General Secretary

27th of July, 2019

San Juan Puerto Rico

Translated by J. Boshcka

An embrace of solidarity to all people in the struggle!

During the past few days we have seen how the colonial government starts to reorganize after the resignation of Dictator Ricardo Roselló. 

The right and colonialist class is utilizing the following discourse about the situation in Puerto Rico to justify itself:

• Corruption shows that the Puerto Rican people cannot govern themselves 
• The demonstrations jeopardize the policy and economic restructuring that they are implementing
• Ricardo Roselló’s government failed because he did not follow the recommendations made by the Fiscal Control Board
• The corruption demonstrates that the colonial government requires even more “supervision” by the federal government

All these ideas can be observed in  Fox News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, official communiqués and Social Networks of Donald Trump and expressions of some colonialist policies; like Jennifer Gonzales (Resident commissioner in Congress) or Thomas Rivera Shatz (president of the Senate in PR).  This is done with the intention of robbing the historical events of the struggle of the people, and utilizing it according to the imperialist interests in our lands.

Before such postulations we answer thus:  

• Corruption in the country is not a new matter and is a reflection of the corruption of the US government itself. During the past few days we have been in constant communication with North American organizations and they have told us how unpunished is the corrupt politics of the empire.  Therefore, if corruption is evidence that our people cannot govern on their own, the same must be said of all American people. What corruption actually demonstrates is the logic of a system that feeds the ruling class through the exploitation of the working and marginalized classes.
• It is the neoliberal policies that are putting the marginalized and working classes at risk. Both sectors have a duty to protect themselves from austerity and its consequences. Our country lives in constant violence, which worsens, while poverty, lack of opportunities, and the elimination of rights continue to increase. These measures are the real danger and encourage the influence of the US government in our country. It is them who are responsible for each action and measure that people have had to take in defense of their own well-being. We should not be confused by the discourse that the country is unstable because the government has not been as “strong” with austerity measures as the situation “requires.”  With those words, what these people mean is that the masses must sit down and obey their commands; they are asking us to keep silent while we continue to close schools, hospitals, privatize beaches and eliminate rights that are necessary to have a decent and fair life. We reiterate, this is a struggle on the part of the ruling and exploiting classes to continue plundering us to pay for the due that they themselves created. The marginalized and working classes ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEBT.  Debt has been the excuse for all the policy undertaken during the past years; the debt is illegitimate, it is illegal, and it is colonial, WE MUST NOT PAY WITH OUR SWEAT.
• The government of Puerto Rico failed because it is not designed to serve its people. This means that the colonial government has consistently failed from the moment it was created. The people, the working and marginalized classes, do not have to plunge the burden of feeding the capitalist exploiters who only care about their own welfare. These are the people who created the debt, who hide the corruption, and who smile on camera while killing the future of the country. 
• Corruption is not the main problem of the country. The main problem in Puerto Rico, and many countries of the world, is the silencing and political alienation of the masses. The capitalist system works to protect the oppressive, exploitative and corrupt classes. These classes are not only present on our island, but the governments of the United States and other parts of the world. Corruption is a symptom of a system based on exploitation: this system limits our political powers to an issue every four years; this system makes us passive entities of little importance as to what the government does; This system eliminates the rights of the poor, marginalized, and working classes, while feeding the pockets of large multinational corporations, vultures and banking class. We do not need further intervention; we require a new government that really works for our well-being and progress and not that of the bourgeois class. This government will be forged from below, to suppress those who are now above.

Now, we are seeing the struggling sectors coming together more and more. We are seeing how the popular classes in Puerto Rico are organized in self-convened assemblies to sustain their own power outside political parties or entities of the system. We believe that a better tomorrow is possible and is beginning to be built.

It was the union against corruption and dictatorship that allowed victory. The work done by different organizations, the discourses they built against the Board and austerity measures, prepared the ground for people to say “ENOUGH.” What we saw happen does not come from nowhere, it has been a succession of events that have accumulated to give people the motivation to go out and demand what they need and for what they feel is right

Finally, if you want to start organizing and do not know how, feel free to communicate with us, we can, and we want to help. Let’s talk, let’s be people, let’s share ideas; LET’S CONTINUE OUR MARCH OF GIANTS!

Categories: U.S. News