This is Puerto Rico
In 2017, Puerto Rico received media attention from the impact of Hurricane María which struck the island two weeks after Hurricane Irma skirted past. Three years later, though much of the media may be gone, the devastating effects of the hurricane are not.
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Due to the effects of the storm, many survivors left the island and moved to the U.S. About 5.4 million Puerto Ricans reside in the continental U.S., a trend that surged after the damages caused to the island after hurricane María.
However, it was not only because of María that islanders had to leave the ‘Island of Enchantment’. After the Category 4 hurricane, Puerto Rico was battered by other storms which left its infrastructure unstable and forced families to pack their bags.
Struck by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes, fights against political corruption and a global pandemic, Puerto Rico was hit wave after wave and is fighting to stay on its feet.
This is Puerto Rico.
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Hurricane María
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Image credited to CNN.
Three years after the near-category 5 hurricane struck the island in September, Puerto Rico is still reeling from the impact of the storm. The first storm in 85 years to directly affect Puerto Rico, Hurricane María left more than three million residents without power, killed nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens, and caused $100 billion in damages to the island.
Many residents were left without power for months while authorities scrambled to get the situation under control. Among the struggles corresponding to the storm, supplies took longer than expected to reach the island.
The first shipment being sent 10 days after the hurricane, most of FEMA’s goods took more than two months on average to reach their final destination. When received, the containers were reported as insufficient, empty or containing different goods than expected.
“Lamentably it was a disaster. The communities were the first to take responsibility and work,” said Dr. Luisa Seijo Maldonado,70, academic and Puerto Rican activist. “The people of the community were the first to get to work.”
Seijo Maldonado is a social worker and activist in Puerto Rico, helping families across the island with relief. After the natural disaster, Seijo Maldonado and her organization including other university professors visited towns house by house delivering rice, beans, and baggies containing any supplies needed.
A government report states the goods sat in FEMA’s custody for roughly 48 days, experiencing shipping delays of 71 days for water and 51 days for food. Problems with expired food affected 40 percent of the municipalities in Puerto Rico.
Along with the goods received, some shipments were reported as filled with candy, cookies, and other snacks lacking nutritional value. FEMA stated they lost track of only 19 of 9,775 containers which took them several months to locate.
According to FEMA, they delivered a “historic quantity of meals and water to Puerto Rico.” FEMA reports to have shipped and distributed 63.6 million meals and 74.1 liters of water.
“Hurricane María posed geographic and logistical challenges not typically experienced with other storms. The fragile infrastructure in Puerto Rico, particularly the power grid, exacerbated the level of destruction and hampered the initial response,” a FEMA representative said. “FEMA has made improvements in logistics operations to include increasing planning factors and disaster supplies for the Caribbean such as meals, water, tarps, sheeting, cots, blankets, infant and toddler kits, durable medical kits, consumable medical kits, and generators.”
Having learned lessons from 2017-2020, FEMA says it is better prepared in the case of any emergency.
As part of the relief program for Puerto Rico, COR3, Programa de Reparación, Reconstrucción y Relocalizacion has received at least 26,951 requests and sent them to FEMA to be aided from the $3,289 given for aid. Of those requests, only 103 houses have been rebuilt thus far.
Law agency Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico is looking into the matter, demanding the organization to state when the repairs will be finished.
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The aftermath of Hurricane María sparked public spats between Puerto Rican leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump. Creating a ‘tweet war’, Trump shared his beliefs of ‘unhinged’ San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a leading vocal critic of the administration’s hurricane response.
“Survival cannot be our new way of life,” said Cruz at a House Democratic Caucus news conference. “While the American People have had a big heart, President Trump has had a big mouth and he has used it to insult the people of Puerto Rico.”
Trump accused the mayor of “poor leadership” and stated the people of Puerto Rico are not doing enough to help themselves.
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The public spat occurred shortly after Trump had visited the island two weeks after Hurricane María devastated the island. Trump and the administration stated they were timely and efficient with the relief of Hurricane María yet officials on the island argued Texas and Florida had received more of a response. Trump also engaged in a #fakenews assault on news organizations claiming they were biased towards him.
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Trump received backlash during his visit to Puerto Rico as he was seen tossing paper towel rolls into the crowd of survivors in a shelter as they crowded around him in need of the supplies after the devastating hurricane.
It did not take long for Mayor Cruz to respond. Calling the act ‘insulting’, Cruz was horrified by the display.
Image and video link credited to CNN.
46 days before the election, Trump announced he will be giving $13 billion in disaster funding to repair the island’s electrical and educational infrastructure which was severely damaged after the hurricane. Two separate grants will be distributed for the educational facilities and electrical infrastructure.
The White House said $9.6 billion in federal funding will assist the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to repair electrical substations, power generation systems, and other improvements to the electrical grid. An additional $2 billion grant will be authorized to Puerto Rico’s Department of Education to help repair and restore schools.
