The Puerto Rico Monitor Endorses Bernie Sanders For President

The Editor

The Democratic Party Presidential nomination primaries in Puerto Rico take place on March 29th, 2020. While residents of Puerto Rico can't vote in the Presidential election, they can at least have a say in who gets to be the nominee for each of the two major parties. Those Puerto Ricans who are planning on voting in the Democratic primary would do well to use that voice to tell the Democrats that Bernie Sanders needs to be their nominee.

Senator Sanders is the only candidate who is calling for real help for Puerto Rico as it goes through its devastating financial crisis, and is also the only one who has committed to really following through on the desires of the Puerto Rican people regarding the island's relationship with the U.S. He is also for instituting common-sense government programs that nearly every other industrialized country already has: universal health care and free access to state colleges.

Unlike his primary opponents, Bernie Sanders is not owned by the financial industry, and does not take their money. Also unlike others, he is against involving the US (and Puerto Rico) in more unnecessary wars. Senator Sanders is the only candidate  that makes sense, both for the mainland and for its largest colony. A vote for Sanders can spare us more of the insanity and instability of Donald Trump, and also the calculating corruption of the other prospective Democratic nominees. He is truly a people's candidate who stands up for the little guy and the working class. His career in Congress more than proves that.

“When people are suffering and hurting, you don’t continue to squeeze them. We cannot allow Puerto Rico’s budget to be balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable people – working families, veterans, the elderly, children and the poor. It is not only morally wrong, it is also economically unsustainable.”   — Bernie Sanders

For more information on Bernie Sanders' positions on Puerto Rico, go to https://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-puerto-rico/. And for information on how to participate in the Democratic caucus, email partidodemocratapr@gmail.com or go to https://www.facebook.com/dpcpr/.

Puerto Rico 2016 Primary Results

All results provided by the State Electoral Commission.


Democratic Primary

Updated 6/8/16

President

Hillary Clinton                51,862 votes       59.66%

Bernie Sanders              32,946 votes       37.90%

Rocky De La Fuente          300 votes         0.35%

96.42% of units reporting



Popular Democratic Party

Resident Commissioner

Hector Ferrer               88,487 votes      57.70%
Angel Rosa                  64,881 votes 42.30%


New Progressive Party

Governor

Ricardo Rosello               230,034 votes 51.08%
Pedro Pierluisi                 220,279 votes      48.92%


Resident Commissioner

Jenniffer Gonzalez               315,120 votes       70.56%
Carlos Pesquera                  131,469 votes       29.44%

The Puerto Rico Monitor Endorses Bernie Sanders For President

The Editor

The Democratic Party Presidential nomination caucuses in Puerto Rico take
place on June 5th. While residents of Puerto Rico can't vote in the Presidential
election, they can at least have a say in who gets to be the nominee for each of
the two major parties. Those Puerto Ricans who are planning on voting in the
Democratic primary would do well to use that voice to tell the Democrats that
Bernie Sanders needs to be their nominee.

Senator Sanders is the only candidate who is calling for real help for Puerto Rico
as it goes through its devastating financial crisis,and is also the only one who has
committed to really following through on the desires of the Puerto Rican people
regarding the island's relationship with the U.S., whether that turns out to be state-
hood or independence. He is also for instituting common-sense government pro-
grams that nearly every other industrialized country already has: universal health
care and free access to state colleges.

Unlike his primary opponent Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is not owned by the
financial industry, and does not take their money. Also unlike Clinton, he is agai-
nst involving the US (and Puerto Rico) in more unnecessary wars. Senator Sand-
ers is the only candidate that makes sense, both for the mainland and for its lar-
gest colony. A vote for Sanders can spare us the insanity and instability of Donald
Trump and the calculating corruption of Hillary Clinton. He is truly a people's can-
didate who stands up for the little guy and the working class. His career in Congress
more than proves that.

“When people are suffering and hurting, you don’t continue to squeeze
them. We cannot allow Puerto Rico’s budget to be balanced on the backs
of the most vulnerable people – working families, veterans, the elderly,
children and the poor. It is not only morally wrong, it is also economically
unsustainable.”   — Bernie Sanders

For more information on Bernie Sanders' positions on Puerto Rico, go to https://berniesanders.com/issues/puerto-rico/. And for information on how to
participate in the Democratic caucus, email partidodemocratapr@gmail.com
or go to https://www.facebook.com/dpcpr/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/PRFor
Sanders/.

