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href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/02/the-cruelest-storm-a-statement-for-puerto-rico/">https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/02/the-cruelest-storm-a-statement-for-puerto-rico/</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">The Cruelest Storm: A Statement for Puerto
Rico</h1>
October 2, 2017<br>
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<p><em>By Aurea María Sotomayor Miletti, Juan Carlos
Rodríguez, Sheila Vélez, Myrna García, Lourdes Dávila,
Nemir Matros Cintrón, Adriana Garriga-López, Luis
Othoniel Rosa, and César A. Salgado.</em></p>
<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>
<p>The destruction brought by Hurricane Maria has exposed
the profound colonial condition of Puerto Rico, as
millions of human beings are faced with a life or death
situation. The financial crisis manufactured by American
bankers, colonial laws such as PROMESA and the Jones Act
that controls maritime space, are legal mechanisms that
prevent Puerto Rico’s recovery, and even call into
question the validity of American citizenship on that
island. Given the severity of the situation, political
action is necessary.</p>
<p><strong>The State of Facts</strong></p>
<p>Puerto Rico is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a
result of Hurricane Maria, which struck the island on
Wednesday, September 20, as a Category Four hurricane.
Immediately thereafter, Governor Roselló declared a
curfew from dawn to dusk for security reasons. Six days
after the event, hundreds of communities are still
flooded, isolated without any food or drinking water, as
highways and roads are blocked or destroyed, making
communication between towns, neighborhoods and cities
impossible. Telephone, internet, drinking water and
electricity services have not been re-established in
most communities. The weather radar was destroyed as
well as the surveillance towers at the San Juan
International Airport. There is a public health crisis
due to the precarious conditions in hospitals and the
threat of epidemics stemming from contaminated water.
Cities, towns and neighborhoods outside the metropolitan
area have been abandoned, and efforts are concentrated
in the San Juan metro area. The western part of the
island, for example, lacks minimum services. The images
shared with the world by visibly shaken journalists,
television anchors, and meteorologists speak of the
human drama caused by the disaster. What is missing from
many of those reports is concrete information of plans
and immediate, achievable initiatives to move the
country ahead, as well as an ongoing plan. Explanations
are necessary for why so many efforts to reach, house,
feed and clothe many Puerto Ricans are unsuccessful. The
people and the local government need the freedom to make
and act on decisions quickly. There is no sensible
political analysis of the situation due to such dire
absence of communication. The state of precariousness in
which the entire population of the island finds itself
forces individuals to concentrate all of their strength
on survival. Many have already opted to leave the
country as the re-opening of the Luis Muñoz Marín
airport demonstrated in its first day of service after
the hurricane. It is a cruel way of emptying Puerto Rico
of its most valuable resource, its people; the potential
silencing of any dissident voices in the process is
unacceptable. This state of emergency could be used to
promote new measures of austerity that will not benefit
Puerto Rico, a country already devastated by the
financial disaster of an unpayable debt.</p>
<p>The Caribbean has been pummeled by two major hurricanes
in the month of September: Irma and Maria. The Virgin
Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Dominica,
Barbuda, Antigua, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts, and Puerto Rico
are geopolitically precarious: physically as islands and
politically for their colonial history and status. They
were traditionally called “Overseas Provinces” because
of their political and economic dependence on a
metropolitan mainland. The world has found out in the
past few days what our history has always stubbornly
made visible to us. Puerto Rico is a colony of the
United States. Its political status stems from the U.S.
invasion of 1898 and a series of laws that served only
to consolidate U.S. control, hindering the possibility
of Puerto Rican sovereignty and political emancipation.
