An important week for Puerto Rico In Philadelphia

The issue of the United States Territory of Puerto Rico will be upfront at the 2016 Democratic Party National Convention in Philadelphia. Finally, after decades of negligence by the two major political parties in the mainland, Puerto Rico will be taking center stage.

The dramatic and chaotic situation on the Island have forced the hand of Washington, finally!

Make no mistake about it, Puerto Rico is submerged in an historic economic depression that, if left uncheck, will ultimate lead to a complete collapse of our socioeconomic system. As it stands right now, our insular government operates with a massive structural debt estimated at over $70,000 million.

We are also in the middle of the longest economic recession in the history of the United States. Our economy began its contraction right about the last quarter of 2005, that’s 12 years ago! We have not seen a two consecutive quarters of growth in well over a decade and our labor force has dipped below the one million mark.

For the first time in the history of the Territory, a government have defaulted in its payment obligations. Holiday sales, the backbone of a consumer-based economy such as ours, were down up to 30 percent amid a worsening economic crisis, accordingly to Puerto Rico’s United Retailers Association.

Current data also shows that due to the prolonged recession, people are not buying houses. In fact, there was a sharp 30.5 percent drop in the number of new mortgages generated in the third quarter of 2015. That figure contrast dramatically to the one seen in the rest of the Nation where housing value jumped 2.5 percent in 2015.

Because of this, Congress was forced to act, approving H.R. 5278, better known as PROMESA, a comprehensive bill aimed at establishing an Oversight Board to assist the Government of Puerto Rico, including instrumentalities, in managing its public finances. A few days later, PresidentBarack Obama signed it into law.

We need more, we need equality with the other 50 states of the Union. This is why this will be an importer week for the more than 3.4 million Americans citizens that call Puerto Rico home.

There’s in the Democratic Party Platform a comprehensive part dealing with the injustices that Puerto Rico have suffered over more than a century of colonial rule by the U.S.

Although the platform deals with issues of inequality such as funding for Medicaid and Medicare, as well as the right to a presidential vote, the most important part is that the Party, and its new leader, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pledges to solve the island’s status issue within a time frame of four years.

No more empty promises, hollow pronouncements or campaign slogans, the Democratic Party is committed to solving this urgent matter within a reasonable timetable and with specific triggers that will finally grant the people of Puerto Rico the equality we have fought for so long now.

Make no mistake about it, we, the American citizens living in Puerto Rico, will make sure that this renewed promise will be held, after all, we are all Americans.

This is why this is an important week for Puerto Ricans.

By Ricardo Llerandi Cruz
An important week for Puerto Rico In Philadelphia