Puerto Ricans decry austerity, pace of federal hurricane recovery funds at hearing nearly two years after Maria.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hundreds of Puerto Ricans filled a coliseum on Friday to speak at a first of its kind public hearing organized by a group of U.S. legislators visiting the U.S. territory amid complaints about austerity measures and the pace of federal hurricane recovery funds nearly two years after Hurricane Maria.
“It’s not fair to cut pensions to the elderly because it goes against the law. It’s not fair that cockfighting businesses lose their industry because it goes against the law,” said Eliezer Molina, a resident from the western town of San Sebastian as he addressed legislators. “The PROMESA law is pure colonialism and the people have to be respected.”
The majority of people at the hearing support statehood for Puerto Rico, and many of them booed one of the first people to speak: Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of the capital of San Juan who opposes statehood and longtime critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. The legislators also wanted to hear about the effects of decisions taken by a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances, including austerity measures.
“We want to create a law that is more humane, more equal and less oppressive,” he said at the end of the hearing, adding that the law might be amended by April or May. “We have to prioritize the interests, the future of the people of Puerto Rico...There is some urgency, no question.”
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