Hundreds protested in Puerto Rico on Thursday in a demonstration reminiscent of those that ousted the island’s former governor last year, as anger grows over emergency aid that until recently sat unused in a warehouse amid ongoing earthquakes.
Demonstrators gathered under the heavy rain at the governor’s mansion as they waved flags, banged on pots, with even a guillotine carried aloft, although it appeared to be purely symbolic.
Um, the people of Puerto Rico are carrying a guillotine to the Governor’s mansion right now. pic.twitter.com/uAeH1WoLcN
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) January 23, 2020
The newest protest, organized by the Puerto Rican singer René Pérez of Calle 13 fame, has unleashed debate about whether Puerto Ricans should try to oust Governor Wanda Vázquez as the US territory struggles to recover from a recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake that killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes in the island’s southern region. Officials are still awaiting millions of dollars in federal funds for Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit in September 2017.
“We’ve had enough,” said 82-year-old Iris Guardiola as she waved a tiny Puerto Rican flag. “The people are tired of the abuse … of the lack of humanity. I am here helping those who cannot be here.”
One former protest leader, Rey Charlie, who jumped to fame after leading hundreds of motorcycle riders in a demonstration last summer, said he will not participate in the most recent one.
“A massive demonstration like the one last year would cause great damage, damage that I think would be irreparable,” he said. “You are holding up the economy, you are holding up aid supplies to victims in the southern region, you are paralyzing the country … You have to think of the consequences.”
Charlie and other critics of the recent protests argue that the most effective strategy is to vote in the upcoming general elections in November, in which Vázquez is seeking a second term as governor. Vázquez has only briefly addressed the recent protests, warning of people who want to talk about “negative issues”.
“We cannot allow groups with other interests to divert our attention,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re in a moment of helping people in the south, not of creating controversy.”
Vázquez came under fire on Saturday after an online blogger posted a live feed of a warehouse in the southern coastal city of Ponce filled with water, cots, baby food and other supplies dating from Hurricane Maria. A group of people broke into the warehouse and began distributing supplies to those affected by the recent quake, which prompted Donald Trump to approve a major disaster declaration for more than a dozen municipalities in the island’s southern region. More than 4,500 people remain in shelters.
The governor fired the director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency shortly after the incident, as well as the secretaries of the department of housing and family, as she blamed them in part for not distributing the aid.
René Pérez said people should not wait until the general elections to express their discontent.
“We’re not going to wait until November because the politicians in this country are not going to wait until November to steal. They’re going to steal starting now,” he said.
Concerns over alleged corruption and mismanagement have delayed federal funds to Puerto Rico and led US officials to impose new restrictions as the island struggles to emerge from a 13-year recession.
Carmen Velázquez, a 71-year-old retiree, said she doubts the protests will accomplish what they did last year, “but I can’t remain sitting at home. The lies and the cheating are still going on.”