Finalist Donald Trump vs Semifinalist Hillary Clinton: There is Something Missing Here

Feature

TIBERIU DIANU


After the Indiana primaries, on May 3, 2016,  the Republican contender,
Donald Trump, has secured his “presumptive” party nomination for No-
vember general elections. However, not the same thing can be said about
Hillary Clinton. She, in spite of her ardent desire to compete with Trump
on the same national arena, could have not secured a similar position in
her Democratic party yet.

In other words, the Donald is already a general election finalist (from an
initial group of seventeen candidates), but Hillary is – still – a primary el-
ection semifinalist (from an initial group of… three). Trump has managed
to defeat 16 other Republicans, some of them with pedigree, and some of
them respected party rank-and-file members, like popular governors and
senators. While Hillary, in spite of her “inevitability” aura created by the
press, has managed to defeat only Martin O’Malley, who constantly sco-
red below 5% in all Democratic primaries. She, in her own words, could
not “close the deal” with Bernie Sanders. And still all we keep hearing is
about Trump vs. Clinton in the general elections. Is it just my reasoning or
am I missing something here?

Let us clarify some points. Hillary is not going to secure her party nomin-
ation anytime soon. First, Sanders keeps winning states (the last ones, West
Virginia on May 10, and Oregon on May 17), or breaks even (like in Ken-
tucky on the same May 17). He has already created a movement and, for su-
re, he wants to stick around for the July 25 Democratic Convention in Phila-
delphia. It will be interesting to see if this trend holds in the following – pre-
California (June 7) -- weeks, at the party elections in Washington (May 24),
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (June 4 and 5). Second, the ongoing FBI in-
vestigation of Clinton’s e-mails is still a powerful factor (some call it “a wild
card”). FBI recent interviews include Clinton’s long-time aide Huma Abedin,
and the Romanian notorious hacker Marcel Lazar, aka Guccifer, extradited in
April from Romania to the U.S.

Therefore, until there is a clear Democratic Party challenger, Trump’s disco-
urse should focus on his policies for the country and restrain from personal
attacks against Hillary. She is not even worth of such attention. She is just a
semifinalist. When she earns the honor of being a finalist, then she is entitled
to ‘personal attacks” against her challenger. I just cannot envision, like in any
sports or competition of any kind, why a loud-mouthed semifinalist like Hill-
ary is given the right to skip stages and, at least on the discourse level, offe-
red the free ride of “competing” for a tournament which she has not qualified
herself in yet.


Tiberiu Dianu is a legal scholar, book author, graduate of the American  University Washington 
College of Law in Washington, DC, the University of Manchester Faculty of Law in Manchester, 
UK, and an exchange scholar of the Oxford University in Oxford, UK. He currently lives in Wa-
shington, DC and works for various government and private agencies. The opinions expressed in 
the preceding article do not necessarily reflect those of The Puerto Rico Monitor, its editors or 
advertisers.

Puerto Rico News Digest For May 16, 2016

BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGNS IN PR

From Caribbean Business:

"The Vermont senator is expected to present an economic recovery plan for 

the island on Monday and talk about the crisis’ impact on its education and 

health systems. He will hold a town hall meeting at the Fundación Luis Mu-

ñoz Marín in San Juan at 9 a.m., go to the Juan Ponce de León School in Gu-

aynabo at 3 p.m. and then speak at an event at the University of Puerto Rico’s 

Río Piedras Campus at 7 p.m. His visit comes a day before former U.S. Presi-

dent Bill Clinton arrives to campaign for wife Hillary Clinton. The island “fa-

ces enormous problems,” with poverty and unemployment rates that are “much 

too high,” Bloomberg quoted the senator as saying. “And meanwhile, the vultu-

re capitalists on Wall Street are trying to get a hundred percent back on their 

bonds at a time when so many of the children and the people of this island are 

suffering...”

