La Mesa Boricua:
Talking Points Memo

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La Mesa, a coalition of Florida non-profit and community advocates, wants you to be informed as to how our people are having an impact. Our goal is to build power for Puerto Ricans and Latinos in the state of Florida.

We’ll be updating you on some of the latest happenings catching our attention in the state and beyond, with a focus on how boricuas are having an impact. Here’s an update for January.

In this issue

National News

Georgia

Parte de una coalición más amplia de afroamericanos, progresistas blancos, habitantes de los suburbios hartos, así como otros latinos y asiático-americanos, los puertorriqueños en Georgia resultaron clave para la victoria de los candidatos demócratas Jon Ossoff y Raphael Warnock en las carreras gemelas de ese estado. para el senador estadounidense.

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National News

Orlando

The Puerto Rican community in Central Florida is continuing the fight to make sure our children see historical figures who represent them and their values honored.

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Puerto Rico News

Miami

Un juez federal en el sur de Florida se ha negado a desestimar un caso presentado en el 2018 por grupos de derechos civiles que solicitaban a los votantes puertorriqueños que recibieran boletas en español.

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Puerto Rico News

Tampa

In spite of Covid, the large Puerto Rican community in this city celebrated the traditional Dia de Reyes on January 6, engaging in community-focused work and toy giveaways to children.

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Out of State

D.C.

Various developments as election results have settled in both the federal Capitol and the Puerto Rican legislature are making it more likely that movement to resolve Puerto Rico’s status issue will be likely in 2021.

Read More

Out of State

Puerto Rico

A pesar de las acciones del nuevo gobernador juramentado Pedro Pierluisi para relajar las restricciones relacionadas con el COVID-19, una encuesta de empresarios realizada por la Cámara de Comercio más grande de Puerto Rico ha encontrado poco apetito por la expansión, el crecimiento o la contratación en 2021.

Read More

Out of State

Boston

Just one out of the 117,772 Paycheck Protection Program loans made in 2020 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts went to a business owner self-identified as Puerto Rican, data analyzed by the Boston Business Journal shows.

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The latest

Georgia

Parte de una coalición más amplia de afroamericanos, progresistas blancos, habitantes de los suburbios hartos, así como otros latinos y asiático-americanos, los puertorriqueños en Georgia resultaron clave para la victoria de los candidatos demócratas Jon Ossoff y Raphael Warnock en las contiendas gemelas de ese estado. para el senador estadounidense.

Los votantes puertorriqueños, importantes especialmente entre la población latina en Atlanta y sus suburbios, ya se habían movilizado en noviembre y fueron impulsados ​​a la acción por el trabajo de organizaciones como Alianza for Progress, que tocaron 45,000 puertas en el estado y se comunicaron con los votantes sobre la importancia de la segunda vuelta de una manera culturalmente competente. Voto Latino, Latino Victory y Hispanic Federation, entre otros grupos nacionales, movilizaron el voto latino más amplio, así como organizaciones de Georgia como Mijente, GALEO, Latino Community Fund (LCF) y Unidos Latino Association.

Los resultados: incluso antes del día de las elecciones, los latinos rompieron sus récords históricos de participación muchas veces.

Si bien las políticas racistas de inmigración de los funcionarios republicanos en Georgia arriba y abajo de la boleta electoral han encendido a los votantes en el pasado, la mala gestión del COVID-19 y la crisis económica también fueron importantes en las elecciones para los latinos.

Puntos de conversación:

  • “Los votantes puertorriqueños y latinos llevaron a los candidatos demócratas a la victoria este mes y necesitan ser reconocidos como tales. Nuestros votos importaban, por lo que nuestras prioridades deben importar en el futuro “.
  • “No somos un monolito, sino una comunidad diversa con varios intereses. Merecemos, sobre todo, funcionarios electos que defienden la equidad, las oportunidades y la justicia para nosotros ”.
  • “A medida que Georgia y el resto de Estados Unidos se vuelven cada vez más diversos y cada vez más latinos, exigimos un asiento en la mesa y representantes que asuman nuestras prioridades”.

Orlando

The Puerto Rican community in Central Florida is continuing the fight to make sure our children see historical figures who represent them and their values honored. After a prolonged, multi-year struggle to change the name of a middle school in Orlando from that of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson to that of Puerto Rican civil rights hero Roberto Clemente, a new charge is being made to also change the name of the street on which the school lies.

