Mothers, Students And Teachers Protested — And Were Attacked By Police — At Puerto Rico’s May Day March
Thousands of Puerto Ricans took to the streets on Tuesday to protest pension cuts, school closures, university tuition hikes and slow hurricane recovery efforts in a march that ended in mayhem as police officers fired tear gas and pepper spray into the crowds.
As the Caribbean island attempts to rebuild eight months after Hurricane Maria, which left thousands of people homeless, jobless and hopeless, leading to a mass exodus of Puerto Ricans into the continental U.S., the protesters fear that emerging austerity measures could create more uncertainty for millions who are already struggling.
The measures, approved by an unelected federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances — known on the island as la junta — include a 10 percent cut to a public pension system, the doubling of tuition at its largest public university and the closure of 283 schools.
Among this week’s demonstrators were countless women, many of them students, mothers and teachers, desperate to be heard, seen and validated in their fight for their island’s stability and self-determination.
Here, some of the Puerto Rican women fighting on the front lines.
1. “No le temo a la represión del estado. Le temo a los que no estan aqui!”
2. “Las miradas de la lucha”
3. “Patria somos todos!”
4. “Hasta cuándo, Borikén?”
5. “Protestamos”
6. “Lucha”
7. “Paro Nacional”
8. “Por ti, por mi y por todxs”
9. “Se Vende: Mi Universidad, Mi Futuro y Mi Patria”
10. “Hace falta una revolución”
11. “Los que cometen vandalismo día a día visten traje y gobiernan el país.”
12. ¡Basta Ya!
13. “Don’t let the message of this peaceful protest shift.”
14. Nuestros brazos son astas que sostienen la lucha.
15. “Marchamos por nuestro futuro y nuestro presente.”
16. Police tear-gassing protestors
17. “Un pueblo educado es una amenaza a un gobierno corrupto.”
18. “Lucha Sí”
19. “Aquí se respira lucha y resistencia.”
20. “Si no hay justicia para el pueblo, que no haya paz para el gobierno.”
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