[News] Major Social Upheaval Takes Place in Puerto Rico

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Major Social Upheaval Takes Place in Puerto Rico

"El Tipo Comun" (The Common Guy, Roberto Garcia), 
from <http://primerahora.com/>primerahora.com, sept 30, 2009

                 The unsuspecting governor, smack 
in the middle of an important press conference, 
missed being hit by a projectile by mere 
inches.  The projectile?  Not a bullet, but an 
egg.  We’re unsure if it was a nationally 
produced Puerto Rican egg or an imported American 
egg.  Nonetheless, an outraged citizen calling 
himself The Common Guy interrupted the press 
conference by screaming in outrage at governor 
Luis Fortuno and throwing a slider that landed on 
a sign highlighting a new development project the 
governor was announcing.  As officers locked the 
man in a bear hug and carted him off and as the 
press swarmed this Common Guy, many things became 
suddenly clear.  For starters, the Common Guy has 
poor aim.  But in addition, his public display of 
resistance is not only transcendental for its raw 
expression of pain and anger, but is also 
symbolic and representative of everyone’s 
frustration and open outrage at the turn of events on the island.

  Puerto Rico is witnessing the kind of social, 
economic, and political upheaval not witnessed in 
decades.  This week, the government- the largest 
employer on the island - laid off close to 17,000 
workers, in its 2nd phase of downsizing that was 
initiated in May of this year, with the release 
of around 5,000 workers.  Over 20,000 government 
employees have lost their jobs in a matter of 
months.  Considering the fact that Puerto Rico ’s 
unemployment rate is around 16%, it is obvious 
that the island continues to confront a serious 
economic crisis.  Government officials contend 
that they inherited a bankrupt government from 
previous administrations along with a huge debt 
load.  They are scrambling to prevent their 
credit ratings to be classified in the lowest of 
categories: the junk rating.  In order to do so, 
they passed a law declaring a fiscal emergency, 
and part of the fiscal restructuring taking place 
is the downsizing of the government work force.

This, however, also takes place against a 
backdrop of other sorts.  Incidents of police 
abuse are being denounced at an increasing rate 
across the island, with a recent incident 
involving university students targeted and 
attacked with batons and indiscriminate use of 
tear gas by the police.  Squatter communities 
(also known as developers of rescued lands) have 
recently been targeted by the conservative 
administration; these interventions have also 
been characterized by the use of force against 
women and children.  Part of the fiscal emergency 
response has been to declare the end of gains won 
by collective bargaining agreements, drawing a 
sharp outcry from the union sector.  Opposition 
political parties called for a larger burden to 
be held by the rich and by large corporations, 
only to be rebuked by the administration that has 
gone ahead with cost of life increases in basic 
services and with layoffs which mostly affect the 
ever-shrinking middle class.  The conservative 
administration also censured several books by 
renowned authors in the island’s schools, a deed 
met with fierce opposition.  The main political 
parties continue to squabble publicly about 
future political roles and future candidates for 
office, and opposition parties either have no 
presence or struggle against marginalization by 
news media.   Independence advocates in September 
commemorated their most holiest of anniversaries 
in remembrance of a historical insurrection in 
1868 and of the 2005 FBI murder of revolutionary 
leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios, with calls of unity, 
revolution, and struggle with those 
affected.  And to top it off, the governor signed 
an executive order authorizing the use of the 
National Guard to quell public disturbances and 
deal with national emergencies.

Even the outlawed anti-colonial guerrillas Los 
Macheteros re-appeared and issued a statement on 
September 23 calling for struggle and for 
solidarity with the affected working class.

  The union movement has now taken center stage 
and has declared a national strike for October 
15, 2009.  Union leaders are publicly expressing 
that if some of the more painful measures – like 
layoffs - are not rolled back, they will move 
ahead with a general strike, bringing the country 
to a complete halt in order to force the government to change course.

  The general public, alarmed by the turn of 
events, finds comic relief in the egg-sistence of 
amusing public displays of anger expressed 
towards the person blamed for several social 
crises: the governor.  The administration, 
however, is deeply worried.  Aside from losing 
the next election, they know that the seeds of a 
general insurrection are being sowed: 
unemployment, discontent, desperation, and 
fear.  In light of the disturbing developments on 
the island, including the ever climbing crime & 
suicide rates, the general public, or the Common 
Guy, has reached a level of tension that is culminating in direct action.

Simply put, the common person in Puerto Rico is 
tired of being abused by their government.  It is 
no eggs-aggeration to conclude that something is 
amiss in Puerto Rico and to wonder where this 
social upheaval will lead to.  In the interim, 
the Common Guy will continue to look for simple ways to fight back.



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