Some 79,000 homes and businesses were still without power in Puerto Rico on Saturday, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Fiona hit the island, data showed.

After wreaking havoc in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Fiona turned north and hit eastern Canada on September 24, also leaving more than a third of Nova Scotia without power.

Nova Scotia Power, a unit of Canadian energy company Emera Inc., said about 78,200 customers there were still without power as of early Thursday.

Fiona hit Puerto Rico on September 18, leaving the entire island, home to some 3.3 million people, without power.

This Saturday, the company Luma Energy, in charge of the transmission and distribution of electrical energy in Puerto Rico, reported that it increased the restoration of energy service on the island to 90% after the passage of Hurricane Fiona.

As detailed by the company on its website, 1,321,567 customers of some 1.4 million already have the service, 13 days after the onslaught of the cyclone.

The number of subscribers currently with electricity represents an increase of more than 100,000 compared to the 1,214,124 subscribers who had the service until yesterday, Friday, according to the data offered by Luma on its portal.

Clients in the San Juan, Bayamón and Caguas regions already have more than 95% electricity, followed by Arecibo with 90%, Ponce with 79% and Mayagüez with 62%.

On its page, Luma also indicates that the estimated time to restore 90% of the service in Ponce and Mayagüez is between October 4 and 6.

“Although we continue to make progress, we know that there are still many people in Puerto Rico without electricity due to the impact of Hurricane Fiona,” acknowledged Daniel Hernández, Luma’s director of renewable systems and projects, in a press release.

“Given the magnitude of the damage identified through our post-hurricane assessments, we anticipate that more than 90% of customers will have service by Saturday,” he said.

Hernández, however, acknowledged that the restoration of service will take longer in the most affected areas of Ponce and Mayagüez, “where we are mobilizing brigades and resources to support restoration efforts.”

Hernández also assured that Luma continues to give priority to crucial facilities and lifelines of the community, such as hospitals and the facilities of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA).

Therefore, he indicated that Luma has restored service in all Level 1 hospitals and 93% of AAA facilities. The company has also started reviewing critical Tier 2 and Tier 3 facilities and their infrastructure.

“Luma is committed to our restoration efforts in the most affected communities, and throughout Puerto Rico, and we will not stop until every customer’s service has been restored,” Hernández said.

(With information from agencies)

According to the latest bulletin from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Fiona is located about 80 kilometers from the coast of the island. It is specified that the cyclone generates maximum sustained winds of 128 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

The NHC reported that heavy rains will continue until tonight in the south and east of the island, registering from today until Monday in the Dominican Republic. These rains will produce life-threatening flash flooding and urban flooding in Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, along with landslides and landslides in areas of higher ground.

This same day, the US president, Joe Biden, had declared a state of emergency on the island. “President Joe Biden declared that an emergency exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Fiona, which began on September 17, 2022 and continues,” the statement read.

In addition, the local authorities of Puerto Rico will be provided with the equipment and aid resources provided in the event of a disaster to “alleviate the difficulties and suffering caused by the emergency in the local population.”

(With information from RT in Spanish)

Left out of the event at Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, was the nation that hosted the first edition of the classic in 1949. Nor do we forget that, in 1966, the U.S. government denied Cuban players visas to participate in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, an injustice that led to the historic Cerro Pelado adventure, when athletes reached Puerto Rican soil on this ship to compete in friendship, while besieged by U.S. aircraft.

The Series began, and despite the decision to exclude Cuba, Anaymir Muñoz, vice president of MBSports – the company promoting the competition – made the shameless assertion that, “We are doing everything possible to ensure that the Caribbean Series does not become political.”

For fear that fans would demonstrate against the hardship Puerto Rico has suffered under the administrations of former Gov. Roberto Rossello and now Wanda Vazquez, “People who insist on bringing signs that violate this code of conduct will not be allowed to enter the stadium, and those fans who display them inside the facilities, and refuse to remove them, may be removed from the stadium, if they do not comply with the first warning.”

The Puerto Rican people have not forgotten that amidst the destruction and despair left in the wake of Hurricane Maria, with almost 3,000 people dead, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on the island throwing rolls of paper towels to the victims.

Anaymir Muñoz attempted to argue that this code of conduct in the Caribbean Series was not related to the demonstrations that “some” Puerto Ricans have held over the last year against Rosello and Wanda.

What is Muñoz worried about?

“Since foreign countries are coming, we are going to try to avoid it… We are going to try to make the series a sporting event, cultural, friendly, not political,” he insisted.

Do the Puerto Rican people, by any chance, believe him?

