Sign-On Letter Condemning the Actions of the Puerto Rican Government on May Day and Demanding Justice for the Puerto Rican People

May 3, 2018

We, the undersigned organizations, stand in solidarity with the Puerto Rican people and organizations that came together on May 1, 2018 to march against inhumane austerity measures that continue to drive a massive exodus of families in search of a better life. We stand with the millions of Puerto Ricans who remain on the island and fight every day to sustain their families and improve their collective quality of life. We write today to condemn the inhumane and violent police actions of the government of Ricardo Rosselló.

On May 1, 2018, thousands of Puerto Rican people, including elderly adults and children, who were exercising their First Amendment right to protest were met with state violence through the use of tear gas and violence at the hands of the police. Images captured at the event, corroborated by first-hand accounts, show crowds of people fighting to catch their breath as they ran away from police in riot gear. This type of scene has no place in a democratic society. The right to assemble and express frustration at the government is essential to the practice of democracy. We are deeply disturbed by Governor Roselló’s defense of the police brutality and demand that the local government take the appropriate actions to prosecute those who gave and executed the orders for these actions to take place.

On May 1, 2018, thousands of Puerto Ricans came out to protest the measures that the governor and the fiscal control board have put forward over the last two years. These measures adversely affect working class Puerto Ricans, and include:

1. Privatizing of the public school system and the power company;
2. Doubling the tuition costs in Puerto Rico's public university;
3. Closing over 300 schools;
4. Slashing labor rights;
5. Raising taxes; and
6. Cutting pensions.

This dire situation is forcing families to flee the island en masse. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies estimates that Puerto Rico could lose 14% of its population, 470,000 people, by 2019.

On May Day, the people of Puerto Rico came out with clear demands for their government. Today we stand with them and echo their demands in solidarity, and we commit to advocate for them in the United States.

We further demand immediate accountability for the May Day violence. Our demands are as follows:

1. Stop austerity: The Government of Puerto Rico should stop all austerity measures and invest in the working people of Puerto Rico by strengthening labor rights, raising the minimum wage, and promoting other policies that allow families in the island to live with dignity. Living with dignity includes rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid with 100% clean and renewable energy and keeping the power grid and power generation in public hands under community control, so as to mitigate the climate crisis and adapt for future extreme weather.
    
2. Cancel the debt: The Government of Puerto Rico should not make, and the U.S. government should stop promoting, any more debt payments to billionaire bondholders. Instead, all government efforts should focus on securing payments to pension holders. The Puerto Rican government should also prosecute any individual that has profited from the debt crisis.
    
3. Prosecute: The Government of Puerto Rico should conduct a full, transparent and impartial investigation into the police violence during the May Day actions and prosecute every police officer and civil servant who instructed and executed these acts of violence against the Puerto Rican people. We also encourage human right organizations to conduct their own independent investigations and oversight to guarantee that this process is done with full transparency.

We, the undersigned organizations, stand in solidarity with the Puerto Rican people and their demands, condemn the actions of the Puerto Rican government, and demand that the local government take the appropriate actions to prosecute those who instructed and executed these actions.

Sincerely,

215 People Alliance
32BJ SEIU
About Face: Veterans Against the War
Action Center for Race and the Economy
Action NC
Alliance for Puerto Rico-Massachusetts
Alliance for Quality Education
American Family Voices
Americas for Conservation
Arkansas United Community Coalition
Black Voters Matter Fund
Blue Future
CASA
Center for Popular Democracy
Chicago Boricua Resistance!
Climate Hawks Vote
Coalition for Education Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Courage Campaign
CT PR Agenda
Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement
DiaspoRicans DiaspoRiqueños
Florida Immigrant Rights Coalition- FLIC
HANA Center
Harry Potter Alliance
Hedge Clippers
Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project
Journey for Justice Alliance
Korean Resource Center (KRC)
Lil Sis
Maine People’s Alliance
Make the Road CT
Make the Road NJ
Make the Road NV
Make the Road NY
Make the Road PA
Maryland Communities United
Massachusets Jobs with Justice
Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition- MIRA
Mi Familia Vota
Movement Voter Project
NAKASEC - Virginia
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
New Haven Association of Legal Services Attorneys
NYCC
OLÉ in Albuquerque, NM
One America
Organize Florida
Pennsylvania Student Power Network
PICC
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
Presente Action
Progressive Caucus Action Fund
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)
Promise Arizona (PAZ)
Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts
Refund America Proyect
Resource Generation
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN)
SPACEs
Student Power Networks
Sunrise Movement
TakeAction Minnesota
The Bully Project
The Shalom Center
United Action CT
United for a New Economy
United We DREAM
VAMOS4PR
WeChoose Coalition
Womens March
Youth Progressive Action Catalyst

www.populardemocracy.org

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Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

Media Contact: Samy Nemir, (929) 285-9623, solivares@populardemocracy.org