https://socialistaction.org/2016/10/21/what-does-promesa-mean-to-puerto-ricans-living-in-the-united-states/
What does PROMESA Mean to Puerto Ricans living in the United States?
/ 1 day ago
By MILLY GUZMAN-YOUNG
President Obama signed the PROMESA debt-restructuring bill into law
imposing a Federal Control Board onto Puerto Rico that is comprised of
seven appointed U.S. officials who will be in charge of the economy.
I see PROMESA as a threat to the livelihood of my friends and family in
Puerto Rico. It is a blatant disregard for the people of Puerto Rico and
a culmination of the sad history Puerto Ricans have suffered in the
hands of the United States from the Ponce Massacre of 1937, where 19
unarmed civilians marching peacefully were brutally murdered by police,
to the illegal Mordaza and Law 53 created to suppress the independence
movement. Let us not forget the bombardment and contamination of
Culebras and Vieques. The U.S. has been a constant threat to Puerto Rico!
PROMESA clearly shows us all the colonial status of Puerto Rico. I
realize that this problem is more deeply rooted than just one bill that
was passed into law and that the problem stems from U.S. imperialism.
The United States has been fraudulently manipulating Puerto Rico’s
politics and economy from the moment the U.S. military took over the
island and made it a colony.
Sure, they gave us the title of U.S. citizens through the Foraker Act
but only to hide the true colonial status it has maintained. We are
considered U.S. citizens yet Puerto Ricans on the island have no right
to vote for the president and have no representation in Congress. If
there was ever any doubt in the past, PROMESA has made it quite clear
that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States and that the people of
Puerto Rico have no autonomy or self-determination.
Since 2010, Puerto Rico’s legislature has faithfully fulfilled the
demands of creditors and bond-rating agencies: It has laid off workers;
raised prices for water, gasoline and electricity; increased property,
sales and small-business taxes; cut public pensions and health benefits;
raised the retirement age; and closed schools.
The debt amount is questionable too and must be investigated. The United
States has created much of the debt through the Merchant Marine Act
(Jones Act), which requires all products entering or leaving Puerto Rico
to be carried on a U.S. ship, and to top it off, the import fees are
paid to the merchant marine, not to the Puerto Rican Treasury!
Puerto Ricans on the island and in the U.S. are realizing that political
and economic decisions made by the U.S. for Puerto Rico are corrupt and
rigged. They exist to benefit the U.S. at the cost of the livelihood of
Puerto Ricans on the island. PROMESA is part of the big scam, and the
only promise PROMESA is keeping is to close more schools down, to make
Puerto Ricans lose their pensions, and to reduce their wages. For
example, the minimum wage will be lowered for anyone under 25 to a mere
$4.25 an hour! This is not a livable wage. And they plan to make it a
federal crime for workers to strike against all of these changes! It is
a trap!
PROMESA will further increase the unemployment rate, making even more
Puerto Ricans leave the island on top of the 400,000 who have already
left. History is repeating itself. As I recall from the past, the U.S.
government overly increased taxes on Puerto Rican farmers to the point
that they had to take bank loans, which ended up making them lose their
lands.
Puerto Ricans in the U.S. have a close tie to Puerto Rico and to our
culture. We do not want our families to be forced to leave our beloved
island because of the conditions set forth by the United States’ corrupt
politics and economics, which have not only oppressed Puerto Ricans for
decades but also led to the current debt crisis. How can we survive
these conditions? PROMESA threatens the livelihood of our friends and
family in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans on the island and in the U.S must
ALL stand together against it!
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October 21, 2016 in Caribbean, Latin America. Tags: PROMESA, Puerto Rico
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