(Granma)

The United States President Donald Trump and his cortége (Bolton, Pompeo, Rubio, Abrams) are obsessed with Venezuela. They have breakfast, tweet and talk in their unique language of aggressiveness against Caracas.

Public and secret funds are now being allocated for an imperial attack against the South American country. The U.S. State Department is requesting 500 million dollars for its interventionist activity in Venezuela next fiscal year. The Pentagon is making calculations for an eventual military assault. Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, authorities, inhabitants, the media, question where is the promised and unfulfilled aid on behalf of the United States Administration to face the unresolved effects of two powerful hurricanes, Irma and Maria, that hit in September 2017, as well as the increasing accumulated poverty rates in the so-called Island of Enchantment.

President Donald Trump complained a few days ago that his Administration, which controls Puerto Rico as a colony, allocated about $ 91 billion for its recovery. According to him, that amount exceeds the aid granted by the Federal Government to other states also affected by tornadoes. Nevertheless, Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rosello refuted those statements and stated that in fact Washington had only granted $5.3 billion, specifically to restore their power supply and to replace steel and wood roofs ripped off by strong winds with tarps.

Rossello said that 18 months after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005 under the George W. Bush Administration had, 2,400 permanent building projects, while Puerto Rico has only 46.

Puerto Rico suffered more than 4,000 deaths during and after Hurricane Maria, an amount not recognized by the administration in Washington, and more than a year passed before its power grid was restored. People around the globe will never forget the image of Mr. Trump throwing paper towels to an audience that received him during his brief 4 hour visit to Puerto Rico.

High Child Poverty Rates

Childhood poverty has been a heavy burden for Puerto Rican society for decades. According to statistics released by the non-profit Institute for Youth Development (IDJ), it has never dropped below 50% since 1999.

The latest Well-being Index of Children and Youth, released yearly by this non-governmental organization during the last five years, shows an increase of 58 per cent in 2017, the last year with available statistics which is 2% more than in 2016.

What is worse, according to newspaper El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico has had more poor children than non-poor for decades but there are no governmental policies against it.

“We have never had a public policy aimed at this issue of childhood poverty. It is not incorporated into economic development plans. Sometimes we talk about the participation of the labor force, which is helpful but it’s not the same as taking into account the needs of families with children, who have very specific challenges. We do not see that either in political agendas,” says IDJ executive director Amanda Rivera.

Statistics from the United States Census Bureau show that Puerto Rico’s standard of living has continue to decline. . At the end of July 2018, 44.4% of the Puerto Rican population was in poverty.

That same information shows that poverty rates in the United States is at 12.3%.

U.S. Census Bureau Data

The famous showcase colony that the United States tried to display in the sixties and seventies as opposed to the Cuban Revolution has completely broken down.

A news article recently released by Puerto Rican Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation in the U.S., warned about the situation of living on the island; “A real national emergency continues in our nation almost a year and a half after Hurricane Maria ripped apart the homes and livelihoods of millions of Puerto Ricans, leaving tens of thousands struggling without jobs and housing, and suffering through a federal disaster-relief effort that is so poorly managed that it almost appears intentional. A year later, we continue to see heartbreaking evidence of how President Trump and his administration continue to dismiss and disregard the plight of American citizens living in Puerto Rico.”

The Puerto Rican people are second-class citizens for Trump and his Administration. They are loathed and forgotten. They are colonized and discarded.

There is not one single thought from the White House’s boss for the Boricuas in need. He is too busy drafting his next tweet or a new sanction against Venezuela.

http://www.cubadebate.cu/opinion/2019/04/23/trump-obsesionado-con-venezuela-mientras-deja-a-puerto-rico-a-la-deriva/#.XMIebNhlAb5

Source: Cubadebate, translation by Resumen Latinoamericano North America bureau

The first presentation of the Puerto Rican is scheduled for tomorrow at the Josone Varadero Jazz & Salsa Festival, which began this Thursday at the famous Cuban resort.

Santa Rosa heads the line-up of the event along with other prestigious foreign and local musicians, including Salvadoran singer-songwriter Alvaro Torres, U.S. jazz musician Nicholas Payton and the Cubans Gente de Zona, pianist Alejandro Falcon and the legendary rumba group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.

Two days later, El Caballero de la Salsa, also known as the singer, will perform in this city, in a unique concert scheduled for 21:00 local time on the Havana Malecon.

The successful performer of hits like Vivir sin ella y Que alguien me diga and winner of several Latin Grammy awards has many followers on the island, and has worked alongside local artists Descemer Bueno, El Micha and Candido Fabre.

