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I’ve been asked why Americans should care about events in Puerto Rico. Here are some reasons (among many). #thread #Telegramgate #RickyRenunciaYa #RickyLeaks 1/
Demonstrators in Puerto Rico are demanding accountability, an end to cronyism, misogyny, racism, homofobia, media manipulation/attacks, and lack of empathy at the highest levels of power—this should all sound familiar to a mainstream US audience.
Puerto Rico’s political problems are not disconnected from the problems of US governance at large—they are similar but with the added intensity of an inherently anti-democratic imperial system of governance which makes change harder to enact and even imagine.
Precisely for this reason, the protests in PR should be an inspiration to larger US struggles for accountability and justice: while the US president has managed to stay in power after countless scandals, PR residents are not letting the governor’s scandals be swept away.
The current governor has become a symbol, not just of government corruption but also of the general lack of respect towards Puerto Rico, the disdain towards the population, the long-standing lack of democracy, and the inefficiencies of the so-called recovery.
Some will try to pain this as an exclusively Puerto Rican problem, or a sign of Puerto Rico’s endemic corruption — but these problems are not exclusive to Puerto Rico. They reflect the lack of ethics and empathy present at the very highest levels of power in the US and its empire
Among those arrested by the FBI last week was Philadelphia native Julia Keleher, a self-described “change agent” who was brought to PR to impose a Betsy Devoz style agenda of privatization and charter school system — now she is under investigation for Fraud.
There have also been numerous revelations long before this week about FEMA mismanagement, misconduct, and the granting of inappropriate contracts. Let us not forget the scandals over the recovery first exploded around the Montana based company Whitefish.
Lastly, the events of Puerto Rico are of not just national, but worldwide historic importance. This is the watergate of the digital era: a politician brought down by his own communication system and narcissism, revealing the true face of modern governance.
Protests are still taking shape and form, like all social movements they appear spontaneous but are the result of slow organizing/ longstanding battles. Many are calling this the “New Vieques” — which shows it is not a new movement but a new episode in a long history.
At first people said it was just the usual suspects protesting, but slowly unexpected characters are joining the protest. Also, new demands are being developed, new visions of what is possible...
Protestors are not just asking the governor to step down and cede power to yet another politician with a similar track record. Many are calling for new elections, new democratic tools, and new political models for Puerto Rico.
These demands reflect a pre-existing desire for change that was waiting for a catalyst. As I said, political change in the colony is hard to enact but most of all hard to imagine. This is a moment not just of action but also of imagination.
