Puerto Rico: to continuing fighting in order to throw out the political caste!
Through the past months Puerto Rico has become the center of attention due to series of protest, mobilizations and strikes in the 13 th -24 th of July, which ended up with its Governor Ricardo Rosello having to resign. The mass media are trying to cover this series of protest as motivated solely by the comments Rosello made to his cabinet, in which he made homophobic remarks against Puerto-rican personalities, against the press, the Maria Hurricane victims, etc. This incident has been labeled the Telegramgate.
But the truth is the Telegramgate only triggered the protest, because the reasons that actually provoked this rebellion are of a structural nature, and as such those reasons have not been resolved. Quite the opposite, those reasons will come back to surface and sharpen up.
To begin with, Puerto Rico it´s a quasi-colony. That is, even despite the fact that Puerto Rico is no longer a legally USA's colony, it's economical and political domination by the USA makes its prey. But, unlike other backward countries who have managed transform their selves into semi- colonies, Puerto Rico has not. Thus the island is a quasi-colony.
First, Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony, which in the late XIX Century was given to the USA after the Spanish-American war of 1989, when Cuba becomes independent of Spain and Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines are ceded to the USA in exchange of a compensation. Since then, the Puerto-rican population has lived as a de facto colony of the USA, with some minor concessions along the history.
For example, in 1917 the Jones-Shafroth Act was approved, giving Puerto-ricans the American citizenship but, among other things, this citizenship wouldn´t allow them to cast their vote for presidency unless they have a registered house in the USA.
Also, in 1950, the Public Law 81-600 was also approved, which allowed the political elite of Puerto Rico to craft their own national constitution, but it had to the approved as well by the USA. Thus, in 1952 Puerto Rico was formally granted as a commonwealth.
This way on, Puerto Rico is formally led by its Legislative Assembly, but with its powers cut: the laws they approve may be nullify by the USA Congress; Puerto Rico neither has its own fund control, its own army, the ability to ask for loans to other countries or financial entities, etc. Thus, the Legislative Assembly it's in fact a transmission chain of the imperialist interest in the island, administered by the political elite of Puerto Rico.
Now this lack of sovereignty it's combined with the economical problems of the island: an external debt valued in 73 billion dollars, a non-stop recession for the last 10 years, 35% unemployed, 50% of poverty, only the 40% of the 3 million people who live in the island have a registered job, etc. This situation made possible for it being more Puerto-rican outside the island rather inside.
Before all of this, the island was intervened by the Obama administration in 2016, with the PROMESA Act. This Act imposed the Fiscal Control Board, with higher powers that the puerto-rican constitution and legislative assembly, in order to make Puerto Rico pay its national debt. Since then firing, cutting salaries, and health, scholarships have grown.
And a year later the Maria Hurricane hit the island. Leaving over 40.000 death and missing people, but Rosello's government took a whole year to recognize the victims, and even when he did, he lowered the amount of victims in order to pay the less compensations possible.
This were the structural facts that, along corruption and the Telegramgate, made possible July's rebellion against Rosello's government, with an outstanding presence of trade unions (such as Unión General de los Trabajadores and the Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores) witch, despite repression, were able to defeat Rosello, with its highest pointbreak on July 22th with a general strike with mobilizations and half a million people gathered around the Hiram Bethorn stadium.
Pierlusi took the government, after Rosello's resign. Nevertheless the very Legislative Assembly destitute him of the charge, replacing him with Wanda Vazquez; the three of them are all member of the New Progressive Party (right-wing liberals). But even despite Wanda Vazquez promised she would make the living standars to grow for the working people, the fact is the whole government is suffering the internal crises of the New Progressive Party that wants to make the workers pay for the debt.
Because of this the most conscious anti-capitalist workers and oppressed people of Puerto Rico must unite themselves into a Worker's Revolutionary Party that struggles for political power, to commandeer the capitalist and to fight for a real independence for the island in order to build socialism:
For a general increases in salaries, to equal a Basic Food Basket indexed every month!
For a Mobile scale of working-hour for work for all!
To form self-defense groups against police repression and, if there´s a imperialist aggression, for them to develop into people's militias!
No payment for the debt! Down with the Fiscal Control Board!
Independence for Puerto Rico with no terms!
Down Wanda Vazquez and the all the pro-imperialist elite! General strike to drive them out!
For a worker´s government of the Unión General de los Trabajadores and the Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores to apply an economical and workers contingency plan.
OC-RWCI