(Prensa Latina)

In a draft resolution adopted by consensus, the Special Committee once again urged the United States to assume the responsibility of promoting a process that allows Puerto Rico to take sovereign decisions to address its urgent economic and social needs.

Promoted by Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, Russia and Syria, the text was added to the 36 resolutions and decisions on Puerto Rico adopted by the Committee since 1972.

A press release on the UN news site highlights that this year’s document refers to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, which exacerbated unemployment, marginalization and poverty, in addition to aggravating problems related to education and health.

The resolution calls on the General Assembly to comprehensively examine the question of Puerto Rico and decide on the issue as soon as possible.

It also urges the United States to guarantee the protection of the human rights of the Puerto Rican people, and to return the territory occupied by its military bases, in particular the Vieques and Ceiba islands, and to assume the costs of cleaning and decontamination of these areas.

The text also expresses concern about actions carried out against pro-independence activists and calls for rigorous investigations.

The first speaker was former political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, who highlighted the accelerated depopulation of Puerto Rico, to the point that there are just over three million people on the island and over five million have migrated to the United States.

He highlighted the high number of professionals and young people who have left the island in search of employment and a better future. He reiterated his criticism of the Fiscal Control Board, which manages the finances of the government of Puerto Rico and orders the austerity measures to be implemented.

López Rivera expressed his hope that the General Assembly take up the case of Puerto Rico, as the only body with the power to end colonialism.

(Granma)

On the occasion of the commemorations of the Grito de Lares (the Lares uprising of September 23, 1868), which continues to inspire current generations to fight for national sovereignty, the Puerto Rican activist noted that the struggle for true independence endures. The country continues to be governed by the United States, currently exerting huge pressure on the island to pay off its massive debt, much of which is owed to U.S. investors.

González explained that Puerto Ricans are currently facing a very difficult situation, after being hit by two hurricanes, Irma and Maria, with the destruction yet to be fully quantified. This is aggravated by the complex economic crisis, including the impossibility of accessing funds to repair damages, and the population’s lack of material resources.

He noted that the Financial Oversight and Management Board, appointed by the U.S. government to impose austerity measures, with wide-ranging power over local authorities, has approved just 2 billion dollars to respond to the emergency, despite the widespread destruction.

González added, “The positive aspect of the moment is seeing our people united, helping each other to conduct self-evacuation during the hurricane and now cleaning up their areas and streets to try to restore normality in the shortest possible time. This attitude strengthens us as a nation, and we advance in our struggle to achieve the decolonization of Puerto Rico.”

He thanked Cuba for the offer of aid to help hurricane victims, still awaiting a response from the United States. “Unity among the Puerto Rican people and that vision of the country, far removed from the North American territory, will help us triumph against colonialism, beyond the decisions of the Financial Oversight Board, the annexationist government, and economic problems faced at this moment,” he stressed.

Since 1975, a day of support for the decolonization of Puerto Rico has been held every year in the Cuban capital, coordinated by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). The event recalls the Declaration of Independence pronounced with the Grito de Lares and pays tribute to the founding father of the Puerto Rican homeland, Ramón Emeterio Betances, and independence patriot Filiberto Ojeda, assassinated on September 23, 2005, by agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

During this year’s commemorations, ICAP President Fernando González Llort expressed his confidence that one day Puerto Rico will be free, and activities to mark this important date will be of a different character: “Perhaps at that time we will celebrate the national holiday, but keep in mind the commitment of Cubans to accompany the Puerto Rican people always.”

The decorated Hero of the Republic of Cuba recalled Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, an educator of the new generations on the subject of solidarity with this sister nation, and stated that Cubans today have the responsibility to support the independence struggles of the peoples of the world.

He also referred to Filiberto Ojeda, asserting that “One day there will be schools and streets with his name and the people of Puerto Rico will have him in their hearts as one of the unyielding fighters for the country’s independence. He was able, at over 70 years of age, to leave us an example of resistance, of struggle, of being willing to make the greatest sacrifices for the dream of a free and independent Puerto Rico.”

The event concluded with a performance by Puerto Rican trova singer-songwriter, Roy Brown, who emphasized the feeling of his people in his chorus: “Thus I shout at the villain: I would be Puerto Rican even if I were born on the moon…”

(Prensa Latina)

By Elma Beatriz Rosado

To Juan Antonio Corretjer Montes, for giving us “Boricua en la luna.”

“The victory of a Puerto Rican over another Puerto Rican is the defeat of the motherland.”
Pedro Albizu Campos

“The National Puerto Rican Parade is arguably the soul of the Puerto Rican community.” Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Chair of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade

This year, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York will be held without the participation of its traditional commercial sponsors. Some of our top Puerto Rican journalists reported that an amplified campaign from conservative sectors and statehood proponents was the key factor responsible for getting several of the sponsors to withdraw from the June 11 event.