TEACHERS' UNION REJECTS EVALUATION PLAN

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Members of the National Union of Educators and Education Workers (UNE-
TE by its Spanish acronym) on Thursday rejected the agreement the Teachers
Association had reportedly arrived at with the secretary of Education with res-
pect to using the results of the META-PR tests to evaluate teachers. “Recent
statements by the secretary of Education indicated that he would impose a per-
centage -- around 20 percent -- of the evaluation of the teacher based on the re-
sults of the tests, and has the approval of the Teachers Association,” said Virgi-
lio Vázquez, librarian and vice president of UNETE. “This is unacceptable be-
cause the Association must not arrive at an agreement with management that
will be used to fire teachers.”

IBERIA REESTABLISHES DIRECT CONNECTION

From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico government officials welcomed Sunday the return of Spanish air-

line Iberia, which has resumed direct flights after a three-year absence. Iberia 

has scheduled three weekly direct flights between Madrid and San Juan through 

October, which will represent an economic boost for the island of $21.2 million, 

Tourism Co. Executive Director Ingrid Rivera-Rocafort said..."

BELTRAN 3RD PR PLAYER TO HIT 400 RUNS

From ESPN:

"Carlos Beltran belted career home run No. 400 on Sunday afternoon, which put 

the New York Yankees slugger in some rare company. The 39-year-old became 

the 54th player in major league history to reach that milestone and just the fourth 

switch-hitter. He joined fellow Yankee Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper 

Jones...Beltran is only the third Puerto Rico-born player to hit 400, along with Car-

los Delgado and Juan Gonzalez..."

The Puerto Rico Monitor Endorses Bernie Sanders For President

The Editor

The Democratic Party Presidential nomination primaries in Puerto Rico take
place on June 5th. While residents of Puerto Rico can't vote in the Presidential
election, they can at least have a say in who gets to be the nominee for each of
the two major parties. Those Puerto Ricans who are planning on voting in the
Democratic primary would do well to use that voice to tell the Democrats that
Bernie Sanders needs to be their nominee.

Senator Sanders is the only candidate who is calling for real help for Puerto Rico
as it goes through its devastating financial crisis,and is also the only one who has
committed to really following through on the desires of the Puerto Rican people
regarding the island's relationship with the U.S., whether that turns out to be state-
hood or independence. He is also for instituting common-sense government pro-
grams that nearly every other industrialized country already has: universal health
care and free access to state colleges.

Unlike his primary opponent Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is not owned by the
financial industry, and does not take their money. Also unlike Clinton, he is agai-
nst involving the US (and Puerto Rico) in more unnecessary wars. Senator Sand-
ers is the only candidate that makes sense, both for the mainland and for its lar-
gest colony. A vote for Sanders can spare us the insanity and instability of Donald
Trump and the calculating corruption of Hillary Clinton. He is truly a people's can-
didate who stands up for the little guy and the working class. His career in Congress
more than proves that.

“When people are suffering and hurting, you don’t continue to squeeze
them. We cannot allow Puerto Rico’s budget to be balanced on the backs
of the most vulnerable people – working families, veterans, the elderly,
children and the poor. It is not only morally wrong, it is also economically
unsustainable.”   — Bernie Sanders

For more information on Bernie Sanders' positions on Puerto Rico, go to https://berniesanders.com/issues/puerto-rico/. And for information on how to
participate in the Democratic caucus, email partidodemocratapr@gmail.com
or go to https://www.facebook.com/dpcpr/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/PRFor
Sanders/.

Puerto Rico News Digest for April 4, 2016

BOXER DE JESUS KILLED IN HATO REY

Boxer Alex 'El Pollo' De Jesus was murdered at approximately 5:46 AM on
Sunday on Belmonte Street, located in the San Jose neighborhood of Hato
Rey, as reported by Metro PR. Police came to the area after receiving calls
reporting gunshots in the area. When they arrived, they found De Jesus's bo-
dy, which showed several bullet wounds. The motive and perpetrators are so
far unknown. De Jesus was 33 years old and left prison in 2014 after serving
four years for a domestic violence conviction.

UNION PREZ ALLEGES GDB PRIVATIZATION

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"The president of the Independent Union of the Government Development
Bank of Puerto Rico, María Teresa Rodríguez, said Thursday that an orches-
trated agenda has existed since last year to privatize the bank with a “delivery
of accounts of the Government Development Bank to Banco Popular.” “The
Government Development Bank [GDB] is one of the most important public
corporations in the country and a motor of economic development on the is-
land,” Rodríguez said in a press release. “The GDB was always a profi table
and sustainable corporation. But the operational part of the bank has been
neglected to such a degree that it has fallen into a liquidity problem because
it has $6.5 billion in accounts receivable and lines of credit to agencies and
corporations as of December 31, 2015...”

