What is the state of the independence movement today
in Puerto Rico? How would you define its position?
There are now about 15 different independence
groups, most of which cooperate under the aegis
of an umbrella group called the Hostos National
Congress. There is also a nationalist electoral move-
ment in Puerto Rico, although I personally don’t
believe in the efficacy of the electoral process because
it is not possible to have democratic elections in a
colony. The Puerto Rican government has no power.
The real power is in Washington. The United States
controls the mass media, which it manipulates to form
our opinions. We have no real power-not even over
immigration or our customs house.
We have been persecuted throughout our history with
violence and imprisonment. It has just come to light, for
example, that over 135,000 Puerto Ricans have had
police files made up just for voicing sentiments loyal to
our flag and our country. So our struggle is very diffi-
cult. We have not yet succeeded, but neither have we
been defeated. The goal is to continue to work for our
independence through constant struggle on all fronts.
We have a clandestine movement in and out of Puerto
Rico. There are also growing numbers of environmen-
talists in the independence movement struggling to
keep a massive radar station off the island. It is a long
struggle because we are dealing with a very powerful
adversary. In the long run, our people will choose the
kind of democratic system they want and we will
achieve human rights for all, regardless of their eco-
nomic status, including education and health care.
What are the challenges and contradictions that the
nationalists and independentists face today?
There are some in the movement who believe in the
electoral process and in the U.S.-sponsored referendum
on the political status of Puerto Rico. The pro-statehood
people also wish to have a referendum. But the United
States refuses to respect the outcome of such a referen-
dum if it means Puerto Rican independence. It is
impossible to have a democratic vote when the out-
come may not be respected. It is impossible to have free
elections here. Plebescites are controlled by those in
power. These are the contradictions inherent in our
colonial society. We cannot vote freely because we
have been conditioned to think like the imperial power.
And yet when we decide we want to take the chance,
the imperial power chooses not to abide by the results.
I believe in the right of our people to armed struggle.
NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICASVOICES ON THE LEFT
The United States did not come here blowing kisses but
shooting bullets. They are here as invaders.
We now have 15 prisoners of war and political pris-
oners in U.S. jails. All groups within
Puerto Rico recognize the social
and political injustice of the
imprisonment of our freedom
fighters. Such injustices, along
with environmental issues like the
radar installation and mining
rights, are uniting our cause.
How would you describe the pro-
gressive movement in Puerto Rico?
Heroic. You must be heroic to
defy such a powerful adversary. We
are a U.S. military bastion.
Roosevelt Roads is the largest mil-
itary base in the Caribbean; two
thirds of our island of Vieques
belongs to the U.S. Navy; military
bases take up more than 10% of our
best land. The fact that many of our
people have left the island to pur-
sue economic opportunities denied
them at home has not attenuated
our struggle. The movement con-
tinues in the Puerto Rican diaspora.
The young are the ones who are
spearheading this movement, for
they are the people suffering from
the political, social and economic
dislocation of a colonized people. Tht
and outside of
It is imperative to teach the young what strategies are
being used against us; that we do not want to become a
minority within our own land like the Mexicans have
become in the U.S. west and southwest. It is important
The United States
did not come here
blowing kisses but
shooting bullets.
They are here as
invaders.
We now have 15
prisoners of war
and political prisoners
in U.S. jails.
ey see it in the
drugs, the lack of economic opportunities and the polit-
ical repression. We are losing our most talented people
to colonialism. My own son, who is a medical doctor
with three specialties could not work in Puerto Rico
and is now living in Georgia. Now it seems that we
must leave our land so the United States can have it.
Do you think that the disunity among the different inde-
pendence groups may have been caused by the FBI and
the CIA?
There is documented proof because of the Freedom
of Information Act that these agencies have pitted lead-
ers of various groups against one another through dis-
information and other destabilization tactics. At the
same time our frustration as a powerless colonized peo-
ple causes divisions among us. But our enemies are not
ourselves. Our enemy is the U.S. government. Our
enemy oppresses us, controls us, and forces us to open
our markets to every piece of junk that it wants us to
buy. We could produce our own goods and our own
food, but our role is to produce profits for them.
that we teach our people that at
one time we were told that we
would die of hunger because we
were a poor country. But now it
has been discovered that there are
mines and oil and we are told that
we cannot be free because we do
not have the “know-how” to
develop these resources.
Do you identify with movements
in other countries?
Definitely. I support the
Nicaraguan as well as the Cuban
revolution. I do not have a U.S.
passport because I do not recog-
nize the authority of the United
States to impose its citizenship on
my country of birth. My passport
is my birth certificate. I support
all peoples’ struggles but I will
only go where my birth certificate
is recognized as my passport. I
have spoken in the United
Nations and I have defended
clandestine movements around
the world.
How have you been affected by
the independence movement?
Life is about priorities. The movement has not
affected my life. On the contrary, it has given me the
motivation to live. I was about to enter the university
when I was first arrested. I did not receive a degree but
I became more human, more humane. I see the strug-
gles of all peoples as ours. I did not lose 28 years in jail.
In those 28 years I escaped the effects of colonialism
and have become its staunch adversary. I used those
years to learn about our people and the international
struggle.
It is not possible to foresee the future, but I do know
that history has shown us that change is a constant and
that the power of a dominant country does not last
forever. We see the changes in the USSR, Eastern
Europe, Africa and Asia. I do not count the 28 years of
imprisonment as part of my age, and because of this I
identify with the young. Every person who becomes
politically conscious through the teaching of our his-
torical past and present will bring the independence of
our future.
Menu