Nonetheless, parade organizers are still guided by their motto, “One Nation, Many Voices” and have upheld their mission—“to create awareness and appreciation of Puerto Rican culture and history, as well as to highlight our community’s contributions to the global society.” They continue promote art, culture and education in the Boricua community, both in Puerto Rico and in the United States. They have also developed a scholarship program that, thanks to its sponsors, offers higher education opportunities to 100 students of Puerto Rican origin enrolled in high school and college.

Twenty-two Puerto Ricans were selected as this year’s parade’s honorees—the first of them is the designated Grand Marshal, the beloved Caballero de la Salsa, Gilberto Santa Rosa. Baseball catcher Ivan Rodríguez has been chosen as Godfather and vedette Iris Chacón as Godmother. In addition, the Communities Award will be given to the town of Hormigueros and to the Puerto Rican communities in Lorain and Cleveland, Ohio. Personalities from various branches of the arts, culture, sports and history will represent the diversity of our people. All these honorees deserve to be mentioned: Julio Monge, Modesto Lacén, Éktor Rivera, Shalim Ortiz, Alan Villafaña, Ricardo Luis Villarini, Walter Mercado, Bobby Cruz, Ismael Rivera, Jr., Ana Isabelle, Jeimy Osorio, Yandel, Ozuna, Rolando Alejandro, Buscabulla, “Team Rubio – Los Nuestros” Puerto Rico 2017 World Baseball Classic team, Monica Puig, Laurie Hernández and Oscar López Rivera.

No matter how many times one repeats the names of the 22 honorees, several companies sponsoring the parade and its educational scholarships withdrew their money because they did not agree with one of the 22 invitations—López Rivera. The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, even became one of the instigators of the actions boycotting the parade, saying that he “would urge anyone—all of the sponsors and anyone to avoid supporting this initiative,” based on his disagreement with the organizers, from whom he perceives an “intention to make [López Rivera] a hero.”

Late last year, Rosselló was one of López Rivera’s more public supporters. But now, he changed his mind.

And will not forget.

A governor who incites an active boycott so sponsors pull out of a celebration has as its north the unification of a nation —of more than eight million people— should know that his actions will certainly have consequences. Rosselló’s operative to differentiate or establish differences among Puerto Ricans this Sunday on Fifth Avenue got the attention of the media, and consequently, that of the citizens of the United States. There is no doubt that he succeeded, although he seems to be unaware of the consequences of his fifth columnist action. Drawing negative attention to the event has shown people in the United States how different Puerto Ricans are from them, and so attention has focused instead toward the struggles for independence, the actions of the independentistas and the persistence of a struggle that remains active to this day. The campaign, as soon as it took off, crashed.

In addition, it has become evident to Puerto Ricans that the governor’s bad faith toward his own people —those living in Puerto Rico or abroad—has created the tragic and incorrect message that boricuas are not brothers and sisters. Trying to damage this long-lived event, which this year reaches its 60th edition, is to play dirty with Rosselló’s own lineage.

Boricuas will always be one nation.

The most terrible thing is that with that one action, Rosselló also denied his support and recognition to Gilbertito, Iván, Iris, Julio, Modesto, Team Rubio (Los Nuestros), Mónica, Laurie and the rest of the honorees. The governor turned his back on those who have brought pride, joy, and an increase in the self-esteem of the Puerto Rican people at key moments. Just like Rosselló, Puerto Ricans have also been scorned by companies like AT&T, Coca-Cola, Corona, Goya Foods, JetBlue, New York Yankees, Univision, Fox News, NBC, Telemundo 47, the New York Daily News, as well as by New York firefighters, police officers unions, Hispanic associations, city officials and politicians—including governor Andrew Cuomo and New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Instead of honoring the Puerto Rican community, it really looks like Héctor Luis Álamo summed it up perfectly with this piece: “The Puerto Rican Revolution Will Not Have Corporate Sponsors.”

Confronting efforts to sow discord in an attempt to divide Puerto Ricans, Oscar has asked the organizers of the parade that instead of honoring him, the honorees should be the pioneers of the diaspora and those who have worked for his release, which maintains the original link to the purpose the organizers had in mind. He also wishes that the honor be shared by “those who are confronting the fiscal crisis, in the health and human rights system” that Puerto Rico is facing, in which the University of Puerto Rico’s students (whom Oscar has fervently supported) are its most vocal messengers. Oscar will say ¡presente! along with his Puerto Rican brothers and sisters on Fifth Avenue and walk with them like the humble Puerto Rican he is.

