as Miami and Orlando. A lively crowd carried posters that read "Respeta Mi Gente" (Respect My People) and "Justice for Puerto Rico," reports the AP. A giant blowup balloon of Trump depicted as a baby hovered as crowds waited to take photos in which they gave it the middle finger. Event organizers and anyone with a microphone was constantly telling people to vote in the midterm elections or to register to vote. The event came as CBS notes that Puerto Rico may never fully recover from Maria. "We're honoring the lives that were lost," said Marcos Vilar, president of Alianza for Progress. "We are recognizing all the people that were displaced and are living here." Vilar believes that the Trump administration's response has proven that Puerto Ricans are not treated as equal citizens. Nearly 3,000 died as a result of Hurricane Maria, per a study by the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. Trump has repeatedly rebuked the death toll. Last week he tweeted that researchers inflated the numbers "like magic," saying "FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER -NO WAY!" Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during the event. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who was in attendance, called the situation in Puerto Rico "inexcusable" and characterized Trump's comments as offensive. "How much more insults do (Puerto Ricans) have to take after being treated like they have?" he asked.