Pushing the mayor of Orlando publicly and organizing the community, Alianza for Progress is once again taking a leading role in the latest drive. City commissioner Tony Ortiz, who represents the area where the school is located, has said he is supportive of moving forward with the process.

Notably, the effort is being strongly backed not just by Puerto Rican neighbors, but also by African-American leaders who support moving away from monuments honoring the Confederacy and see kinship with the work of Afro-Latino Clemente.

Talking points:

  • “Roberto Clemente was not just a sports legend. He was a civil rights icon, veteran and American hero. As an Afro-Latino breaking barriers in American society, he led the way for so many within and outside our community. His name is unimpeachable.”
  • At a time where our diverse communities are finally erasing the stain of having monuments and institutions that honor the Confederacy, there is a supreme justice in renaming those institutions for civil rights icons. 
  • “The names of our institutions are important to our community. They are a matter of pride and they can unify us. When our children walk into a school named by someone notable who shares their heritage, it makes a difference.”

Miami

Un juez federal en el sur de Florida se ha negado a desestimar un caso presentado en 2018 por grupos de derechos civiles que solicitaban a los votantes puertorriqueños que recibieran boletas en español. En cambio, el caso se ha aplazado hasta el 27 de enero para que los grupos puedan negociar con el estado de Florida.

El juez del caso ya había ordenado a 32 de los 67 condados de Florida que proporcionaran boletas en español a partir de las primarias presidenciales del 2020 en Florida, en gran parte para servir mejor a la gran población de puertorriqueños en Florida central. Sin embargo, la implementación de la orden del juez no se hizo de una manera que garantizara el acceso a las papeletas y el caso ha continuado.

Entre los grupos que demandaron a las autoridades electorales estatales y locales en 2018 se encuentran LatinoJustice PRLDEF (LJP), Faith in Florida, Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, UnidosUS y Vamos4PR, en representación de una boricua, Marta Rivera Madera.

 

Puntos de conversación:

  • “La lucha contra la supresión de votantes en el estado de Florida continúa. Siempre que sea necesario, mientras tengamos el poder para hacerlo, solicitaremos a los tribunales que invaliden las acciones de los funcionarios que intentan quitarle el derecho al voto a los votantes más desfavorecidos ”.
  • “La supresión de votantes racista y bien documentada ha estado ocurriendo en cada ciclo electoral durante las últimas décadas en Florida. Estamos desafiando eso en todo momento, porque somos de la filosofía de que una democracia es más rica y más fuerte cuando todos los votantes tienen protegido su derecho al voto ”.
  • “Si bien los argumentos legales pueden ser complejos, el concepto no podría ser más simple: votar debería ser fácil, no difícil”.

Tampa

In spite of Covid, the large Puerto Rican community in this city celebrated the traditional Dia de Reyes. Boricuas de Corazón, a member of La Mesa, engaged in a drive-thru event for children and their families, assisting 135 families. Days later, drive-thru food distribution kept the holiday spirit going and served 375 families.

The same spirit was repeated in many cities with a large Puerto Rican diaspora presence. Chicagoans engaged in community-focused work and toy giveaways to children. In a nod to the realities of the pandemic, most events featured socially distanced and drive-through formats.

Celebrations took place as well in the Puerto Rican communities of Central Florida, as well as New York. In that last city, the traditional parade through El Barrio became a virtual event.

At a time of economic hardship, the community events were more needed than ever.

 

Talking points:

  • “El Día de Reyes is part of who we are. It’s important to save traditions like these, especially in times of crisis.”

    D.C.

    Various developments as election results have settled in both the federal Capitol and the Puerto Rican legislature are making it more likely that movement to resolve Puerto Rico’s status issue will be likely in 2021.

    In DC, most pundits expect unified control of the federal government’s lawmaking and executive branches, as a result of two victories by razor-thin margins in Georgia, will increase pressure to consider statehood for Puerto Rico — and likely make the issue more partisan than it has been in decades.

    Additionally, Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative in Congress, Republican Jenniffer Gonzalez, has secured a leadership role as the chair of the growing Women’s Caucus of the minority party, giving a larger platform to one of her priority issues.

    In Puerto Rico, the fragmentation of the territory’s long-running two-party system, which has forced a coalition arrangement in the Legislature’s upper chamber for the first time in generations, has made it more likely that legislation towards creating a constitutional assembly (and yet another referendum) will move forward this year.

