Puerto Rico

At no point in the statement did Pedro Pierluisi ever make reference to Junior Pérez Otriz’s specific use of the N-word, which the legislator had later offered a half-apology for.

He was an ardent believer of the racial tenets of the moment and in particular, that “civilized nations” should act as protectors of “barbarous” ones.

During Monday’s legislative session on the floor Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives —and in the midst of a global movement for Black Lives— a Puerto Rican legislature uttered the N-word, in defense of a former talk show host who lost his job for uttering the N-word last week on air.

“SBS or Mega TV does not have a statement to share at this time, since it is being discussed with our legal team. Once we have the official statement I’ll respond to your email immediately,” Vladimir Gómez, VP of Corporate Communications & SBS Talent Relations for Miami-based SBS, wrote to Latino Rebels on Friday.

“It was said without wanting to harm anybody but one needs to say that it can be offensive. If I hurt anybody by that, I apologize. My track record is clear,” Yulín Cruz told David Begnaud of CBS News.

The letter was also sent to several members of Congress, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the head of the Federal Election Commission.

Latino Rebels has contacted both WAPA-TV and “Lo sé todo” about the clip in question. As of this posting, nobody from the network or the show has returned messages for comments. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor on Thursday promised wage increases for teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers, unveiling a government budget higher than the one submitted by a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances.

“Upon investigating his broadcast, Univision has immediately terminated its contract with Mr. Colon and canceled his program. We deeply regret the utterance of this slur on our air in Puerto Rico,” a Univision Communications statement said.

Race in Puerto Rico has always been associated with phenotype and ancestry. The false discourse of “we’re all mixed” has led to systemic racism being dismissed or reduced to phenotype.

‘La Comay’ has a long history of spreading racist, homophobic and transphobic propaganda, the HRC statement said.

According to Michelle Torres, who heads up public relations for Mega TV Puerto Rico as an independent contractor, the network does not have a statement to share at this time, since it is being discussed with the network’s legal team.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal officials on Monday praised Puerto Rico’s hurricane preparedness and pledged additional help as they reviewed disaster recovery efforts during the start of a weeklong visit to the U.S. territory.

The latest controversy came after the Comay puppet ridiculed Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, a Black Puerto Rican woman who was the head of Puerto Rico’s Bar Association from 2012-2014. Rivera Lassén is openly lesbian and a 2020 senatorial candidate for the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana party.

When Lúgaro commented on the ongoing George Floyd protests, she highlighted her own privilege as a white person in Puerto Rico.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor announced Thursday that she will lift nearly all restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus cases, which means beaches, churches and businesses including movie theaters and gyms across the U.S. territory will reopen after three months.

Las muertes en Puerto Rico han aumentado durante los pasados tres meses pese a los pocos fallecimientos por COVID-19 reportados en la isla y a la reducción en las fatalidades por accidentes y crímenes debido al encierro por la cuarentena, en comparación con el 2019, encontró el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI).

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A judge on Thursday gave Puerto Rico’s education secretary 24 hours to open all public school cafeterias in the U.S. territory or face arrest as impoverished students struggle to obtain free meals amid the pandemic.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — As Puerto Rico considers lifting pandemic quarantine restrictions, health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. territory passed its peak of coronavirus cases and related deaths more than two months ago, though independent experts said those numbers are in doubt.

They got creative, and thanks to their efforts Puerto Rico went from the bottom of the list to administering more than 100,000 molecular tests for the virus.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances sued the U.S. territorial government on Monday, asking courts to order it to provide documents related to a failed multimillion-dollar purchase of COVID-19 testing kits and other medical supplies.