Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Independence Movement Challenges 126 Years Of Colonialism

December 10, 2024 Jonathan Ng, Truthout. Resist! Anti-colonialism, Elections, Independence, Puerto Rico

Weeks after the November elections, officials in Puerto Rico are still counting votes. The agonizing delays and inefficiency have elicited frustration and calls for serious electoral reform. Yet one outcome appears undeniable: The pro-independence candidate for governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Dalmau, made record electoral gains. According to a preliminary review, Dalmau received the second-most votes while representing the Alliance, a historic coalition between the Puerto Rican Independence Party and Citizens’ Victory Movement. Months before the election, the Alliance’s meteoric rise shocked pollsters, putting Dalmau in a tight race with Jenniffer González of the reigning New Progressive Party.

Puerto Rico Is A New Country: Hope Lives And The Fight Goes On

November 11, 2024 Claridad Editorial, Resumen English. Organize! Elections, Independence, Politics, Puerto Rico

If the results of the recent elections show anything, it is how the Puerto Rican people have been shaping, transforming and realigning their political conceptions, and becoming aware of their own power, to retake and rescue our country from the clutches of those who want to hand it over and destroy it. The resistance, astuteness, breeding and will for change of our people was manifested in different ways throughout this intense journey, and there is visible evidence of the achievements. The second place obtained by the Country Alliance, led in Puerto Rico by Juan Dalmau, and in the capital, San Juan, by Manuel Natal is a feat, considering the circumstances in which the process developed and the pitfalls that were placed in its way.

Puerto Rico Could Elect Its First Pro-Independence Governor

October 25, 2024 Alberto Medina, Portside. Strategize! De-colonization, Elections, Independence, Puerto Rico

That could herald the beginning of the end for a 125-year-old colonial relationship. Historically, Puerto Rico’s electoral politics have been defined by its parties and leaders’ views on the island’s political status. The pro-statehood (PNP) and pro-status quo (PPD) parties have alternated power since 1948 — when the U.S., already 50 years into its rule of Puerto Rico, finally allowed Puerto Ricans to choose their own governor. The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) had always run a distant third, garnering single-digit support.

Promise Of Change In Puerto Rico

October 13, 2024 Berta Joubert-Ceci, Resumen English. Resist! Corruption, Elections, Neoliberalism, Puerto Rico

With each passing day, Puerto Rico sinks deeper into a neoliberal process that threatens its very existence. From the purely geological issue, with supposed legal approvals for construction in coastal locations that involve the removal of mangroves and corals that are the natural barriers against coastal erosion, to the displacement of communities that give way to luxury housing for millionaire foreigners. There is a replacement of our population. Basic health and education services are almost nonexistent. In short, life in Puerto Rico has become very difficult. While our central problem is the colonial state, it is imperative to stop this destructive bleeding.

Out LUMA!: Puerto Ricans Demand End To Privatization Of Energy

July 5, 2024 Pablo Meriguet, People's Dispatch. Resist! Energy, Luma, Mass Action, Privatization, Puerto Rico

Hundreds of Puerto Ricans took to the streets of the capital, San Juan, on Wednesday July 3, to demand an end to the controversial contract signed by the government of Puerto Rico with the US-Canadian company LUMA Energy. During the march, organized by the Union of Electrical and Irrigation Industry Workers (UTIER), workers and activists shouted slogans like: “Privatized energy is rejected by the people”, “We demand electric energy because it is a human right”, and “They privatize energy and steal from us every day”, among others. According to the protesters, there has not been a significant improvement in the electricity service as promised with the privatization. Major blackouts and electricity connection problems continue.

Puerto Ricans Take To The Streets Against Kamala Harris’s Visit

March 26, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! colonization, Israel, Kamala Harris, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Puerto Rico

On Friday, March 22, Kamala Harris marked her first visit to Puerto Rico since becoming Vice President of the United States to attend a Democratic Party fundraiser, and was met with mass protests. In an embarrassing gaff, Harris spent a moment clapping along to a protest song before quickly freezing up after an aide translated it for her. The lyrics called out the longtime US occupation of Puerto Rico: “We want to know, Kamala, what did you come here for? We want to know what you think of the colony.”

A New Alliance Could Change Puerto Rican Politics

March 18, 2024 Rafael Bernabe and Ed Morales, Portside. Strategize! De-colonization, Independence, Politics, Puerto Rico, Social Movements

Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since the 1898 Spanish-American War. It had only US-appointed governors until 1948, and in 1952, Congress passed a joint resolution that approved its first constitution, which provided for limited autonomy. It would become a “Commonwealth,” but the island remained an unincorporated territory that lacked sovereignty and full rights afforded to US citizens, despite the fact that residents of Puerto Rico were granted citizenship in 1917. Since then, the island’s politics have revolved around three political parties whose platforms are focused on its political status.

Ariel Henry: An Itinerant Ex-Prime Minister Without A Country

March 8, 2024 Kim Ives, Orinoco Tribune. Resist! Ariel Henry, Authoritarianism, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Social Movements

Since arriving in New York from Nairobi, Kenya on Sat., Mar. 2, former de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been trying to get back to Haiti. But Haiti does not want him. He spent several days in Manhattan, but no commercial flights could fly him and his large entourage to Haiti because the Port-au-Prince airport was closed after gunfire hit an Avolon charter jet bound for Cuba on Thu., Feb. 29. (No one was injured, and the damage was minimal.) Over the weekend, Henry asked Washington to provide him with a military plane and soldiers to accompany him back to Haiti.

