By José (Papo) Coss on October 11, 2021
Practice proved right those of us who warned early on about the coming tumble, for it was evident what it was all about.
In truth, the governor and the colonialist leaders of Puerto Rico have already lost what little credibility they had left. That is why, more and more, every day the people express their indignation in different ways, in the face of such shamelessness.
However, this colonial leadership still thinks that they can make fools of the country with actions planned by their advisors in manipulation. Hence, the sad media spectacle of supposedly “confronting” the odious Imperial Junta.
Their apparent courage did not last long for the annexationist governor (NPP) and the colonialist legislative leaders (PDP), ending up, as always, surrendering weakly to that group that only represents savage capitalism “made in the USA”. It is these characters who have been directing our destinies for 5 years now, without having been elected, while the Executive Director of the Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico, Natalie Jaresko, plays the flamboyant role of the foreign executioner.
Let us not forget that it was the “liberal democrat” Obama who imposed the dictatorship on us shortly before his retirement. At that time, some naive people believed in his good will and the convenience of “the Americans” coming, in the face of so much corruption of the traditional partycracy.
But experience proved right for those of us who warned very early on about the coming upheaval, since it was evident what it was all about. We all know by now that the only function of this legislative body is to ensure that the vulture bondholders of Wall Street collect their illegitimate debt at a premium. That is why they do not approve an audit of these bond issues.
They do not care that all basic public services, such as health and education, are being cut. Their life goal is to get richer. They are driven by greed and rampant selfishness. They do not care about the needs of the people of Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, every step taken by the backyard politicians to deceive the people has been dashed against the harsh colonial reality. They stick out their chests and the representatives of big foreign capital come out of their caves and give them a public face-lift.
Simultaneously, the aforementioned Board, euphemistically called “fiscal control”, has pocketed over 100 million dollars in only five years, as have the executives of the foreign electric power privatization company LUMA, who are on the same path in only one year. This includes extravagant salaries for their executives and lavish spending of all kinds, for which they also refuse to open their books, even in the U.S. Congress. Since LUMA took control of the country’s electrical grid four months ago it has been nothing but widespread blackouts and dysfunction.
Let’s be honest: does anyone in the world still have any doubt that Puerto Rico is ruled by the odious Junta, imposed by the criminal owners of our Caribbean territory? All this is happening in the 21st century, to the astonishment of the UN and the international community, which decades ago abolished colonialism and considered it a serious crime against all humanity.
This imperial affront entails compensating our militarily invaded nation for billions of dollars since July 25, 1898. For example, the free use of our territory for target practice from U.S. warships and other international powers, for more than 6 decades in Culebra and Vieques alone, is equivalent to billions of dollars in compensation. The US will have to pay many billions more to Puerto Rico as part of the decolonization process.
On the other hand, it is already evident that the people are beginning to understand that we have been a great business for the US and that the benefits are much less than what they have taken from us by exploiting us as a captive market.
The myths of the good master of the US and the image of the colonial parties as efficient intermediaries have collapsed in the face of ruthless corruption and the squandering of funds.
As a result of all of the above, Puerto Rico has awakened from its colonial lethargy and its outrage against the Odious Junta and the LUMA outlaws remind us that united we can defeat them.
In the summer of 2019, we succeeded in forcing the colonial governor Ricardo Roselló to resign in the face of the massive mobilization of the people. The next step will be to continue joining efforts to advance the decolonization and social justice of our Puerto Rican homeland.
Source: Telesur, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English