One such law is the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, or
Jones Act, which determines that Puerto Rico’s maritime
waters and ports are controlled by U.S. agencies. The
limits on shipping imposed by the Jones Act double the
cost of consumer goods arriving at our shores, since
they curtail the ability of non-U.S. ships and crews to
engage in commercial trade with Puerto Rico. The recent
legislation, PROMESA (or “promise,” a cynical and
injurious acronym for the Puerto Rico Oversight,
Management, and Economic Stability Act), which imposes
millions of dollars of accrued debt and stringent
austerity measures on Puerto Rico and its inhabitants,
is yet to be audited. PROMESA has established a supra
governmental body with complete control over finances
and the laws and regulations adopted by the PR
government. PROMESA represents Congress’ most
significant overt act to restate its colonial authority
over Puerto Rico in total disregard of democracy,
republicanism, and popular sovereignty. Here is where
the need to repeal PROMESA and the Jones Act intersect,
as both are exercises of colonial power to further the
economic and political interest of the metropolis. At
this time of humanitarian crisis and dire times for
Puerto Rico Washington will not act in the best interest
of the people of Puerto Rico by repealing both PROMESA
and the Jones Act.</p>
<p>The US citizenship of Puerto Ricans, in this
circumstance, is not a privilege, but the branding of a
slave. It is a restrictive citizenship subject to the
limits imposed by the US Congress without any
interpellation of the subject to whom it is imposed. As
an American colony, citizenship in this case actually
denies Puerto Ricans any of the rights obtained by other
regions impacted by the same events in the North
American mainland. Citizenship makes us hostages,
dispensable entities and victims of calculated charity.
It is necessary to repeal the Jones Act, which imposes
restrictions on the entry of other vessels to the
island, even if their intention is only to offer
humanitarian aid. It is necessary to abolish the PROMESA
Law, since Puerto Rico cannot be rebuilt on the basis of
an unpayable and fraudulent debt. Both laws condemn the
country to an unsustainable economic future that will
intensify the exodus of Puerto Ricans from their island.</p>
<p>The manner in which aid delivered to Puerto Rico has
been confiscated and controlled by FEMA, along with the
refusal to assist Puerto Rico in a manner similar to
that offered to mainland localities affected by
Hurricane Irma, for example, shapes our interpretation
of this event. It subjects the inhabitants of a
territory in crisis to the limits of what a federal
agency is willing to do, and denies aid that may come
from other countries at this critical time. Beyond the
paternalism that this implies, it turns Puerto Ricans
into hostages of their colonial condition. While
exploiting the physical deprivation Puerto Ricans are
experiencing, FEMA’s presence also promotes
psychological servility. As military uniforms increase
and become more visible due to this emergency, a very
troubling image is emerging of the Puerto Rican people,
under increasingly fragile and precarious conditions.
Efforts are delayed for a population that the federal
government considers expendable. Rampant indifference is
affirmed with lack of solidarity with neighboring towns
by preventing other kinds of aid from flowing into and
through the island. This situation brings Puerto Ricans
down to their knees, at the mercy of the equivocal aid
provided by the US, while other humanitarian aid is
blocked. Puerto Ricans are placed under peril,
endangering the lives of thousands that still have not
been reached. The ultimate goal of this federal aid is
unknown. Its growing militarization at a time when
Puerto Ricans are deprived of the basic means of
survival and communication is alarming. It turns this
state of emergency into an opportunity for some to
thrive financially while hundreds of people die from
lack of water, food and medical treatment. No political
or economic reason justifies the death of diabetes
patients who do not have the means to keep their insulin
cool nor dialysis patients who have seen their
treatments interrupted due to lack of electricity. The
consequences of this blockade on solidarity could be
