Editor’s Note: Hopefully, the HIV community in the
mainland United States has been watching as the people of Puerto Rico took to
the streets to demand change in a government that has routinely failed them.
AIDS United wants to thank Rosaura López-Fontanéz for writing this article and to express our solidarity
with the people of Puerto Rico during this time of upheaval. We are grateful
for your fierce advocacy on behalf of the oppressed and can stand to learn much
by your example.
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Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean, has been a
territory of the United States since 1898, after the U.S. defeated Spain in the
Spanish-American War. We are an “unincorporated territory”, meaning the island is
totally controlled by the U.S. government.
The United States acquired Puerto Rico under the terms of
the Treaty of Paris. Because Puerto Rico is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have
a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction.
In 1917, because of The Jones Act, Puertorriqueños
were made US citizens, giving us the right to vote in the United States. However,
those of us that live in Puerto Rico cannot vote for the President of the
United States.
Two weeks ago, a Chat Telegram created by the Governor of
Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, was leaked to the people of Puerto Rico. This
chat, which included numerous government officials and lobbyists in addition to
the Governor, contained some truly despicable remarks, including:
- Misogynistic, sexist, and homophobic
comments;
- Discriminatory statements
regarding class and gender;
- Death threats against opposition
leaders, including the Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin;
- Making fun of those who passed
away during Hurricane Maria and joking about the crisis in Puerto Rico’s
Forensic Department where bodies piled up both during and after Hurricane
Maria waiting for autopsies.
Governor Rossello was highly active in the chat and many
comments made by him provided evidence of his own corruption and derision for
the Puerto Rican people. Publicly the Governor has admitted his participation
and has asked the people of Puerto Rico to forgive him.
This is happening during the most difficult period in Puerto
Rican history as we are still struggling to recover from the devastation that
was brought upon the island by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Rossello announced his resignation Wednesday night as Governor
of Puerto Rico, in response to the intense demonstrations that continue to take
place throughout Puerto Rico and across the world.
His resignation will be effective on the 2nd of
August 2019 at 5pm.
The collective resentment against the contents of the chat
and Governor Rossello has continued to rise due in large part to the remarks
made by him during his attempts to avoid being forced to resign. As if this was
not enough, federal arrests were made to several members of his cabinet due to the
corruption within his administration.
One example of this is former Secretary of Education Julia
Keleher. During her tenure, hundreds of schools in Puerto Rico have been closed,
leaving thousands of students across the island with no choice but to attend overcrowded
schools that are out of their districts and which have fewer teachers. In many
cases, the Puerto Rican government closed schools only to later sell them to
investors. Of 856 schools, Julia Keleher closed about 400.
The educational system in Puerto Rico currently serves more
than 300,000 students, and with so many school closures, Keleher and those who
support her have been trying to position charter schools as the solution. Earlier
this month, Keleher was arrested
and charged with fraudulently handing out more than $13 million in government
contracts.
Another official facing charges of fraud is Angela Avila-Marrero,
the former Director of the Health Insurance Services Administration (ASES) who is accused of fraudulently allocating roughly $2.5 million worth of funds. ASES’s model of care integrates the physical
and mental health of its people with the goal of offering access to medical services.
In addition, they oversee and evaluate the services offered by the medical insurance
companies in order to guarantee compliance and quality of services to the
participants of the government medical plan.
Among the most important systems that are essential in a society
are “health” (physical & mental) and “education”. These two have once again
been tampered with in Puerto Rico. And, after Hurricane Maria, the physical and
mental health issues among Puerto Ricans and the lack of access to quality education
have only been exacerbated.
Unfortunately, government corruption in Puerto Rico has
always played a major role. In 1999, Yamil Kouri, the former director of the
San Juan AIDS Institute and several others were charged with embezzling $1.4 million
from the AIDS Institute, which was established to treat people living with
HIV/AIDS. Former Governor Pedro Rossello (Ricardo’s Father) had hired Kouri as
a health care adviser early in his first administration.
Ricardo Rossello will be the first governor in Puerto Rican
history who has been forced to resign by the people of Puerto Rico. Our fight
has no political parties. We are the people of Puerto Rico and we will ensure
that a better Puerto Rico is possible!
Posted By: Rosaura López-Fontanez, MSW/LCSW, Puerto Rico Concra - Friday, July 26, 2019
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