Pedro Pierluis, the governor of Puerto Rico, was in Madrid this week to attend a business forum and strengthen ties with “not only historical but also commercial” Spain, he said in an interview with todaytimeslive.com at the Casa de América. In the middle of his visit, Puerto Rico suffered a major setback. In connection with the incident, which plunged more than a million people into darkness, Pierluis claims that work is already underway to prevent these delays, which is due to the fact that the island’s electrical system is still very weak after the passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
The governor is confident that one day Puerto Rico will “become the 51st state in the United States.” While he can not predict when, he predicts that this fight will be “tough.” Pierluis assessed the demolition of the statue of Juan Ponce de Leon in the Puerto Rican capital, which coincided with the visit of King Felipe VI two months ago: “It was a really minor protest. There was no big riot. Basically, they did.
What is the state of the country after the worst period of the pandemic?
Last year was a record year for tourism in Puerto Rico. The main reason is that Puerto Rico stood out in the midst of a pandemic. The US government has treated us equally and we have shown that when they treat us equally, we can be the best. We were in US jurisdiction where the highest percentage of vaccinations was. Our tourism came mainly from America and they considered Puerto Rico a safe destination because our statistics were generally better than the rest of the nation. Number one in vaccination; In lethality, rather low; The number of cases is quite low.
Something new about Puerto Rico is that we have a significant amount of real estate that can be rented for a short period of time. It does not exist in the Caribbean. It is the only island in the Caribbean that has such a large infrastructure of accommodation that complements hotels. Last year tourism was impressive and this year it looks the same.
Did Biden’s arrival mean any change from the previous administration?
I became governor at the time Biden became president, but the change is obvious. All our claims are considered. I have no complaints about the Biden administration. უღKugma. The bureaucratic hurdles and demands that Puerto Rico had and the states do not have have been eliminated, and now federal funds are flowing in for permanent work.
In analysis I want to be fair. In the first years after the storm, the same thing happened with earthquakes, aid was not so small. We are talking about 25 000 million dollars [unos 23.000 millones de euros] Which entered the Puerto Rican economy, but it was urgent. In the case of the electrical grid, these were stitches. Raise the lines as you can, the poles as you can, but it was not a constant job. Blue awnings were placed on the houses to protect them, but this was not the repair of the houses. Since last year, permanent works such as roads, sewers, sewage systems, housing have started. Thousands of homes have already been renovated.
Now we see the constant work that will give us a very good basis for our economic growth.
Will Puerto Rico one day become the 51st state?
I am sure. I can not tell you when. It is a hard fight. Our demand is equality. We have been U.S. citizens for 105 years and continue to be treated unequally and discriminatory in our nutrition assistance programs, health programs, Medicaid and Medicare. The treatment is not the same. And it makes no sense because our people get on a plane and move from one day to another in any state because we are not immigrants, we are American citizens. This needs to be corrected.
Politically, what is most difficult is that we do not vote for the president of the nation of which we are citizens. We have no voting representation in the Congress of this nation. This also makes no sense. The fight is difficult because you have to convince the majority in the US House and Senate to support it and it is not easy.
We had a plebiscite in 2020 and 52.5% of the population demanded statehood. There are now two projects in Congress that relate to our status and consensus is being sought as if they are competing with each other. What is likely to happen is that Congress is calling on the people of Puerto Rico to vote for different options, not just statehood, but free association and independence.
My prediction is that if there is still a vote called by Congress, statehood will win and then Congress must act.
A few months ago, in parallel with the visit of King Felipe VI, a statue of Juan Ponce de Leon, the first governor of Puerto Rico, was demolished in San Juan. Was it an act demanding your independence?
It was a really small protest. There was no big fuss. They mostly damaged this statue. I think they were more complaining about Juan Ponce de Leon as a historical figure, as well as what he did or did not do then in Puerto Rico. It was some weird protest and the statue was quickly repaired.
Juan Ponce de Leon was our first governor. I know there is a claim. I myself do not like the current status, it is a colonial status. And in Spanish times, for the most part, we were in it, too, a colony. It must be said that at the end of the 19th century Puerto Rico managed to have representation in the Chamber of Deputies. The Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies was Ramon Power i Girallet, from Puerto Rico. We had democratic participation in Spain until the end of our political relationship with Spain.
There is a time when the protests that may take place are against the colony, for example the 400 years of Spanish colonization. Now there is the same claim, but against the US, and it provokes protest. This particular one was a bit strange and was not against the king. We walked to that side and the people were very friendly with the king. I was delighted. He was received with great love and was very exemplary. Very humble. This surprised me, we are not used to it, we have neither nobility nor royalties.
There was another major shutdown on the island again this week. What happened?
This shutdown is similar to what happened in June last year. Nothing like that has happened since. The blast occurred at a substation in the immediate vicinity of our two main power plants. Two that use natural gas. Between the two they form a mega.
What happens in our system and one of our weaknesses is that it is an integrated system. When you have such an explosion as in June last year, the system protects itself. All factories and all equipment are protected and closed. So the reset process is step by step and takes time. In addition, they need to correct a fault in the substation that blew a significant switch. Why? That an investigation is underway. I tend to think that this is again due to the weakness of our electrical network.
How long does it take to turn everything on?
What happened is unfortunate. It happened last night [en la noche del jueves al viernes] And I gave instructions from here, from Spain, that the goal should be to restore service within 24 hours for most LUMA subscribers. [el consorcio privado responsable del suministro].
The solution here is what goes on. On the one hand use $ 9000 million [unos 8.300 millones de euros] To restore the electrical network. On the other hand, change the generation system to renewable energy sources. Also change our system so that you have microcontrollers, that you can have autonomous territories, and that what has happened now is not happening, that everything is off.
He arrived in Spain to participate in a forum with more than 50 businessmen from the island to explore business opportunities and strengthen ties. Why did you choose Madrid as your meeting place?
It seems natural to me that we are coming to the capital. The king visited us a few months ago. During the visit I promised to come. This mission has already been carried out by our Department of Economic Development, but I personally wanted to arrive. It was my way back to the King’s visit, which welcomes the strengthening of not only historical but also commercial ties between Spain and Puerto Rico.
It was a very fruitful week. We had a forum at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, attended by the US Ambassador to Spain and publicly affirmed that Puerto Rico is a priority for President Joe Biden, that the reconstruction of Puerto Rico is a priority for President Biden’s administration, and that these words are simply higher for the Spanish public. Spain is well known in the construction industry and large Spanish companies have carried out major reconstruction projects in Puerto Rico. So now we welcome you.
Also in the energy field, Spain is a leader. I was with Carmen Sampol this week [consejera delegada del grupo Sampol]Adolfo Suarez International Airport. Sampol will supply all of the airport’s thermal energy and generate energy there for the electricity grid in Spain, and plans to expand its presence in Puerto Rico. Iberia, on the other hand, says it will increase direct flights to five a week.
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