SANDERS CAMPAIGN HAS FIRST PR MEETING

From Caribbean Business:

"The first meeting in Puerto Rico of campaign volunteers for Democratic
presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders was held Saturday night with the
presence of hundreds of supporters from all over the island. During a pre-
sentation led by Betsy Franceschini, regional director for Voto Latino Ber-
nie 2016, a video on Sanders’ campaign principles was played. “As a Bori-
cua, I am proud to return to the island for this campaign. We have been im-
migrants and have learned to fight to protect our rights. For Puerto Rico, San-
ders represents the struggle for a just economy, with the creation of jobs, rai-
sing the minimum wage, health care excellence and educational opportunities
for all,” Franceschini said. She said Sanders “has financed his campaign with
funds from ordinary people, not special interests. The average donation is $27
per donor. That shows who is Bernie...”

PR AGRICULTURE SECTOR A BRIGHT SPOT

From News Is My Business:

"Mired in recession and awaiting a fix for its huge debt crisis, Puerto Rico has
one bright spot in the local economy: Agriculture. With help from the govern-
ment, this sector is contributing new jobs, income, and agricultural products
that are boosting the island’s tenuous food security. Gross agricultural income
rose 24 percent from $739 million in Fiscal Year 2012 to $919 million in Fiscal
2014, the highest income ever reported, according to Secretary of Agriculture
Myrna Comas Pagan. In 2015, “we reached 8,000 new jobs in agriculture. That
sets a precedent,” she said..."

Bernie Sanders Represents Real Hope for Puerto Rico

Huffington Post

Adrian Brito


If you are Puerto Rican, whether you live in the continental U.S or in
the island, you are probably paying close attention to the Democratic
primaries. If you haven’t, now it’s very important that you do. Why?
Because one of the candidates just released the most comprehensive
and detailed plan on Puerto Rico so far in the race for the White House.
That candidate is Bernie Sanders.

Senator Bernie Sanders, the underestimated underdog turned serious
contender for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party, just
released an impressive plan to address not one, but virtually all of the
Puerto Rico’s main issues. Sanders’ Plan for Puerto Rico is so wide-
ranging and complete that some could say it’s unprecedented for a
presidential hopeful...[CONTINUE READING]

Puerto Rico News Digest For February 11, 2016

RIUS ENCOURAGES CONDOMS FOR ZIKA

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Health Secretary Ana Ríus insisted Tuesday on the use of condoms to pre-
vent infection by the Zika virus and added that she does not endorse San
Juan Archbishop Roberto González’s comments made earlier in the day re-
jecting the use of contraceptives to prevent the spread of the dangerous vi-
rus. “I am very Catholic, but I have to differ with the Archbishop,” Ríus said.
“You must use condoms and it is recommended  by the Centers for Disease
Control [CDC] and the Health Department that pregnant women use condoms
as well, and any person who has the virus needs to use condoms,” Ríus said
in an interview with Radio Isla..."

NPP SEN. WARNS SANDERS CAMPAIGN OVER SOVEREIGNTY

From Caribbean Business:

"Sen. Carmelo Ríos is warning presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders’ campaign
about the support it is receiving from Puerto Rico sectors of the Popular Demo-
cratic Party (PDP) that seek sovereignty. Specifically, Ríos referred to the en-
dorsements of Rep. Manuel Natal, Rep. Luis Vega Ramos and Sen. Maritere
González, who he said have campaigned and supported legislation against hol-
ding presidential primaries in Puerto Rico. Ríos said he will contact Sanders’
campaign team in Washington to inform it that if it counts on the support of
those PDP sectors, he would campaign with pro-statehooders against his pre-
sidential candidacy..."

