Puerto Ricans are protesting these U.S. policies
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Puerto Rico for the Biden-Harris campaign and was met with protest flags and songs.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Puerto Rico to attend a Democratic fundraiser and to promote an estimated $140 billion in federal obligations to the U.S. territory.
While those funds may be earmarked to aid Puerto Rico, getting federal aid where it needs to go in Puerto Rico, with any sense of urgency, has been another matter entirely.
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For example, a federal audit released in February found that of the $23 billion earmarked to help the island recover from the 2017 hurricanes and from earthquakes in 2019 and 2020, only $1.8 billion has been spent. In response, several nonprofit, as well as governmental organizations, are working on their own federal funding impact trackers or dashboards to aid transparency and accountability and help address the funding bottleneck.
MSNBC, opinion: The slow delivery of aid after the 2017 hurricanes and subsequent earthquakes suggests Puerto Rico may never be treated fairly by Washington.
The March 22 visit to the U.S. territory was Harris’s first since becoming vice president and lasted around five hours. Despite the brevity, the VP’s visit drew some protests against U.S. policy and intervention affecting Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Israel-Hamas war.
Associated Press: Kamala Harris marks first visit to Puerto Rico as vice president, riling some in the US territory
To the protestors’ credit, their music was such a bop, the VP was seen clapping along before her translator let her know what was up. It was a gaffe that was caught by Puerto Rican reporters and Harris got some flak from critics.
But more important than the slip-up, was what the protestors were singing about. The lyrics (as given by Twitter/X user @IstraPacheco) asked what Harris came to do, and included calling out the (colonial) status of the U.S. territory, the fiscal control board (“La Junta”), and tax incentive Act 60.
Puerto Rico Syllabus: PROMESA and Imposition of a Fiscal Control Board
Harris was also criticized over the tone-deafness of attending a Democratic fundraiser during the short visit for several reasons.
First, the suggested donation amounts were $25,000 to $100,000 while 40% of Puerto Ricans live at or below poverty levels. That’s compared to 12% of U.S. residents nationally according to the Census Bureau. Making a bad look worse, the location and host of the fundraiser represented the criticism against Act 60 as a driver of gentrification in the archipelago, attracting wealthier outsiders and pricing locals out of their homes.
🏴Problematic Policy: Puerto Rico Tax Incentives
The Biden Victory Fund political action committee organized the fundraiser in an apartment complex owned by investor Nicholas Prouty. Prouty is “one of the estimated 6,000 wealthy investors who have moved to the island following tax breaks if they buy a residency in Puerto Rico and live there at least half of the year.” (NBCNews)
Those tax breaks come from the Puerto Rico tax incentives law, now known as Act 60, but originally and more widely known as Act 22. Under Act 22 “individual investors who haven’t previously lived in Puerto Rico between 2006 and 2012 can get a 0% tax rate on capital gains in exchange for buying a residency on the island, living there at least half of the year and donating $10,000 to a nonprofit approved by the Puerto Rican government.” (NBC News)
CBS News: Lawmakers urge IRS to crack down on wealthy Americans allegedly dodging taxes in Puerto Rico
Besides the fundraiser, the VP’s five-hour tour of Puerto Rico included a visit to the site of a home recently rebuilt with federal funding and renewable energy in the barrio of Canóvanas, in the municipality of Loíza in the northeast.
PBS NewsHour: Harris discusses federal aid, infrastructure upgrades during visit to Puerto Rico
Harris was accompanied by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman.
Secretary Granholm traveled to Puerto Rico in February to meet with local leaders and community members on the Biden administration’s efforts to rebuild and modernize the electric system. (Department of Energy)
During that visit, Granholm announced the results of the DOE’s Puerto Rico 100 Study, described as “a pathway for Puerto Rico to achieve its renewable energy goals while incorporating stakeholder perspectives and advancing energy resilience for all Puerto Ricans.”
Granholm traveled to the capital of San Juan on the northeast coast and Jayuya, in the central mountains to promote the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund’s Solar Access Program designed to connect up to 30,000 low-income households with residential rooftop solar and battery storage systems with zero upfront costs. Jayuya and other rural inland communities are among the most challenging areas to connect to and maintain access to the centralized energy grid, so options like rooftop solar are especially important for residents in those areas.
DOE: How to apply for subsidized solar panels and battery storage
The VP’s visit followed the launch of Joe Biden’s campaign targeting Latino voters on March 19. First Lady Jill Biden visited with military families at Fort Buchanan in San Juan on March 17. Fort Buchanan is the only U.S. Army installation in the Caribbean. (Army.Mil)
Gentle reminder 📢More than 3 million U.S. citizens who live in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico cannot vote for U.S. President, but the nearly 6 million living in U.S. states, can.
This first iteration of Connect Puerto Rico is a result of my time in CUNY’s Entrepreneurial Journalism Creator’s Program.
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