Puerto Rico Governor Resigns, DHRC Calls for Democratizing the Recovery Process

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced on July 24 that he would resign from office, after massive island-wide protests and the start of impeachment proceedings in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. His resignation stems in part from corruption charges related to the handling of disaster recovery funds. In response to the resignation, the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) Puerto Rico Working Group released a press statement calling for a democratization of the recovery process by creating a committee of Puerto Rican civic, community, and nonprofit leaders to oversee the use of disaster recovery dollars.

“Exclusive federal control over Puerto Rican finances and disaster recovery funding is the wrong approach and would only exacerbate the inadequate recovery strategy that has left thousands of Puerto Ricans still living in damaged homes almost two years after Hurricanes Maria and Irma,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in the statement.Such an approach reinforces a myth that Puerto Ricans are second-class citizens, unable or unwilling to control their own recovery. From the scenes in San Juan and across the island this week, and from the resilience and perseverance of Puerto Ricans since the disasters of 2017, we should all feel confident that our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico are ready, willing, and able to write a new chapter in their fight for an equitable recovery.”

The statement features statements from DHRC partners Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, the Disaster Law Project, FURIA, Inc., Fundación Fondo de Acceso a la Justicia, OXFAM, Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico, and Planners for Puerto Rico.

The full press statement is at: https://bit.ly/2MjyAoN