"While I certainly hope to see this money put to good use making Puerto Rico's electrical system more resilient, these delays are unacceptable, and it is insulting to Puerto Ricans everywhere that the Administration is so blatantly playing politics with this aid, said Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y in a statement.
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Political Corruption
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
Residents also criticized the local government for their relief mismanagement and miscalculated death count which resulted in mass protests across the island to have former Governor Ricardo Rosselló resign. During the aftermath of Hurricane María, Puerto Rico’s government mismanaged the goods and sent them to a personal residence.
“He wasn’t there for María and he wasn’t there for the earthquakes,” said Seijo Maldonado. “It was astonishing [the amount] of families that lost everything.”
The mismanagement of Hurricane María was the tip of the iceberg for the people of Puerto Rico. In 2018, a year after the storm, Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism released a 889-page transcript of leaked messages between Rosselló and his cabinet members. The leaked chat, which took place on Telegram, revealed sexist and homophobic jokes, making fun of activist groups and morbid jokes about the cadavers which accumulated in an understaffed morgue after Hurricane María.
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Rosselló shares Cruz’s tweets with : “She is drunk already.”
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The chat also revealed that Rosselló’s political party manipulated the polls to advance their image. This led to multiple high-profile arrests.
One year after the hurricane,the people of Puerto Rico had enough. In song and dance,tens of thousands took to the streets of Old San Juan to protest against decades of high-profile leaders neglecting the needs of the people and benefitting at their expense. Lining the streets from the Capitol to the Cobblestone Streets of Old San Juan, the people demanded their governor resign.
“¿Dónde está Ricky? Ricky no está aquí. Ricky está vendiendo lo que queda del país”, they chanted. In English: “Where is Ricky (Ricardo Rosselló)? Ricky is not here. Ricky is selling what is left of this country.” #RickyRenuncia was written throughout the streets of Old San Juan.
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
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In one instance, as the crowds chanted and danced in the rain in front of the governor's building, a woman painted as the black Puerto Rican flag, parted the crowd and stood on the barrier. Saying nothing, she raised her fist as the crowd raised their fist as a response.
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
The black Puerto Rican flag represents a Puerto Rico in mourning. The colorful red, white, and blue flag being pride, the black flag was created as a silent protest to the U.S. about our conditions as a territory.
The flag first emerged in the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan, as a protest against the US-imposed federal control board, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). Signed, June 30th, 2016 by the Obama administration, it enacts a seven-member fiscal control board to regulate P.R.’s budget. Black flags lined the streets of Puerto Rico during the protests.
On August 2 after many continuous days of protests in the streets of Old San Juan, Governor Rosselló resigned. Among famed persons in Puerto Rico to appear in the protests were Ricky Martin alongside Residente, Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, and singer, iLe. Secretary of Justice, Wanda Vázquez seceded Rosselló instead of his secretary of state because he was also involved in the political scandal.
This year marks the largest number of delegates running for governor of Puerto Rico. A total of six candidates, it is also the first time in recent history that Puerto Rico’s two main political parties, the New Progressive Party (PNP) and Popular Democratic Party (PPD) failed to secure more than 40% of the overall vote.
“No more red and blue. We have the opportunity to change the direction in Puerto Rico to have an honest government, without corruption, that works for the people,” said newly elected member of the House of Representatives for the Citizen’s Victory Movement Party (MVP), Maríana Nogales Molinelli. “The possibilities are infinite and we can change the bad direction we have been carrying.”
A Puerto Rican lawyer and social activist, Nogales Molinelli is part of the Citizen’s Victory Movement whose brand is the party of and for the people. Nogales-Molinelli also participated in many protests in Puerto Rico.
“The people of Puerto Rico know that if something is proposed- it will be fulfilled and that is why I say that the mentality here has changed. The summer of 2019 was a ‘game-changer’,” said Nogales Molinelli. “The people have learned that people of different political ideologies, different religious beliefs, different sectors, and social classes can unite together for a cause.”
The same day as the U.S. presidential election, the Puerto Rican election results were released hours after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election. Pedro Pierluisi of the pro-statehood New Proggressive Party (PNP) received 33% of votes compared to the 32 percent obtained by Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) which supports the territory’s colonial status.
Newly elected Governor Pedro Pierluisi is working towards pushing for statehood, a move he believes will benefit the people of Puerto Rico. He congratulated newly elected President Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, stating he is looking forward to working with them to the betterment of Puerto Rico.
Biden had previously promised during his candidacy that he will be overseeing the island on its quest to ‘determine its own status’...
Earthquakes
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz. More pictures on Slideshow.
Doors shook as buildings grumbled and trembled. Glasses resting on nightstands dropped to the floor. A view from outside the building revealed cracks had chipped the paint of the building in Plantation, Dorado. This was nothing compared to towns closest to the epicenter.
