Government evicted

By: Lissette Collazo Rolon

Dept.. Humanities and University Center Access (CUA), UPRM

In recent times, in Puerto Rico and in much of the world, one wonders if things can get worse and quickly answer, sadly, yes, of course you can get much worse. Then, I remember my sister's maximum and so many wise women who prefer to anticipate and misery imposed than to yield. For people who live in public housing in Puerto Rico that maxim is usually the day our daily bread because things do not improve despite committed and well-intentioned efforts.

In this cloud we have flooded in recent weeks. A report in The New Day and its aftermath has raised a hornet's nest of focus. The would-be Director of the Board of the ESA and the AAA threatened to cut services to residents in arrears or default. Fortunately, this government has a Secretary of Housing with a view broader than those of his colleagues and immediately requested a meeting to establish a plan . Fortunately, the Governor had a moment of clarity and realized that the extent to evict non-payers may cause a social crisis. Glad you popped the nightmare even for seconds.

The bottom line is that aquellxs that we had learned, we learned that 69-Justice Tariff Act of Residential Public Utilities-approved in November 2009 was more than a measure politicking. The tackle was pursuing delinquencies and develop strategies to ensure that residents comply with a federal requirement Public Housing: pay their electricity and water services. We also learned that, despite everything, in three years, residents must to AAA 12.5 million and 29.9 to ESA respectively. In this light, there muchxs who took the stone because they are vegan cansadxs being paid because they are increasingly unable estranguladxs by a government and a global economic crisis. The rope, once again, left it weaker and people living in hamlets became the scapegoat otrxs frustration.

Ladies and gentlemen indignadxs with stone in hand, these communities are not the enemy or the problem of those agencies, much less the cause of this crisis. They are, from the progress of the development plan Muñoz mid last century, the finest area of ​​the rope. They are the memory of a poverty that is cornered, painted and took shelter in concrete buildings. They remind us that in order to give the magic of developmentalism had to make a social welfare state, however, was broken from its origins. They import and North Anarchist are the memory of a poor country that colonized and aspired to a pact between equals and ended up being a second fiddle to third. They are the memory and present poverty that Puerto Rico can not look in the eye without guilt and blush precisely because we imagine that we stop being poor for decades.

Some ready could tell me it is going to work! And I would reply, muchxs do already, but more overwhelm vegan unemployment offices and statistics skyrocket beyond any reasonable global credit agency. In other words, it is cheaper to tenerlxs as ciudadanxs asistirlxs activxs in the labor market. If you do not believe me, ask your favorite economist.

The public housing communities are complex populations where there are people who pay and people who do not, people who work and people who do not, people who study and people who do not, people who dream and people who do (or not) many other things. As any sociologist could explain or planner, these communities are not the problem. If I wanted, until the Governor could explain it.

The problem is in many other places, but this time I want to point to only one: the government itself. According to the Annual Report on the State of the ESA Electric Property (Report No. 38, June 2011), at the end of fiscal year 2011 had not been paid ESA $ 1,184.1 million, of which $ 409.1 is owed ​​by the government. Here are some of the main debtors:

Port Authority: $ 55.3 million

AAA: $ 49.6 million

Tren Urbano: $ 20.8 million

Public Building Authority: $ 18.6 million

Medical Services Administration: $ 13.6 million

Central government and its agencies: $ 54.2 million

Ciudadanxs vegan invite people indignadxs with public housing that redirect their anger and frustration just mentioned agencies and the government itself. I ask the directors of the ESA and the AAA, why not evict the Government of Puerto Rico? Why not free us from the cloud of doom and folly? Perhaps we shine a better spring after the collapse.