But this goes beyond that just a parade. Not content with dividing Boricuas in New York, the proponents of Puerto Rican statehood will unilaterally vote on the political status of the Puerto Rican people—the same day of the parade. The so-called plebiscite is another divisive act, as it will not have the participation of the independence sector nor the sovereignty sector —not even the status-quo supporters will participate— as all have called for a boycott.

The vote is not binding.

No entity will recognize it.

Just ask the U.S. Justice Department.

If Rosselló hoped to promote Washington statehood for Puerto Rico, he has actually failed and has promoted precisely the opposite—on the very same date the Nationalist Party pays homage to the Puerto Rican flag.

Trying to erect a fifth column on Fifth Avenue is to disrespect the motto “One Nation, Many Voices” and it is an aggression against the very “soul of the Puerto Rican community.”

It will not be forgotten.

Ever.

This, according to Decorated Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Fernando González, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICPA), speaking on May 17, in the terrace of the organization’s headquarters.

Some 200 people gathered there, watched and listened as Fernando and the Puerto Rican activist spoke via telephone.

Brother, they kept repeating to each other.

Silence reigned as attendees listened intently to Oscar, who was difficult to hear at times due to a bad connection.

“I always imagined that one day we would see you walk through that door… Today, as we celebrate your true and definitive release, I recall our years together in U.S. prisons. Those were the best years, if you can talk about years spent in prison as “best.”

“We’ll be able to sit beside you on the Havana Malecon and talk. We await you as our brother,” stated Fernando after reaffirming Cuba’s support for Puerto Rico’s independence struggle, a cause to which Oscar has dedicated his life.

Meanwhile, López Rivera thanked Cuba, ICAP, and the island’s people for their unwavering solidarity.

“Oscar gets out today and will be met with a colony (Puerto Rico) in chaos, where attempts are being made to privatize higher education,” stated Edwin González Vázquez, a representative of Puerto Rico’s mission in Cuba.
“However, he will continue fighting for decolonization. This fight is the party of which Oscar will become a member,” he stated.

The first photos of Oscar that have been circulating the globe since his release, show our brother dressed in black, with an image of the Puerto Rican flag on his shirt. They show him smiling as he greets followers and supporters before getting into a white Jeep, escorted by the mayor of San Juan as he made his way to a government office to have the electronic bracelet, which monitored his movements, removed.

This is the Oscar who returned to Puerto Rico. Some 50 people, bearing flowers and national flags, chanted ‘Free at last!’ accompanying the activist as he walked around the San Juan neighborhood of Santurce.

Meanwhile, another group from the University of Puerto Rico, surrounded the car in which he was traveling, singing hymns.

This is the Puerto Rico that received Oscar.

Sentenced in 1981 to 55 years in prison, López Rivera speaking at that time, stated that Puerto Ricans have the right to fight for the island’s independence by any means necessary.

Various media outlets reported on the activist’s visit to the U.S. city of Chicago, May 19, where he lived from age 15 up until his incarceration.

There, the Latino community welcomed the independence fighter andunveiled a sign designating a street named in honor of Rivera, in the Humboldt Park area.

The first images of Oscar since his release show him near the sea and among his people, including one with Residente, frontman of renowned Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13. There have also been reports of Rivera’s plans to travel to other countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela, in order to thank the people for their solidarity and efforts to secure his release – but not before paying a visit to the town of San Sebastián May 21, where he was born and lived until he was 15 years of age.

(Granma)

“I love this people, I love them with my entire heart, I am a pepiniano through and through,” stated López Rivera regarding the place he left when he was 15 years old, to go and live in the United States. Despite returning once following his move, his imprisonment for struggling to secure Puerto Rico’s independence in 1981 kept him away from his hometown for over 36 years.

The Puerto Rican activist, who arrived to San Sebastián del Pepino on May 20 with his daughter Clarisa, stated that it was there that he developed a sense of solidarity, which he continues to offer; calling on citizens to defend the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), under threat due to government budget cuts.

López Rivera condemned the closure of 179 public schools by the Ricardo Rosselló Nevares administration and reaffirmed his commitment to the country’s independence struggle.

“I know how to do two things in this world – I know how to work and I know how to struggle. At 74 years of age I hope to have enough energy to do the two things that I believe in,” he noted.

López Rivera arrived in Puerto Rico on February 9 to serve out the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in his daughter Clarisa’s home, before being officially released on May 17.

(Granma)