Puerto Rico's Government Collapse . July 2019
If you've been wondering what is happening in Puerto Rico lately, well I'll try my best to explain, because honestly I feel like ranting. It is truly upsetting. But first, allow me to introduce the important elements of Puerto Rican Politics:
PNP: 'Partido Nuevo Progresista de Puerto Rico'. The people in this party have been fighting to strengthen PR's relationship with the USA by becoming the 51srt State. Their argument mainly relies on equal rights for all US citizens.
PPD: 'Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico'. These relics like to keep a booty-call-type relationship with the US but are not looking to move things to the next level. They want us to remain a Commonwealth, a territory.
*Since their existance, these two parties have been swapping members and governmental power. Four years of blue, four years of red, then blue, then red and that's how it's been. The Baby Boomers are particularly strong headed about the party they support.
PIP: 'Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño'. This is the party most people forget about in 99.9% of their life time because they never act when it matters. They never win, because they want independence, and the only people that support independence are youngster who don't vote, scholars who don't vote and elderly who don't vote (I mean, some PIP supporters vote)
Ricky Roselló: Current Governor of Puerto Rico from the PNP party who is being asked to resign to his position, he is the son of former Governor, Pedro Roselló.
Ricky's Dick Clan: To summarize, but are members of Ricky's government distributed among various offices. And yes, they are dicks.
Thomas Rivera Schatz: A dangerous snake of the PNP, currently the President of the House of Representatives with dubious morals, a strong decisive voice that people find appealing and a mysterious persistence to keep his Hitler mustache (seriously, look him up). He has a private agenda to become the biggest snake that ever lived by eating the people of his party until he is the only one standing.
Jennifer Gonzalez: A milder in character but still important member of the PNP, currently working as PR's Resident Commissioner in Washington. Her loyalty is doubtful and and has her own agenda, like Rivera Schatz. However, Gonzalez is not a snake, she's like a bear you fear because you're not sure if she's fed and will eat you or napping.
Julia Keleher: A foreigner who someone thought would be a good idea to hire as PR's Secretary of Education. She has been hated by Puerto Ricans and teachers since day one, closed over 300 schools, moving students to crowded schools and leaving teachers jobless. She resigned in April 2019 over rumors of a Federal Investigation and was arrested by the FBI earlier this week with over 30 charges against her.
Beatriz (Bea) Roselló: Ricky's wife, mother of teo Rosellitos and PR's First Lady. This woman isn't bright, AT ALL. During Hurricane María, she was the main figure of Unidos Por Puerto Rico, the Government Organization supposedly made to help raise funds for the victims of the Hurricane. The money was raised, the supplies arrived or were sent, but only Bea could dispatch them. And guess what? She hardly did. Right now, Unidos Por Puerto Rico is being investigated as well for displacement of funds and supplies that could have helped save the lives of 4,645 people.
Bea's Unidos Por Puerto Rico was the main channel that recieved most of the help sent by everyone outside of PR. Money, medicine, food, supplies, materials that were directly sent to people here, ended in the Unidos Por Puerto Rico vault. And that should be good, the government could have control and send the help where it was most needed. But the thing is that none of us ever saw the help or the money. Why? Because Bea was supposed to deliver it with a huge 'De Fortaleza Para Ti' banner, taking credit for the millions of dollars that good hearted folk donated to help us. The same thing happened with the supplies. They were withheld in ports and undisclosed locations awaiting their despatch, only that Bea was pregnant and could not deliver food, water or medicine to where it was most needed. All that help was lost, damaged or wasted, the money sent to someone's favorite pocket and people died because of dehydration, hunger or lack of medicine and treatment. Because one woman was pregnant.
Rumors of the investigations regarding Unidos Por Puerto Rico and many other dubious dealings with possible arrests have been flowing around social media for months, but earlier in July, the arrests finally took place on various areas of the Island and in USA. Among the arrested, was Julia Keleher, other hand-chosen members of government and the president of private company. The chargers, we speculated, would involve most of the PNP party, including the Governor and his wife, but they were only rumors. The arrests and investigation should have been the biggest thing this week, however the #TelegramGate scandal emerged and everyone burned.
The #TelegramGate is the release of 889 pages of screenshots of a Telegram chat between Ricky and his Dick Clan in which they made inappropriate comments of about every single citizen in Puerto Rico. They made homophobic, misogynistic, anti-trans comments about everyone, including notable celebrities like Ricky Martin and Ada Monzón (a Puerto Rican meteorologist). They shared the breasts of women and rated which were 'hitable' and joked about a man's body resembling a 'planet whose gravitational pull was too strong'.
Now, you may be thinking that Ricky and his Dick Clan resemble the way Donald Trump talks on a daily basis, and you would be right. However, among the truths revealed in this Telegram Chat there were a lot of government decisions privately made to manipulate stories. The Dick Clan would devise to 'kill' stories that weren't to their benefit, like the true death toll for Hurricane María, or visit specific talk shows to move the opinion in their direction. They even moved their cards to cancel Hamilton in PR from being presented in the UPR Theater, after it was rebuilt and refurbished specifically for the play and would bring a lot of positive promotion to the university, blaming the 'unsafe' environment of the campus and then presenting themselves as the hero when they suggested to move to another theater. Money was moved, lies were created, opinions were shifted. These are just some of the dealings in this chat, which was released in its entirety on Saturday, July 13.
Slowly, as the country read the despicable text, people began to raise their voices demanding the Governor to resign his post. Ricky already fired his Dick Clan, but people want his stepping down as well. They have been protesting since last night, and may continue protesting until they hear of Ricky's resign. People have taken to social media to verbalize their disgust: Ricky Martin, Calle 13, Bad Bunny, even Donald Trump are asking to Ricky's resign.
Now, here's our issue. When Ricky resigns, someone has to become the Governor of Puerto Rico until elections are held again. The job should go to the Secretary of State, but he was part of Ricky's Dick Clan, so he's out. Third in line is supposed to be the Secretary of Justice, but there are rumors running around about Rivera Schatz or Jenifer Gonzalez taking up the role as the two are the most prominent members of the PNP party. The members of the PPD are seizing up the opportunity to criticize and judge the PNP, meanwhile the PIP, who should be making use of this historical moment, remains silent.
Ricky has been avoiding the public and the press, outside his house, mobs of people are restlessly waiting to hurl insults and demand his resign. Bea, who last we saw her was supposed to be in France, may never return to Puerto Rican soil. No one knows where she and the two Roselló children are.
Why is this situation so important? Because Puerto Rico has always been divided: it's always been red against blue, PNP vs. PPD, and there has never been a consensus. And though some people still defend Ricky, most of us are angry and disgusted and we want the same thing. Hardly ever do we share a common interest in the difficult dwellings of our island, but for the first time the air of revolt that may bring in its wind a little bit of hope.