[News] Misery Breeds Renewed Struggle in Puerto Rico

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Misery-Breeds-Renewed-Struggle-in-Puerto-Rico-20160721-0042.html 



  Misery Breeds Renewed Struggle in Puerto Rico

July 22, 2016

There is today in Puerto Rico a revival of the progressive and 
independence movement due to the devastating economic crisis.

The PROMESA law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President 
Barack Obama is described by most corporate media as an “aid to 
restructure the debt and help develop the economy” in Puerto Rico.

The reality is that its intention is to function as a collection agency 
through a Financial Control Board, or what’s being called a junta, for 
the benefit of wealthy U.S. bondholders at the expense of the Puerto 
Rican people, who have been driven into poverty and despair.

The situation on the island is desperate, with increased violence and 
crime; foreclosures and repossessions; deterioration of health due to 
the high cost of medical services and the lack of doctors and other 
health professionals who are migrating daily to the U.S.; hunger and 
poverty exacerbated by layoffs, lack of basic services and the high cost 
of living; and a Zika epidemic.

The fact that there is an unemployed or underemployed—but 
well-trained—workforce in Puerto Rico, that is bilingual and has U.S. 
citizenship, has attracted U.S. agencies that offer better salaries and 
are creating a brain drain on the island. U.S. agencies have already 
been to Puerto Rico to recruit nurses, teachers, doctors and other 
professionals.

Most troubling is the recruitment of police. It is well known that there 
is an U.S. epidemic of horrendous police killings of unarmed Black and 
brown people. With the excuse that they need more Latino police because 
there are more Latinos in U.S. cities now, they recruit Puerto Ricans to 
be used against Black and brown people in the U.S.

For example, the city of Baltimore—where Freddie Gray was killed and so 
far not one police officer has been found guilty—recruited in Puerto 
Rico. And as a result, some 1,600 Puerto Ricans registered to take the 
Baltimore Police Department exam.

The roots of the disastrous situation in Puerto Rico started in 1898 
when the U.S. invaded the island. Without a full review of history, it 
must be remembered that the U.S. occupation brought the destruction of 
the island's economy and devaluation of its currency, which at the time 
was equal in value to the U.S. dollar.

Since then, the U.S. imposed an exporting economy whose profits go 
directly to U.S. companies. The first enormous production was sugar. 
Sugar plantations enriched Domino Sugar, a well-known U.S. company.

When the U.S. decided to industrialize the island, every industry was 
created for the purpose of export, from oil refineries, pharmaceuticals, 
textiles and electronics, these companies took advantage of a tax-free 
status and low paid labor, while polluting air, land and water. Now mega 
stores like WalMart benefit from low wages and taxes.

Puerto Rico's colonial status has deprived it of a sovereign government, 
it has been at the mercy of its "masters," the U.S. congress.

When in 1952, the concept of a "Free Associated State", or Commonwealth, 
was imposed by the U.S., it was for the purpose of removing Puerto Rico 
from the list of its territories so that it would not be held 
accountable for its colonial possessions by the U.N.

What the independence movement has always maintained has now been 
publically and officially confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court decision 
in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle et al.: The Free 
Associated State is neither a “state” nor is it “free,” and it is not 
even “associated.” And to prove it, plunging the dagger into the depths 
of the Puerto Rican heart, Congress approved just hours later the 
dictatorial Financial Control Board.

It is important to point out that alongside with U.S. domination, came 
every attempt at suppressing the independence and nationalist movement 
on the island.

Since the U.S. invasion in 1898, Puerto Rico’s independence fighters 
have been persecuted, maligned, repressed and killed.

Now, after the recent decisions, a new stage of struggle has opened up. 
The colonial option is no longer possible. Many people mention that now 
there are only two options: “statehood” or “independence.” But the 
reality is that statehood is really no option.

There is today in Puerto Rico a revival of the progressive and 
independence movement, including organization of various forms of 
struggle and civil disobedience against the dictates of U.S. banks, 
including demonstrations, forums and work in the Decolonization 
Committee of the U.N.

And although there is still no unity of action, different sectors in 
Puerto Rico are mobilizing.

With consistent and militant actions, teachers have managed to stop one 
measure in the Puerto Rican legislature, the “Bhatia Plan.” This plan 
aimed to implement the privatization of many schools, the dismissal of 
thousands of teachers and the destruction of public education, among 
other regressive provisions.

The United Front Against Aerial Fumigation, composed of several 
environmental, health, agriculture, social justice and other 
organizations, has called for various actions, including demonstrations 
against aerial spraying of the deadly toxin Naled, which the Centers for 
Disease Control proposed be used in Puerto Rico to “eradicate” the 
mosquito that carries the Zika virus.

In Puerto Rico there is much opposition to its use not only because it’s 
harmful to people, but also for its damage to bees, which in turn harm 
agriculture. Puerto Rican experts have proposed other, more appropriate 
ways to counter Zika, but so far the government has not paid attention.

On June 30, the militant and class-conscious union UTIER, representing 
the workers of the Electric Energy Authority, held a successful, 
island-wide 24-hour strike to protest and fight against the attempt to 
privatize and restructure the AEE

Angel Figueroa Jaramillo, president of UTIER, declared, “We in the UTIER 
have struggled to build fundamental rights for the whole working class 
of our country. It is with this principle that we defend with all our 
power our medical plan and retirement system, which should be guaranteed 
for all citizens.”

As soon as the U.S. Senate announced its approval of PROMESA, a large 
group of youth assembled in front of the gates of the Federal Court in 
San Juan. There, they set up a “Camp Against the Junta” and said they 
would not leave until their demands were heard.

They called for people to unite against the the junta, colonialism and 
the spraying of Naled; and in defense of the beaches, public education 
and the people. Through their Facebook page, they publicized their 
demands and received messages of solidarity from organizations and 
individuals on the island and the U.S.

There have been attempts to evict them by government harassment and 
threats, but the youth have publicized these attempts on social media 
and the response from lawyers' groups and the general public have 
prevented the eviction.

The camp has been growing as more people show up and set up tents. They 
have also developed a series of actions that include teach-ins on topics 
such as the history of resistance, cultural presentations, picket lines, 
political movies, and acts in solidarity with other movements.

The musical star Rene Perez Joglar, better known as Residente, visited 
the camp July 21, urging Puerto Ricans to join the movement and 
"contribute a grain of sand," to the cause.

/Berta Joubert-Ceci is a retired psychiatrist, now residing in 
Philadelphia. She is a long time Puerto Rican activist and organizer for 
the struggle in solidarity with the peoples of Latin America and the 
liberation of Puerto Rico. While in Puerto Rico, she was part of the 
committee to Free Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irvin Flores and 
Oscar Collazo, Puerto Rican independentistas held in U.S. prisons./

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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