With the first of the series of earthquakes starting on Dec. 28, the island still has earthquakes nearly every day. A magnitude of 6.4, the largest earthquake since then has been on Jan. 7. Towns near the epicenter such as Ponce, Guánica, and Guayanilla were directly impacted by the tremors.
“The 7th of January, an earthquake threw me off my bed to the floor,” said Modesto Rodriguez, 74, a resident in Yauco, a town closer to the epicenter. “It was something out of this world. The house moved as if it was a house made of cardboard.”
The Jan.7 quake was part of a 10-day series of tremors caused by the grinding of tectonic plates along three faults south of Puerto Rico. Eight people were injured in Ponce, east of Yauco, and 346 people were left homeless mostly in the south of the island.
Rodriguez was among the residents in the south of the island that lost their homes.
“Emotionally, we got affected. We couldn’t live there. It was too dangerous,” said Rodriguez. “You could say we lost our house though we ended up being able to repair it later.”
Rodriguez spent two months moving in with family elsewhere. With risks of his house falling onto that of his neighbor’s, construction workers had to demolish what was left of his marquee and rebuild his home.
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Rodriguez received no aid in the reconstruction of his home and had to rebuild using a loan. He has yet to finish rebuilding his home.
The most powerful earthquake to strike Puerto Rico in 102 years, the tremor had caused the entire island to lose power. 300,000 people had their drinking water cut off and newly seceded Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez declared a state of emergency across the island.
Nearest to the epicenter, Guánica, Ponce and Guayanilla suffered a great ordeal. Among popular structures lost to the quakes, Punta Ventana crumbled in Guayanilla. A tourist location, what was once a hole, or ‘window’ in a cliff, is now crumbled showing no resemblance to the once popular natural structure.
Ponce’s Historic Zone, home to the first fire station in Puerto Rico, was added to National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of ‘America’s 11 Most endangered historic places for 2020’. This marks the third year in a row the organization has listed a Puerto Rican historic location.The Puerto Rican Cultural Institute (ICP) and the Ponce municipality are conducting a plan to restore the historic zone.
According to FEMA, 33 municipalities were eligible to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance for the earthquakes. FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have approved $114.3 million in assistance to earthquake survivors.
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FEMA also obligated $238 million to PREPA for emergency protective measures related to 28 peaking units providing power to critical facilities. FEMA stated this is the largest obligation for the earthquake disaster and school site inspections remain a priority for both COR3 and FEMA.
A Future for Puerto Rico:
What’s Next?
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
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Alongside voting for their governor in the recent election, Puerto Ricans also voted on whether they wanted statehood with the U.S. With 95 percent of votes counted, U.S. statehood was leading with 52 percent support. However, it is ultimately up to the U.S. Congress to approve any changes to the island’s political status.
This year marked the sixth time since 1967 that the island cast ballots on its political status. Statehood being a largely debated topic, it is what separates the two main political parties in Puerto Rico.
“We would lose our identity if we converged with the U.S.,” said Luis Agrait, a history professor at University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras. “Puerto Rico would be in the same condition without any advantage. There’s no motive..”
Agrait believes the future of Puerto Rico depends on its ability to better their entire situation including the ‘governmental collapse’ and focus on its social development.
Others such as previous governor, Ricardo Roselló, believe the future of Puerto Rico lies with its incorporation to the United States.
In Aug. 2020, Rep. Nydia Velázques and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a statement introducing the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act. The legislation would prompt Puerto Rico’s legislature to create a status convention whose delegates would be elected by voters in Puerto Rico. Developing a long-term solution for the island’s status, the plan would be voted on by the people of Puerto Rico and presented to U.S. Congress.
Covid-19
People waiting in line to vote for their governor in Bayamón. Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
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Puerto Ricans are staying indoors while they plan their future. Recent restrictions ordered by Gov. Vázquez started on Nov. 16 in order to curb the rising COVID-19 cases. Activating the National Guard to enforce the new restrictions, a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew has been implemented. Face masks mandatory, the curfew will remain in place until Dec. 11.
According to Health Department officials, the island is seeing more than 600 cases a day with a spike in the number of hospitalizations in the last month. The number of cases can rise up to 1,200 or more by late December.
The island of 3.2 million residents has reported more than 40,500 confirmed cases, 35,400 possible cases and more than 900 COVID-19 related deaths.
With the upcoming holiday season, government officials are urging families to stay home, suggesting they meet over Zoom. Restaurants, casinos, churches and gyms are limited to 30 percent capacity. Among measures, beaches are open only for exercising purposes.
Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves of San Juan notes that COVID-19 is not the most deadly virus affecting Puerto Rico. In a 28 page letter released on Aug. 24, he states the ‘pandemic of corruption’ is “a social, political, and economic scourge that rots and eats away at everything.”
Amid COVID-19, the aftermath of several natural disasters, political scourges and an impending status decision, Puerto Rico is getting ready for the future. For now, This Is Puerto Rico.
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Photo by María Fernanda Cestero Muñiz.
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