greater than the victims produced by the hurricane
itself. The recent statements by President Trump are
unworthy of any president. In the midst of a
humanitarian crisis, he demands payment of the credit
debt. Immediate actions must be taken. The PROMESA law
and the Jones Act must be repealed. This is not the time
to invoke the false rights inherent in second-degree
citizenship, but to claim the right of every human being
to life.</p>
<p><strong>Faced with these facts, we demand:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>+ The recognition of a state of humanitarian crisis.</p>
<p>+ The immediate repeal of the Jones Act (Merchant
Marine Act of 1920) for Puerto Rico and the repeal of
the PROMESA Law.</p>
<p>+ That the aid provided by the federal agencies not
be subjected by any conditions that can delay or limit
its reach.</p>
<p>+ The opening of the ports to all those who wish to
show solidarity with the Puerto Rican people.</p>
<p>+ The reestablishment of all means of communication
across the island.</p>
<p>+ Dedicated funds and assistance for the thousands of
people without home, water, food, and electricity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Signatories</p>
<p>Áurea María Sotomayor Miletti, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Georgia Tech University</p>
<p>Sheila I. Vélez Martínez. University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Myrna García Calderón, Syracuse University</p>
<p>María de Lourdes Dávila, New York University</p>
<p>Nemir Matos Cintrón, Ana G. Mendez, Florida</p>
<p>Adriana Garriga López, Kalamazoo College</p>
<p>Luis Othoniel Rosa, University of Nebraska</p>
<p>César A. Salgado, University of Texas, Austin</p>
<p>Lena Burgos Lafuente, Stony Brook University</p>
<p>Kahlil Chaar-Pérez, Editor and independent translator</p>
<p>Rubén Ríos, New York University</p>
<p>Julio Ramos, University of California, Berkeley</p>
<p>Arnaldo Cruz Malavé, Fordham University</p>
<p>Jossianna Arroyo, University of Texas, Austin</p>
<p>Miguel Rodríguez Casellas, University of Technology,
Sydney</p>
<p>Licia Fiol-Matta, New York University</p>
<p>Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia, University of Maryland</p>
<p>Dafne A. Duchesne Sotomayor, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick</p>
<p>René A. Duchesne Sotomayor, Junior Architect,
Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Margarita Pintado Burgos, Ouachita, Baptist University</p>
<p>Kelvin Durán Berríos, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Edgard Luis Colón Meléndez, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Gustavo Quintero, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Urayoán Noel, New York University</p>
<p>Jaime Rodríguez Matos, California State University,
Fresno</p>
<p>María Dolores Morillo López, California State
University, Fresno</p>
<p>Ivette Romero, Marist College</p>
<p>Rocío Zambrana, University of Oregon</p>
<p>César Colón Montijo, Columbia University</p>
<p>Ivette N. Hernández-Torres, University of California at
Irvine</p>
<p>Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, University of
Miami/Rutgers University</p>
<p>Wanda Rivera-Rivera, Bearley School, New York</p>
<p>James Cohen, Université Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle</p>
<p>Nayda COllazo Lloréns, Kalamazoo College, Michigan</p>
<p>Cristina Moreiras-Menor, University of Michigan</p>
<p>Odette Casamayor, University of Connecticut, Storrs</p>
<p>José Quiroga, Emory University</p>
<p>Cristel Jusino Díaz, New York University</p>
<p>Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, University of Michigan</p>
<p>Eliseo Colón Zayas, University of Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick</p>
<p>Pamela Voekel, Dartmouth College</p>
<p>Diana Taylor, New York University</p>
<p>Alejandra Olarte, Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá</p>
<p>Jasón Cortés, Rutgers University, Newark</p>
<p>Yara Liceaga, Writer and Cultural Activist</p>
<p>Diana Guemarez Cruz, Montclair University</p>
<p>Luis F. Avilés, University of California, Irvine</p>
<p>Ramón López, Hunter College</p>
<p>Carina del Valle Schorske, Columbia University</p>
<p>Pablo Delano, Trinity College</p>
<p>Arlene Dávila, New York University</p>
<p>Néstor E. Rodríguez, University of Toronto</p>
<p>Efraín Barradas, University of Florida, Gainsville</p>
