CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY ACTION DECRIES GOVERNMENT NEGLIGENCE IN PUERTO RICO IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE FIONA
Five years after Hurricane Maria, the island remains unable to prepare for catastrophic weather
***CPD/A’s Chief of Campaigns Julio López Varona is available for interviews by phone or video from San Juan, PR***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
Contact: danielle@newheightscommunications.com
CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY ACTION DECRIES GOVERNMENT NEGLIGENCE IN PUERTO RICO IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE FIONA
SAN JUAN, P.R. – As Puerto Rico begins to recover from the impact of Hurricane Fiona this morning, Julio López Varona, Co-Chief of Campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy Action (CPD/A), released the following statement:
“As we prepare to commemorate five years of Hurricane Maria this week, we cannot understate the grief caused by the impact of yet another storm on Puerto Rico. Just like five years ago, Hurricane Fiona has left the vast majority of Puerto Ricans without power and facing life-threatening flooding and torrential rain.
“Unfortunately, the same conditions that made it impossible for the archipelago to prepare for Maria still exist today and our communities face the same risk and devastation from natural disasters we have for many years. Austerity driven politics have crumbled Puerto Rico's infrastructure, forced thousands to flee, left the archipelago with only a handful of doctors, roads in disarray and an extremely fragile electrical grid.
“The Fiscal Control Board and PROMESA are at the center of this human made disaster. This law and the Board were designed to extract profit from the archipelago at the expense of the communities that today wake up underwater and for the benefit of a small handful of hedge funds and corporations.
“CPD/A is committed to ensuring that the archipelago is given a just recovery, working closely with our Puerto Rico affiliate Taller Salud.
“Today, once again we demand justice for Puerto Rico. We demand that Congress abolish the Control Board and ensure that recovery funds go directly to communities, especially in the wake of increased natural disasters caused by climate change. ”
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The Center for Popular Democracy Action works to create equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. We work on campaigns that promote a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda and win victories to improve people’s lives.
