250 years of independence and illegal occupation
By Kevin Miguel Rivera-Medina
Image generated by Google_Gemini
While the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, subsequent generations have quickly forgotten the list of grievances contained in that document; they have committed the same—or worse—acts regarding illegitimately occupied territories.
Compounding this is the fact that, for 125 years, the new U.S. colonies—euphemistically termed “unincorporated territories”—have been subject to the so-called “Insular Cases.” These are a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings defining the legality of colonialism within the U.S. constitutional framework—rulings rooted in racist ideas, principles of supremacy, and the crudest imperial notions. Needless to say, they fail to meet international legal standards.
Upon revisiting the 27 grievances listed in the Declaration, one finds that almost all of them—along with dozens of additional grievances—persist today in the colonial relationship with Puerto Rico. This situation is exacerbated by a Federal Fiscal Control Board that makes decisions for our country without the people’s endorsement and in the face of their rejection.
The U.S. has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing to sanction locally enacted laws. It maintains armies, quarters troops, and keeps heavy military hardware on our soil without our consent, placing us in grave danger through the outrageous military maneuvers it conducts in the Caribbean. It restricts our trade with the rest of the world. That federal Board dictates our tax policies, suspends the legitimate functioning of our legislatures, and makes decisions on our behalf. It impoverishes us, destroys our university, exploits our land for the benefit of the ultra-wealthy from abroad, and drains the retirement funds of our elderly population. It has driven the majority of our people into exile and fosters gentrification.
Rebelling against such a powerful empire is no easy task, yet we have resisted. And it is time for Puerto Rico’s right to independence and self-determination in the face of colonial tyranny to be recognized internationally, so that—from this Antillean, Caribbean, and Latin American land—we may celebrate our Declaration of Independence.
ICE in PUERTO RICO
By Steven Lausell
Photo cortesy of Colectiva Feminista en Construcción
The xenophobic and racist practices increasingly employed by the United States government against migrant communities are experienced differently in Puerto Rico. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to carry out discriminatory and arbitrary arrests targeting members of Dominican and Haitian communities in Puerto Rico, among others. By using tactics of extreme violence, masked and unidentified ICE agents aim to sow terror within our migrant communities.
The great irony is that these operations are being conducted in Puerto Rico by a distant, foreign colonial power against communities that are predominantly Caribbean and Latin American. The people of Puerto Rico share deep cultural, social, and historical ties with other populations of the Greater Caribbean. For centuries, our peoples have lived alongside and intermingled with one another, forging bonds of solidarity and brotherhood. Faced with this crude exercise of colonial power by the United States, one must ask: who is it that truly does not belong in Puerto Rico?
Additional references
Living conditions for Puerto Ricans keep deteriorating
By Olga Sanabria
Living conditions in this U.S. colony in the Caribbean have deteriorated rapidly in recent years, and particularly in recent months. Currently, this is evident in the severe difficulties the population faces in accessing water and electricity.
In September, due to interruptions in both services, hundreds of thousands of families across the country—in both urban and, especially, rural communities—have intermittently been left without water and/or electricity. Families have been forced to rely on purchased water truck deliveries, government-supplied tanks (provided on an irregular basis), or large jugs of water bought at supermarkets. In higher-elevation areas, the lack of electricity is a primary cause of water shortages, in addition to affecting personal hygiene and the viability of businesses, such as restaurants. Families—particularly single parents with children—and the elderly are among those most severely affected.
Increasingly, people are forced to rely on private solutions for needs that the colonial government—or indeed any government—ought to address. Intermittent blackouts and water service disruptions, while sometimes scheduled, remain unpredictable. Meanwhile, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of the potable water produced is lost due to leaks and other infrastructure issues.
Regarding electricity, citizens are resorting to purchasing generators, installing solar panels, and employing other costly measures. Factors contributing to the drastic deterioration of this essential service include the turnover of skilled technical and managerial personnel—a consequence of the privatization pushed several years ago by the Financial Oversight and Management Board, which has controlled Puerto Rico’s public finances for a decade.
Both the water and electricity crises are exacerbated by infrastructure neglect, the natural and unaddressed deterioration of equipment, constant management turnover (often driven by partisan politics), staff reductions, corruption, and private interests. Notably, major irregularities recently came to light regarding a multi-billion-dollar contract for emergency power supply.
Meanwhile, an announced hike in energy costs is set to push prices to unprecedented levels, forcing a segment of the population to choose between electricity and lighting versus putting food on the table—a dilemma they already frequently face.
The situation regarding these services and other issues has sparked constant mobilization demanding government action, yet the response has been slow, inadequate, and insensitive. These problems compound existing crises in education, healthcare, pensions, and the public university system—issues largely stemming from budget cuts imposed on the colonial government by the Financial Oversight and Management Board.
Esencia is a no-go! Moncayo, Dorado Waterfalls, and ORA World aren't happening either!
Por Estelí Capote – Maldonado
The incumbent colonial administration, led by Jeniffer González and backed by the government of U.S. President and real estate developer Donald Trump, has initiated the rapid dismantling of governmental, legal, and land-use planning structures. The stated objective is to pave the way for at least four luxury residential megaprojects aimed at foreigners—Esencia (Cabo Rojo), Moncayo (Fajardo), Dorado Waterfalls, and Ora World (Loíza)—all situated within ecologically valuable natural reserves.
This offensive is being carried out by undermining the Permits Act (Act 161-2009) and the Joint Regulation, effectively turning the OGPe into a fast-track approval window that bypasses rigorous environmental assessments by the DRNA. Through “Location Consultations,” protected rural lands and the maritime-terrestrial zone are being rezoned for the benefit of private capital.
To silence community resistance, legislative reforms impose crushing legal barriers: they require bonds running into the millions—equivalent to 10% of a project’s total cost—to seek injunctions halting destructive construction, while also restricting legal standing to file complaints.
Fueled by the tax exemptions of Act 60, this reform seeks not efficiency, but the institutionalization of dispossession: shortening review processes, stifling community protest through unattainable bail amounts, and irreversibly privatizing Puerto Rico’s reserves and coastlines.
Download the anthology: https://www.editoraemergente.com/index.php?id_product=249&rewrite=cabo-rojo-es-nuestro&controller=product&id_lang=1
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