<p>Raquel Salas Rivera, University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Ronald Mendoza de Jesús, University of California</p>
<p>Iván Chaar-López, University of Michigan</p>
<p>María R. Scharrón-del Río, Brooklyn College, CUNY</p>
<p>Miguel Luciano, artist</p>
<p>Monxo López, Hunter University</p>
<p>Guillermo Irizarry, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Myrna García-Calderón, Syracuse University</p>
<p>Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, University of Oregon</p>
<p>Iván Chaar-López, University of Michigan</p>
<p>Manuel G. Avilés-Santiago, Arizona State University</p>
<p>Ángel Rivera, Worcester Polytechnic Institute</p>
<p>Claudia Sofía Garriga-López, New York University</p>
<p>Mónica Alexandra Jiménez, University of Texas, Austin</p>
<p>Reynaldo Padilla, University of Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Mónica E.Lugo-Vélez, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>Luis J. Cintrón-Gutiérrez, University at Albany/SUNY</p>
<p>Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo, University of Connecticut,
Storrs</p>
<p>Jonathan Montalvo, Graceland University</p>
<p>Sandra Casanova, Binghamton University</p>
<p>Diana Guemárez-Cruz, Montclair State University</p>
<p>María del Mar González, Independent Scholar</p>
<p>Alai Reyes Santos, University of Oregon</p>
<p>Nayda Collazo-Lloréns, Kalamazoo College</p>
<p>Isa Rodríguez-Soto, University of Akron</p>
<p>Marcela Guerrero, Whitney Museum of American Art</p>
<p>Vanessa Arce Senati, University of Buffalo</p>
<p>José G. Luiggi-Hernández, Duquesne University</p>
<p>Moisés Agosto-Rosario, Director of Treatment at NMAC,
Washington DC</p>
<p>Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, University of Oregon</p>
<p>Patricia Villalobos Echeverría, Western Michigan
University</p>
<p>Christina A. León, Princeton University</p>
<p>Frances Aparicio, Northwestern University</p>
<p>Beliza Torres Narváez, Augsburg University</p>
<p>Judith Sierra-Rivera, The Pennsylvania State University</p>
<p>Joshua G. Ortiz Baco, The University of Texas, Austin</p>
<p>Lcdo. Gabriel E. Laborde Torres, Goldstein &
Associates</p>
<p>Cristina Pérez Jiménez, Manhattan College</p>
<p>Santa Arias, University of Kansas</p>
<p>Daniel Nevarez, University of Massachusetts, Amherst</p>
<p>Sally A. Everson, University of the Bahamas</p>
<p>Aurora Santiago-Ortiz, J.D. University of Massachusetts</p>
<p>Valeria Grinberg Pla, Bowling Green State University</p>
<p>Joseph A. Torres-González, City University of New York</p>
<p>Marco A. Martínez Penn State University</p>
<p>Jessica Mulligan, Providence College</p>
<p>José Martínez-Reyes, University of Massachusetts,
Boston</p>
<p>Halbert Barton, Associate Professor of Anthropology,
Long Island University</p>
<p>José R. Irizarry, Villanova University</p>
<p>Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo, University of Connecticut,
Storrs</p>
<p>Ronald Mendoza de Jesús, University of Southern
California</p>
<p>Isatis M. Cintrón, Rutgers University</p>
<p>Karrieann Soto Vega, Syracuse University</p>
<p>José R. Días-Garayúa, California State University
Stanislaus</p>
<p>Marisol LeBrón, Dickinson College</p>
<p>Giovanna Guerrero-Median, Yale Ciencia Initiative,
Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Agustín Laó-Montes, University of Massachusetts at
Amherst</p>
<p>Luis J. Beltran Álvarez, University of Connecticut,
Storrs</p>
<p>Shariana Ferrer-Núñez, Purdue University</p>
<p>Catalina de Onís, Willamette University</p>
<p>Selma Feliciano-Arroyo, University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Emma Amador, Brown University</p>
<p>Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Columbia University</p>
<p>Liza Goldman Huertas, MD, West Haven, CT</p>
<p>José Quiroga, Emory University</p>
<p>Carlos Gardeazábal Bravo, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Alexa S. Dietrich, Wagner College</p>
<p>Maritza Stanchich, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río
Piedras</p>
<p>Don E. Walicek, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras</p>
<p>Yadira Pérez Hazel, University of Melbourne</p>
<p>Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, American University</p>
<p>Carlos E. Rodríguez-Díaz, Universidad de Puerto
Rico-Recinto de Ciencias Médicas</p>
<p>Stephanie Mercado Irizarry, University of Connecticut,