Within US-Occupied Nation Of Puerto Rico, Solidarity With Palestine Grows

January 4, 2024 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Resist! colonization, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Puerto Rico, US Imperialism

Within the boundaries of US-occupied Puerto Rico, the movement for Palestinian liberation has been growing. On December 18, a demonstration organized by students and the Palestinian diaspora on the island marched from the Israeli consulate in San Juan to the US Federal Court. The formation “Mothers Against the War” has been calling protests on a weekly basis outside of the consulate. Jocelyn Velázquez of Jornada Se Acabaron las Promesas spoke at a November 12 rally outside the Puerto Rico Capitol in San Juan, starting off her speech by applauding the people of Palestine as well as the Palestinian resistance. “We are the guarantee that the world understands that we need to stop this genocide,” she said.

How A Maneuver In Puerto Rico Led To A $29 Billion Tax Bill For Microsoft

October 16, 2023 Paul Kiel, ProPublica. Educate! IRS, Microsoft, Puerto Rico, Tax Avoidance

In a long-awaited development, the largest audit in the history of the IRS has finally taken its next step. On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that the agency had notified the company that it owes $28.9 billion in back taxes, plus penalties and interest. The case is epic not only in dollars but in scope. As ProPublica reported in an in-depth narrative in 2020, the IRS saw the case as a chance to prove the agency’s effectiveness. Often cowed by the prospect of facing off against corporations with endless resources, the IRS set out to be bolder and more aggressive. It took the unusual step of hiring a corporate law firm to represent the agency, a step that incensed Microsoft.

Poverty Is Growing In Puerto Rico Under US Colonialism

September 27, 2023 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. Educate! Capitalism, Colonialism, Poverty, Puerto Rico

Poverty in Puerto Rico, under US colonialism, is getting worse over time, not better. More than two-fifths of Puerto Ricans suffer from poverty, and nearly three-fifths of Puerto Rican children live in poor households. In 2022, the poverty rate in the colonized US “territory” grew from 40.5% to 41.7%, according to US Census Bureau data. A staggering 57.6% of Puerto Rican children live in poverty. And 38.8% of families are below the poverty line. Poverty has been growing in Puerto Rico even at a time when more people are working. The unemployment rate fell from 13.1% to 9.9% in 2022, while poverty got worse.

Puerto Rican Groups Give Deposition To UN Decolonization Committee

July 2, 2023 Berta Joubert-Ceci, Resumen English. Resist! Decolonization, Independence, Puerto Rico, United Nations

This past week, the UN Decolonization Committee held a hearing on what has been called the Puerto Rico case, on Puerto Rico’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence. Since the UN passed Resolution 1514 (XV) in 1960 for the eradication of colonies, recognizing independence as a fundamental human right and in accordance with the UN Charter, 41 hearings have already been held on our case. Recall that the U.S. disguised the colonial state of PR by naming it a Commonwealth in 1952 so as not to have to report to the United Nations. But this farce was unmasked in 2016 when the US Supreme Court concluded in a double exposure case, that it is the US Congress who rules in PR.

Movement That Built Puerto Rico’s First Community-Owned Microgrid

June 11, 2023 Katherine Rapin, Next City. Create! Energy Democracy, Extreme weather, Puerto Rico, Solar Energy

For two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Lucy’s Pizza was the only restaurant open in the central mountain town of Adjuntas. The town’s 18,000 residents, like those on the rest of the island, were entirely without electricity. “No one has power, you can’t get gas, it’s difficult to make food, so everyone came here to eat,” says owner Gustavo Irizarry. “The line,” he gestured down the block along the town’s central plaza, “endless.” Using a diesel generator, Lucy’s was running at about 75% capacity. The generator was loud, emitted dangerous fumes and wasn’t always reliable.

Puerto Ricans Occupy Land To Resist Displacement

May 13, 2023 Bianca Graulau and Laura Quintero, The Real News. Organize! Extreme weather, Land Reform, Mutual Aid, Puerto Rico

In front of a mural that reads “Only the people save the people,” Marisel Robles Gutiérrez stood before a group of elderly adults, to make an announcement: the non-profit organization Comedores Sociales had gained ownership of the abandoned property that they occupied in 2017 by negotiating with a real estate investment company. With a slightly cracked voice and smiling, she said: “We rescued this building… we gave it life, and thanks to all these years, to all the people who have participated,” —she interrupted and placed her hands to her chest— “finally, we can announce today that it is ours.”

The Toxic Legacy Of US Foreign Policy In Vieques, Puerto Rico

April 30, 2023 Monisha Rios, Black Agenda Report. Educate! health, Puerto Rico, Wars and Militarism, Women's Rights

Puerto Ricans had no say in the U.S. war of conquest with Spain over its colonial possessions or in the Treaty of Paris that dictated they were to become the property of a new empire. The United States acted according to a well-crafted strategic narrative of white saviorism and American exceptionalism without concern for the people whose land it stole. It wanted to further its control to the south and east via its expansionist foreign policy – and it needed to extend military power beyond its violently acquired borders to do so; the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, known as the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy, provided the impetus.

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