Independent journalist from Puerto Rico | videos on YouTube: https://t.co/I7YZbM7dxB
Oct 10, 2023 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
3 reasons to care about what’s happening with Israel & Palestine:
- Your taxpayer money is supporting the killing of innocent ppl
- The propaganda used to justify violence against Palestinians is the same one colonizers have historically used to demonize colonized/oppressed ppl
- and because we’re talking about human beings here… that deserve to be free & safe just like you want that for yourself and yours.
So let’s get to it…
May 18, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
If you think Puerto Ricans being treated like foreigners in the U.S. is infuriating, wait until you hear about the 3+ million of them who are governed by a board they can’t elect.
Oh & that board doesn’t owe them transparency, as ruled by the Supreme Court last week.
For 7 years, PR has been ruled by a board imposed by the U.S. They make the financial decisions & overrule local elected officials.
They have played a role in:
- closing schools
- privatizing the power utility
- freezing public pensions to prohibit cost of living increases
May 13, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Telling the world about the amazing ways in which everyday Puerto Ricans make stuff happen against all odds is the honor of my life.
You can disagree with the method, but these are ppl who hold each other up in life or death emergencies. They stepped up when no one else did.
I moved back to PR because I missed home, but also to be of service. I couldn’t believe these movements were happening & I wasn’t hearing about them.
I wanted to challenge the narrative of the helpless ppl waiting to be rescued we often see in the news cycle after a disaster.
May 12, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Picture this. An investor from the U.S. buys an abandoned building in Puerto Rico for $108k. Holds it for 7 years untouched and lists it for $360k.
In the meantime, locals illegally enter and use it to cook for ppl after the hurricane.
The “squatters” get to keep the building.
It happened in Caguas. A group needed a place to feed ppl after hurricane María. They found an abandoned building, broke the lock and went in.
They cleaned it, installed solar panels and built a kitchen. They used it for 4 years and invested $120k before anyone came to claim it.
Jan 19, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
A judge approved a deal to restructure Puerto Rico’s debt.
The plan reduces a portion of the government’s debt by 80% from $33 billion to $7.4 billion.
What does this mean for Puerto Ricans? It depends on who you ask. 🧵
The U.S.-imposed board, that was created along with bankruptcy protections for PR, celebrated it as a victory: “The period of financial crisis is coming to an end.”
The governor also said the plan is “very good for Puerto Rico” and protects pensioners & the university.
Dec 15, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Bloomberg published an article about Puerto Rico titled: Zero taxes, golf and beach houses create a crypto island paradise.
It paints a picture of luxury & fun for newcomers. And it sounds like a win-win situation bc the article says the incentives appear to be creating jobs🧵
Here’s some context about the study cited in the article.
- the study was commissioned by the agency that created the incentives & the data is not publicly available for independent researchers to verify it.
- the study was done with info voluntarily provided by beneficiaries.
Oct 21, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Ppl sometimes justify the exploitation of resources in Puerto Rico & displacement of locals as the inevitable side effect of outsiders coming in to “rescue neighborhoods” & “make things nicer.”
But this ignores the many community orgs led by PRicans doing the work for decades🧵
That thinking implies that the only choices are investment for individual profit or neglect. But these communities propose (and have, in some cases, proven) there’s a third option.
One that rescues abandoned buildings so they serve the collective good & are open to the public.
Mar 29, 2021 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Este fin de semana @GovPierluisi anunció el "restablecimiento" de las reservas, incluyendo la que protege el terreno detrás de mi casa.
Pero hay que aclarar que las reservas siempre han estado en efecto. Lo que sucedió es que la información no estaba disponible públicamente.
Esta distinción es importante porque significa que durante el periodo en el cual el gobierno mantuvo la información secreta tampoco se debió aprobar construcción no permitida dentro de las reservas.
Ahora que hicimos preguntas y regamos la voz, publicaron la información.
Mar 29, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Over the weekend, Governor Pedro Pierluisi announced his admin was “restoring” the reserves as part of their “commitment” to protect the environment.
Let’s be clear. The reserves should have always been in effect. What happened was that the info wasn’t available to the public.
And it only became public after we started asking questions and spreading the word. The administration did what they’re obligated to do by law after the order from the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
We’re glad they did. But there are some things missing.
Dec 9, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Residents of Vieques are scared. The island is on red alert after getting 27 COVID-19 positive test results in one day.
At the end of Nov, tourists from Texas traveled there for vacation & tested positive when they returned home. Now, restaurant employees are testing positive.
The executive order doesn’t allow for tourists to visit Vieques but they keep coming in via airplanes.
Vieques had done a great job of keeping cases down through strict lockdown measures and contact tracing. Only 29 cases in months. Now, it reported almost that many in one day.