Storrs</p>
<p>Libertad Guerra, Director of the Loisaida Cultural
Center</p>
<p>Alfredo Villanueva-Collado, CUNY</p>
<p>Joaquín Villanueva, Gustavus Adolphus College</p>
<p>Laura Briggs, University of Massachusetts</p>
<p>Maximilian Alvarez, University of Michigan</p>
<p>Ivonne del Valle, University of California, Berkeley</p>
<p>Francisco Cabanillas, Bowling Green State University</p>
<p>Jason Ortiz, Hartford CT, President CT Puerto Rican
Agenda</p>
<p>Carlos Amador Michigan Technological University</p>
<p>Karen Graubart, History, University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>Raul Santiago Bartolomei, University of Southern
California</p>
<p>Oscar Ariel Cabezas, UMCE, Santiago de Chile</p>
<p>Féliz Padilla Carbonell, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Juan Sánchez, Hunter College, CUNY</p>
<p>Laura Marina Boria González, University of Texas at
Austin</p>
<p>Daniel Torres Rodríguez, Ohio University</p>
<p>Anne Garland Mahler, University of Virginia</p>
<p>Vanessa Pérez-Rosario, Brooklyn College/CUNY</p>
<p>Raul Santiago Bartolomei, University of Southern
California</p>
<p>Jean Carlos Rosario Mercado, City University of New
York</p>
<p>Carlos J. Carrión Acevedo, Universidad de Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Ryan Mann-Hamilton, CUNY Laguardia</p>
<p>José R. Díaz-Garayúa, California State University,
Stanislaus</p>
<p>Juana Goergen, De Paul University</p>
<p>Pepón Osorio, Temple University</p>
<p>Ingrid Robyn, University of Nebraska-Lincoln</p>
<p>Carlos Fonseca, Cambridge University</p>
<p>Jacqueline Loss, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Pamela Cappas-Toro, Stetson University</p>
<p>Michelle Osuna-Díaz, KIPP Austin</p>
<p>Kristina Medina, St. Olaf College</p>
<p>Jennifer S. Hughes, University of California, Riverside</p>
<p>Jorge Matos- Valdejulli, Hostos Community College, CUNY</p>
<p>Mariana Cecilia Velázquez, Columbia University</p>
<p>Carmen Rabell, Universidad de Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Pedro López Adorno, Hunter College</p>
<p>Luis J. Cintrón Gutiérrez, University at Albany, SUNY</p>
<p>Idania Miletti, Orlando, Florida</p>
<p>Javier Román Nieves, Yale School of Forestry</p>
<p>Kaliris Y. Salas Ramírez, CUNY School of Medicine</p>
<p>María M. Carrión, Emory University</p>
<p>Stephanie Mercado, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Arturo Arias. University of California, Merced</p>
<p>Cristián Gómez Olivares, Case Western University, Ohio</p>
<p>John Beverley, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Ana Dopico, New York University</p>
<p>Irizelma Robles, Universidad de Puerto Rico</p>
<p>Mónica Barrientos Olivares, Universidad de Chile</p>
<p>Roger Santibañez, Temple University</p>
<p>Eddie S. Ortiz, Bike Courier</p>
<p>Ivette Román Roberto, Artist</p>
<p>Malena Rodríguez Castro, Universidad de Puerto Rico,
Río Piedras</p>
<p>Sally Everson, University of The Bahamas</p>
<p>Jorell Meléndez Badillo, University of Connecticut</p>
<p>Elizabeth Monasterios, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Daniel Balderston, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Tania Pérez Cano, University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth</p>
<p>Jerome Branche, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Karen Goldman, University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Judith Sierra-Rivera, Penn State University</p>
<p>Nicole Delgado, La Impresora</p>
<p>Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón, Oberlin College</p>
<p>Ronald Mendoza-de Jesús, University of South California</p>
<p>Yomaira Figueroa, Michigan State University</p>
<p>Joshua Ortiz Baco, University of Texas, Austin</p>
<p>Mario Mercado Díaz, Rutgers University</p>
<p>Carla Acevedo-Yates, Michigan State University</p>
<p>Frances Aparicio, Northwestern University</p>
<p>Luis Aponte, University of Massachusetts, Boston</p>
<p>Miguel Cruz-Díaz, Indiana University, Bloomington</p>
<p>Ricardo Monge, Artist</p>
<p>Marina Reyes Franco , Curator</p>
<p>Bianca Premo, Florida State University, History</p>
<p>Talía Guzmán González, University of Maryland</p>
<p>Jara Rios, University of Wisconsin</p>
<p>Yasmin Ramirez, Hunter College, CUNY</p>
<p>Mark Schuller, Northern Illinois University</p>
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