The Puerto Rico Monitor Endorses Rafael Bernabe For Governor

Puerto Rico has long been under the stranglehold of two large, corrupt political
parties, which are both in large part directly responsible for the social and econo-
mic dire straits that Puerto Rico finds itself in. The Puerto Rico Indepedence Par-
ty can no longer be seen as a viable alternative to these two parties...we need par-
ties and candidates who do not make the relationship between Puerto Rico and the
US Federal government their main reason for being. Independent "man (or woman)
on a white horse" candidates can't and won't tackle the real issues affecting middle
and working class Puerto Ricans. This is why the Puerto Rico Monitor endorses the
Working People's Party candidate Rafael Bernabe for Governor of Puerto Rico in
the 2016 election.

Dr. Bernabe's priority is to make Puerto Rico a place that works primarily for the
people who keep it running, not millionaires, industrialists, so-called investors or
corrupt machine politicians. He is the only candidate advocating for much needed
ideas like single-payer health care, a taxation system that demands fair contributi-
ons from our upper classes and economic reforms that will promote local business
over big-box-style retail and capital flight. He is also a friend of the LGBT comm-
unity and an advocate of preserving our valuable natural resources. Mr. Bernabe is
also in favor of an electoral system based on proportional representation, which
would open up our democracy to greater and more meaningful representation.

It is time to walk away from the corrupt party hacks, the hustlers, thieves and liars,
and cast a vote for the Puerto Rico that the majority sorely needs. Bernabe is not be-
holden to political party machines, donors or corporations. Regardless of your views
on Puerto Rico's political status, we encourage you take that first step by voting for
Rafael Bernabe on November 8th.

For more information, visit: http://ppt2016.org/candidaturas/nacionales



-The Editor

Puerto Rico News Digest For November 17, 2015

CIDRE JUMPS INTO 2016 GOVERNOR'S RACE

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Businessman Manuel Cidre announced he would run for the governor’s
post as an independent candidate, becoming the second unaffiliated gub-
ernatorial hopeful following attorney Alexandra Lúgaro, who threw her
hat in the ring earlier this year. The founder of Los Cidrines Bakery, a
business he created with his brother Guillermo back in 1978, and the for-
mer president of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, among oth-
er professional organizations, said he aspires to something different from
the traditional political machinery to make Puerto Rico governable again..."

PREPA EXTENDS LISA DONAHUE CONTRACT

From Caribbean Business:

"The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) has extended its con-
tract with Chief Restructuring Officer Lisa Donahue and her team at Alix
Partners for another four months. Donahue and AlixPartners will be paid
nearly $7.3 million to continue their work in restructuring the utility’s debt
and transforming generation and distribution infrastructure. The contract
was set to expire Nov. 15, and will now stretch until March 15..."

MULTI-AGENCY PREPA INVESTIGATION BROADENS

From Richard Lawless:

"According to confidential sources, the multi-agency investigation into theft
at Puerto Rico’s largest utility, PREPA, has expended to include as many as
thirty-five current and former government officials. In an effort to seek redu-
ced charges, William Rodney Clark, Edwin Rodriquez and Cesar Torres Ma-
rrero have agreed to cooperate with the Puerto Rico U.S. Attorney office. This
cooperation is said to include payment journals, recorded conversations and
other materials."

IBERIA TO RESTART MADRID-PR FLIGHTS

From ATW:

"Iberia will resume flights between Madrid and San Juan, Puerto Rico on May
15, 2016, after a three-year absence on the route. The announcement was made
during the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA)
Airline Leaders Forum in San Juan..."

Gubernatorial Candidate Alexandra Lúgaro Sends Message To U.S. Government

Lugaro Counts On Social Networks For Support

Feature
Fox News Latino/EFE
Alfonso Rodriguez

The first independent candidate for governor of Puerto Rico, Alexandra
Lugaro, is counting on social networks to promote her image and create
a niche for herself in a system controlled for decades by two parties.

Lugaro, a 33-year-old attorney, told Efe in an interview Monday that
despite her campaign's lack of means to challenge the island's two hege-
monic parties, she firmly believes she can become the next governor of
Puerto Rico by making full use of social networks.

"Yes, I see myself as governor," Lugaro says about the balloting in
November 2016, a prospect she faces short of the financial wherewithal
traditionally needed to battle the ruling PPD, which promotes Puerto
Rico's status as a U.S. commonwealth, and the PNP, which wants the
island to...[CONTINUE READING]

Puerto Rico News Digest For March 25, 2015

PR LOSES 80K MANUFACTURING JOBS IN 15 YEARS

From Fox News Latino:

Puerto Rico lost nearly 80,000 manufacturing jobs between 1997 and
2012, according to the latest Economic Census compiled by the Uni-
versity of Puerto Rico's Center for Census Information. Jose Cara-
ballo Cueto, the director of the center, told Efe that most of the jobs
were lost as a result of the expiration of a provision in the U.S. tax
code known as Section 936. That regulation offered U.S. companies
the prospect of tax-free income if they established operations in
Puerto Rico.

DOUBLE MURDER ON MARTINEZ NADAL EXPRESSWAY

As reported by El Nuevo Dia, a double murder took place last night
at midnight on Rafael Martínez Nadal Expressway, near the exit for
the Tren Urbano. Unknown assailants shot two men to death and left
a third in critical condition. The victims were in a green 1997 Geo
Tracker. Police are investigating, and are looking into whether the
incident started as a car to car shooting.

HIGLER KILLER OUT, WEARING MONITOR

Gerardo De La Paz, the man accused of killing Dutch globetrotter Laurens

Higler in a hit and run accident, has been released by the authorities after

he posted bail, which had been set at $20,000. De La Paz has to wear a

monitoring bracelet. The 49-year-old Puerto Rican man resides in the

continental U.S. and had been visiting the island since December. De La

Paz has been charged with negligent homicide and leaving the scene of

an accident.

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE SEEKS UFO SUPPORT

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Ufologist Reynaldo Ríos, who is running for governor of Puerto Rico
in the next election, said he wants to build a “UFO landing strip”
on the island, something he believes is the solutionto Puerto Rico’s
economic problems. In that sense, he acknowledged that while he has
been mocked because of his ideas, other countries take the idea of
the existence of aliens seriously. “I want to create the UFO airport,
the project that was ignored in 2005, and I think it will help the
island get out of the economic crisis,” he told Foro Noticioso. “If
I run for elective office, the idea will be taken more seriously.”

PONCE DEFENDS WORK HOUR CUTS

From Caribbean Business:

Faced with the possibility of dismissing 1,200 employees, Ponce
administrator Eliezer Velázquez defended measures taken by the Mayor
María "Mayita" Meléndez in light of Puerto Rico’s economic condition.
"I want to make it clear that, given the economic situation facing
the island, in the town of Ponce we have done what we have had to
do," Velázquez said. He explained that, like Ponce, other municipa-
lities have reduced working hours, contracts and salaries as well as
municipal expenditures to bring finances into order.


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