     

    Talking points:

    • “The issue of how to resolve or modify Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States is more complicated now than ever. Luckily for those who care about Puerto Rico, this election cycle is giving us hope after President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a plan that goes beyond just focusing on that question, and looks to address the economic ills and injustices that face the island first.”
    • “Various proposals are on the table. Only the ones that respect the ability of the people of Puerto Rico to fully participate should be considered.”
    • “Puerto Ricans are not pawns in a political consultant’s political chess. Biden’s actions and words show he clearly understands that and is treating us with respect. But other Democratic leaders and pundits who seemingly have only discovered Puerto Rico as a miracle solution that will increase their power in the U.S. Senate should check themselves.”

      Puerto Rico

      A pesar de las acciones del nuevo gobernador juramentado Pedro Pierluisi para relajar las restricciones relacionadas con el COVID-19, una encuesta de empresarios realizada por la Cámara de Comercio más grande de Puerto Rico ha encontrado poco apetito por la expansión, el crecimiento o la contratación en 2021

      El 72.7% de los empresarios locales encuestados dijeron que no tenían planes de expandir las operaciones de su empresa durante los primeros meses del nuevo año, citando la fuerte carga fiscal, los altos costos de la energía, la lentitud burocrática y la incertidumbre que enfrentan las empresas en la isla.

      El pesimismo se suma a un 2020 ya doloroso. El 43.3% de los empresarios encuestados por la Cámara dijeron que tuvieron que cerrar o detener operaciones en algún momento de los últimos 6 meses, el 56% vio caer sus ingresos y el 31% despidió a sus empleados. La situación era aún más grave para las empresas de menos de 20 empleados.

       

      Puntos de conversación:

      • “El deslizamiento continuo de décadas de la economía puertorriqueña es una tragedia y vergüenza nacional. Una generación entera ha abandonado la isla en busca de oportunidades económicas. “
      • “No tiene que ser así. Muchos que ni siquiera son viejos recuerdan un Puerto Rico de familias fuertes de clase media, negocios prósperos, población en expansión y una perspectiva positiva para el futuro. El alma del Puerto Rico que sostuvo esa economía es la misma de hoy ”.
      • “Es hora de detener los programas pequeños y fragmentarios y abordar los problemas fundamentales en torno a la prosperidad y el crecimiento económico en Puerto Rico. Esto incluye tratar a los puertorriqueños no como víctimas o sobrevivientes de calamidades, sino como ciudadanos estadounidenses a los que se les ha negado injusta e indebidamente la igualdad del trato ante la ley ”.

        Boston

        Just one out of the 117,772 Paycheck Protection Program loans made in 2020 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts went to a business owner self-identified as Puerto Rican, data analyzed by the Boston Business Journal shows. Meanwhile, 656 other loans also went to entrepreneurs who self-identified as “Hispanic”, just over half of a percent of all the loans made in the state.

        That alarming, if brief, statistical snapshot confirms criticism made over the past several months of the federal government’s most significant program to help business and their employees during the pandemic– that it was hugely unequal in its allocation, helping mostly large companies and leaving behind minority-owned business.

        The numbers from Massachusetts are widely mirrored in other states with large Hispanic and Black populations.

        It is not likely loans in the second round of the PPP program, which just started, will be more equitable. In response to criticism of the first round, Congress mandated minority business be given priority to apply for loans earlier than other businesses. But the confused roll-out of the second round has led to criticism that the Trump administration has turned that mandate on its head, instead making minority applicants “lab rats” to work out the kinks in the second round of the program.

         

        Talking points:

        • “The PPP program failed minority-owned small businesses, and threatens to do so again. That cannot be allowed to happen.”
        • “Fixing the issues that prevent capital access for minority entrepreneurs is not difficult. But it takes political will and the willingness to work with community institutions.”
        • “We know the current administration cares little about these priorities. It is incumbent upon the next Congress will make these corrections in time.”

          Upcoming events

          Press call on precinct-level results of the presidential election

          January 18 » 10:00 a.m.

          Alianza for Progress is hosting a press call to discuss how individual Florida precincts voted during the November 2020 election, with a particular focus on precincts with a high concentration of Puerto Rican and Latino voters.

           

          MLK National Day of Service

          January 18 » 12:00 p.m.