RETAIL SALES 3% DROP IN OCTOBER 2015

From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico retail sales for the month of October 2015 — the most recent
available from the government — showed a 3 percent drop in comparison to
the same month in 2014, to $3.1 billion. In its latest report, Puerto Rico Trade
and Export confirmed the island’s activity shrank by $96.7 million in October
in comparison to the $3.2 billion on record for October 2014. The establishments
showing the biggest sales drops were gasoline stations (-18.2 percent), jewelry
stores (-5.6 percent), electronics stores (-4.03 percent) and hardware stores
(-3.02 percent), said agency Executive Director Francisco Chévere..."

MAN GOES TO COPS WITH BODY, CONFESSES MURDER 

From Virgin Islands Daily News:

"Authorities in Puerto Rico say a man drove a dead passenger to a police station
and confessed to killing him. Police in the popular tourist town of Rincon said
Wednesday that 28-year-old Juan Gabriel Camacho said he argued with the vic-
tim before allegedly shooting him. Police did not identify the victim but said he
was a 46-year-old government employee..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 23, 2015

FEDS RAID HOUSING PROJECT

As reported this morning by El Nuevo Dia, federal agents have been
carrying out an operation since early this morning at Los Claveles
public housing project in Trujillo Alto. Agents are serving four sea-
rch warrants from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agen-
cy (ICE). The operation has to do with drug trafficking and money
laundering, but ICE did not provide much in the way of further de-
tails, other than to say that illegal material was found among the
four apartments that were searched.  

PREPA TO PROPOSE 4 CENT RATE HIKE

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) plans to sub-
mit a new rate structure calling for a hike of around four cents, sour-
ces inside the utility said. The utility is still working on a study that
will help it decide what would be the appropriate rate. However, the
four-cent hike was the same as proposed by one of the utility’s insu-
rance companies. PREPA Chief Restructuring Offi cer Lisa Donahue
said on Tuesday that with the savings and cuts that have been made
at the utility, it expects to be able to submit a reasonable rate struct-
ure..."

SANDERS & WARREN BLAST VULTURE FUNDS

From News Is My Business:

"The two most prominent progressives in the U.S. Senate urged the
federal government Thursday to help Puerto Rico stand up against
the “vultures” they largely blame for the island’s current fiscal night-
mare. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the chief rival of candidate Hilla-
ry Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, took ti-
me out of his packed campaign schedule to engage five witnesses —
including Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla — who testifi-
ed at a hearing by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources. Sanders, reeling off a raft of statistics on Puerto Rico’s de-
mographic and fiscal decline, called the island’s 56 percent poverty
rate among children a “human tragedy..."

OBAMA SEEKS BANKRUPTCY FOR PR

From The Chicago Tribune:

"President Barack Obama is pressing for Congress to give Puerto Rico
sweeping powers to reduce its $73 billion debt burden through bank-
ruptcy, escalating administration involvement as the Caribbean island's
access to cash dries up. Puerto Rico would be provided with a form of
bankruptcy protection not now available to American territories. Ad-
ministration officials also called for lawmakers late Wednesday to in-
crease health-care funding for Puerto Rico, extend tax credits to the
poor and put independent oversight in place to monitor the govern-
ment's budget..."

POPULAR POSTS $84.7 MILLION PROFIT

From Caribbean Business:

"Popular Inc. on Friday reported third-quarter net income of $84.7 mi-
llion. The Hato Rey, Puerto Rico-based bank said it had earnings of 82
cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were
90 cents per share. The a company that runs Banco Popular and other
banks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. posted revenue of $481.8 million in
the period..."

Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders' Statement on Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, July 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following state-
ment today on the financial crisis in Puerto Rico:

“I strongly believe Puerto Rico should be afforded the same bankruptcy protections
that exist for municipalities across the United States.  We need to do everything we
can to allow Puerto Rico to restructure its debt in a rational way that does not harm
its people, ordinary investors or pension funds in the United States. Chapter 9 pro-
tections would be a good first step.

“But we also should recognize that the reason Puerto Rico has such unsustainable
debt has everything to do with the policies of austerity and the greed of large finan-
cial institutions.  Puerto Rico has been in a severe recession for almost a decade.
Today, more than 45 percent of the people in Puerto Rico are living in poverty, the
childhood pover-ty rate is greater than 56 percent and real unemployment is much
too high. Our goal must be not only to give Puerto Rico the flexibility it needs to
restructure its debt, but to make sure that it can rebuild its economy, create good-
paying jobs and expand its tax base.”