This originally appeared in The Village Voice. Illustrations: Omar Banuchi Words: Ed Morales Written by Ed Morales, Illustrated by Omar Banuchi Originally published in The Village Voice, March 19, 2018
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Living in Spanglish: Puerto Rican Pride Edition
The new Living in Spanglish radio episode is a special Puerto Rican Pride edition, in time for the Puerto Rican National Day Parade in New York. There’s plenty of salsa, bugalú and boleros, and special guests iLe, Calle 13 vocalist with a new solo album called Ilevitable, and David Galarza, Nuyorican activist, talk about life, love, […]
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Republican Plan to Address PR Debt Crisis Is a Disaster
Okay let’s get this straight. Last week Obama free-styled on the White House lawn, apparently said he had the Oscar López Rivera matter “on his desk,” then took off for Havana, where he watched a baseball game and then on to Argentina to throw down with some tango dancers. Prominent members of the Puerto Rican/diaspora […]
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How Hedge and Vulture Funds Have Exploited Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis
For this island teetering on bankruptcy, debt renegotiation is imminent—but on whose terms? By Ed Morales New York–born Puerto Rican activist David Galarza spent this sultry summer Monday picketing a meeting of bondholders by day and meeting with professionals, students, and working people in the evening concerned about the increasingly scary crisis over the island’s […]
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Puerto Rico’s Dance With Debt
Puerto Rico, a de facto colony of the US, is usually not in the news outside of the travel and style sections. But as it stumbles towards a September default deadline that threatens to shut down government operations, the island territory has been a fixture in the business press, with headlines like: “Puerto Rico Faces […]
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Puerto Rico: Statehood or Enhanced Partiarchy?
The above is a sequence of Puerto Rico governor Alejandro García Padilla answering questions during last week’s hearing at the Senate Committee of Energy and Natural Resources dedicated to resolving the territorial status of Puerto Rico. (Why that committee? Well Puerto Rico is not a state, nor a sovereign nation. It’s a “natural resource” of […]
Read moreA New Deal for Puerto Rico?
Eduardo Bhatia, René Pérez, and Carmen Yulín Cruz backstage at Calle 13?s December 15th concert. (Eduardo Bhatia) Jan. 18, 2013 On Monday night’s inauguration in San Juan’s Parque Luis Muñoz Marín, new mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz rattled off slogans timed to her Twitter feed: “The University Will Be RESPECTED” she intoned, ensuring she will not […]
Read morePuerto Rico’s Simulated Self-Determination
The Puerto Rico Plebiscite That Wasn’t By ED MORALES Nov. 8, 2012 Puerto Ricans like to say that politics is the national sport, and who could argue with that? With a participation rate hovering near 80% and campaigning that features elaborate floats, loud music, and a carnival atmosphere, election day on the island comes off […]
Read moreNo Means No: A People’s Victory in Puerto Rico
All month long the people of Puerto Rico have been assaulted by a barrage of advertising on television, radio, and billboards urging them to vote for two constitutional amendments that would eliminate the absolute right to bail for the accused and decrease the size of the legislature by 30 per cent. They were told these […]
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ED MORALES 