          1291 Kingsway Road, Brandon, FL

          La Mesa will be hosting an event to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., providing protective personal equipment and other essential items to the neediest in our community.

           

          View on Facebook

          ¿Qué son "Culture Vultures" y porqué hay que denunciarles?

          January 20 » 6:00 p.m.

          Online

          Según el portal afrofeminas.com, la apropiación cultural es una práctica altamente racista en la que una vez más, las personas blancas, demuestran el privilegio que les concede formar parte del grupo dominante y creen tener el derecho de hacer lo que quieran con los elementos culturales de los colectivos racializados, sin recibir la mínima repercusión o consecuencia; más bien tomando reconocimiento por ello e invisibilizando a quienes le pertenece.

           

          View on Facebook

          Discussion on defining cultural and ethnic identity

          January 20 » 7:00 p.m.

          1291 Kingsway Road, Brandon, FL

          In the aftermath of the revelations that notable civil rights lawyer Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan has spent decades taking up opportunities reserved for minorities by claiming to be Latina, in spite of having no Hispanic parentage, La Mesa is hosting a forum on what it means to define one’s ethnic and cultural identity.

          Chispa Florida Launch on Transit Equity

          February 4 » 4:00 p.m.

          Online

          Our people in the media

          Marcos Vilar

          “As shocking as the images of armed insurrection coming out of Capitol Hill this afternoon were, we are even more shocked by what we are seeing in the immediate aftermath: law enforcement agents immediately releasing many of those involved in this riot instead of detaining them for prosecution.

          Make no mistake: the people who stormed Congress today, who came in carrying the Confederate battle flag as if to proudly proclaim their treason to the United States, are seditious subversives who need to be rooted out, arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The kid glove treatment they’ve seen so far undermines the basic notions of equal treatment under the law that people have fought to advance over six decades. And given the way our criminal justice system treats many in Black and Hispanic communities for much less serious offenses, it’s an affront to the concept of justice.”

          Frances Colon

          Johanna Lopez, Directora Ejecutiva de Alianza Center

          “Me esfuerzo en por ayudar al imparable impulso de Alianza para apoyar y educar a nuestra comunidad como la nueva directora ejecutiva de Alianza Center. Es un honor para mí esta oportunidad que brinda este nombramiento de continuar sirviendo a nuestra gente, tanto fomentando como creando espacios para el logro cultural, cívico y educativo.”
          Frances Colon

          Victor Torres, Florida Senator

          “American citizens have a Constitutional right to peacefully assembly and engage in public protests exercising their freedom of speech. What we witnessed today at the US Capitol was criminal activity that included unlawful rioting, destruction of property and a failed attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power that is a cornerstone of our democracy. The response by police to this clear violation of law by traitors to our nation was insufficient yet other groups that have engaged in peaceful protests, like Black Lives Matter, have been subjected to harsh treatment and in many cases excessive use of force. The response needs to match the actions and today’s events are a stain on our nation’s history and a true threat to our Republic and democratic principles”
          Frances Colon

          Father José Rodríguez, Vicar of Iglesia Episcopal Jesús de Nazaret

          “Now more than ever, seeing the danger of symbols and lies, the cancer of lies and falsehood, this street has to go. Now we’re beyond polite conversation. Now we are literally fighting for the soul of our nation and we have to do it at our local street corner.”
          Sami Haiman-Marrero

          Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón

          “This is an unprecedented situation for our nation & a dark day for democracy. Pray for the Capitol Police, fellow law enforcement called upon to assist, & everyone sheltering in place.”

          Frances Colon

          Johanna Lopez, Executive Director of the Alianza Center

          “The goal of both learning English as a second language also has the right to protect their lives and those of their family members and classmates. We urge our districts and the state not to force our students to take the ACCESS test. At this time of the pandemic, we must make the physical and mental health of our students and their families a priority.“
          Frances Colon

          Pablo Cáceres, Director de Campaña de United for Progress

          “El también puertorriqueño Pablo Cáceres, director de campaña de United for Progress, dijo que junto al sindicato Unite Here, y las organizaciones Alianza for Progress y ‘Mi Jente’, han tocado sobre 250,000 puertas para esta segunda vuelta, con el propósito de incentivar al electorado hispano a votar.”
          Red de Accion Boricua

          Monday — Wednesday at 5 PM

          Don’t miss the online broadcast of Red de Acción Boricua for the latest updates from La Mesa.