Two weeks ago, Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism published one of the most consequential investigative stories in the island's history: a trove of leaked private Telegram chats between Governor Ricardo Rossello and his most senior advisors and officials, in which the group use crude, homophobic and misogynist labels to mock and degrade opposition figures, Puerto Rican celebrities, and the people of Puerto Rico as they struggled with the aftermath of hurricanes Maria and Irma, left to swelter and die by a local and national government that had abandoned them.
Since then, Puerto Rico has been roiled by mass demonstrations, initially calling for Rossello's resignation, but now for deep, structural reforms to an island whose long history has been one of colonial occupation, oppression, and looting.
The protests have been led by feminists and queer activists, supported by the likes of Ricky Martin, a beloved, gay Puerto Rican pop star who was targeted for homophobic slurs in the leaks. As they've gained strength, the protests have drawn out more and more people from all walks of life -- with the vanguard still made up by political radicals who will not accept cosmetic compromises.
The Puerto Rican government has responded with riot squads and violent suppression, in a spectacular miscalculation that has only brought out more people. To make things worse, the police appear to have manufactured a casus belli by setting off fireworks behind their lines, a fraud so transparent that it has robbed them of any credibility they had left.
There's no sign that the protests are losing steam. Instead, they're gaining momentum, thanks in part to a second blockbuster from the Center for Investigative Journalism, detailing a high-stakes web of corruption with millions in looted public funds and bribes that goes straight to the top.
A small, densely populated island with a shameful colonial past up in arms demanding self-rule and an end to autocracy and corruption? If it's not Hong Kong, it must be Puerto Rico.
Since then, Puerto Rico has been roiled by mass demonstrations, initially calling for Rossello's resignation, but now for deep, structural reforms to an island whose long history has been one of colonial occupation, oppression, and looting.The protests have been led by feminists and queer activists, supported by the likes of Ricky Martin, a beloved, gay Puerto Rican pop star who was targeted for homophobic slurs in the leaks. As they've gained strength, the protests have drawn out more and more people from all walks of life -- with the vanguard still made up by political radicals who will not accept cosmetic compromises.
The Puerto Rican government has responded with riot squads and violent suppression, in a spectacular miscalculation that has only brought out more people. To make things worse, the police appear to have manufactured a casus belli by setting off fireworks behind their lines, a fraud so transparent that it has robbed them of any credibility they had left.
There's no sign that the protests are losing steam. Instead, they're gaining momentum, thanks in part to a second blockbuster from the Center for Investigative Journalism, detailing a high-stakes web of corruption with millions in looted public funds and bribes that goes straight to the top.
A small, densely populated island with a shameful colonial past up in arms demanding self-rule and an end to autocracy and corruption? If it's not Hong Kong, it must be Puerto Rico.
by Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing | Read more:
Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images via
[ed. Puerto Rico's been treated like the U.S.'s bastard stepchild for decades (some people still without electricity, nine months after Hurricane Maria).]
