Rebuild of Puerto Rico urged
Many call for better island recovery plan
Like thousands of Central Florida residents, Javier Torres Centeno is worried his mother may have to leave Puerto Rico soon.
The organic farm where Torres’ mother works is in coastal Arecibo, which was hit hard by Hurricane Maria. Efforts to rebuild the farm are hampered by roadblocks and power outages.
“Puerto Ricans can take care of themselves, but unless they rebuild soon, my mom will have to move here,” Torres said.
That sums up the message a growing number of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. are trying to send to Washington: Rebuild Puerto Rico, as fast as possible, or you will see a flood of citizens arriving from the island. And they will struggle to find work and permanent housing on the mainland. There are 3.5 million people in the U.S. territory.
Torres, who speaks passionately about the island, joined a group called Vamos4PR (Let’s go for Puerto Rico) to lobby and raise awareness for fast infrastructure spending on the island.
Vamos4PR is also seeking a comprehensive and fair restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt, including a moratorium on debt payments
until the economy recovers, and a thorough audit of the debt, expansion of workers’ rights and an increase in minimum wage on the island. The group is made up of labor unions, human rights groups and nonprofits.
They also want new investment in Puerto Rico in renewable energy, tourism and agriculture, along with a boost in education budgets there.
State Rep. Amy Mercado, D-Orlando, is part of the effort. She recently visited the town of Ponce on Puerto Rico’s southern coast to see the damage.
“Puerto Ricans want to be in Puerto Rico, unless they can’t work or have quality of life,” Mercado said. “How we help the island will affect the amount of people that come here. Debt is important.”
Activists were briefly encouraged when Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in Florida related to Puerto Rican recovery and when President Donald Trump said the nation would have to “wipe out” Puerto Rican debt. But the White House almost instantly walked back on that statement, after Wall Street panicked and the value of Puerto Rican bonds dropped.
Mercado has asked for a special session of the Florida Legislature to form a better state plan to deal with the crisis.
“If we don’t address it proactively, it will take much longer and be a bigger problem,” Mercado said.
A recent arrival from the island is also joining the group: Laura Santa, an attorney from Bayamon, near San Juan. She flew Wednesday to Orlando with her son. She said she can’t make a living in Puerto Rico because the roads and power are out. Her husband was already living here for work.
“I love my profession, and my island, but I feel like we had no choice but to leave,” Santa said.
She said grocery store shelves in her town were still empty, and she had to wait seven hours in line for gas recently. She was able to arrange a flight with her husband’s help. She walked past about 500 people who were waiting at the airport for flights.
“You have to understand, this hasn’t started yet,” Santa said. “There are normally dozens of flights every day from San Juan, but lately the airport has only seen about 10 flights a day. Once the air traffic picks up, that’s when the real migration will start.”
Orlando economist Hank Fishkind said many Puerto Ricans will be heading to the U.S. soon, but he agreed the number ultimately depends on how quickly the island’s power is restored and business resumes there.
Kira Romero-Craft, an attorney for the not-for-profit LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a civil rights group that compares itself with the NAACP for Latinos, said she thinks the U.S. is trying to minimize the perception of the Puerto Rican problem.
She and Mercado said Trump’s television appearances from when he visited the island were all from the wealthiest areas of the island near the capital San Juan, one of the few zones that has power restored.
Meanwhile, the lack of phone and internet service where Torres’ mother lives is adding to his anxiety. It’s a little over an hour’s drive west of San Juan. An uncle in a different location managed to get him on the phone, but Torres has only received one text message from his mother.
“It’s a six-hour wait at the bank there to get cash,” Torres said. “It’s our responsibility to hold our public officials accountable here, to get more help for them.”