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.
