José Fortuño
for a-infos
A sound victory for the workers was the result of the. General Strike against Privatization that concluded this Wednesday at 12:00 P.M. For 48 hours, the Puerto Rican workers took to the streets to confront the neoliberal politics and showed the country the most important people's demonstration remembered.
Notwithstanding the two sided State position, to minimize the movement in official declarations and to provoke in the streets, the workers organized massive demonstrations aimed at the immediate target of the Strike, to stop the industry, banking and commerce.
During Wednesday, again a lot of commercial establishments were closed, and those that opened reported very few people coming to buy. In the avenues, it was evidently very low traffic, and most of the cars had signs and banners supporting the strike.
International Press gave significant attention, so we are going to concentrate in commenting on two issues, that of violence in the strike, and the perspective for the future.
This movement was characterized general, by well planned demonstrations, aimed to obstruct the commercial and industrial activities. Most of the stress points were due to the insistence on the part of the police of not allowing the strikers to dissuade those who wanted to work. There were even cases where, after those involved having decided not to go ahead, a group of police went for them, provoking unnecessary situations.
The provocative attitude of certain blic agencies chiefs gave way to unnecessary situations. In the Education Department, after the leadership of the Teacher's Federation and the police had reached accords that provided for a small management detachment to enter, Victor Fajardo, Education Secretary, denied the accords and continues agitating. At Isla Grande, a huge government offices complex, some management persons staged a small counter demonstration, using as their symbols the banners of the USA and of Puerto Rico, this last one held upside down. One individual, identified as General Services Human Resources chief, using a bullet proof vest, video taped the strikers. This demonstration dissolved under a rain of eggs.
The main violence incident took place after Tuesday closing acts in front of the Telephone Company's main offices at Roosevelt Avenue. A gang of drunk adolescents started a small riot, and some commercial establishments were vandalized. Two details that were observed lead us to think that was a planned action on the part of the strike opponents. Seconds before the situation exploded, one individual with a video camera came out of the building and waived a hand to the group. Also, one of the lawyers that went to represent one of the arrested persons was Cesar Almodovar, Secretary of Labor for Governorr Rosselló Administration.
As for the future, the telephone workers unions declared that their struggle continues, that, after the General Strike, they are continuing with the picket lines. This, and the disposition of the thousands of workers that took the streets to make the General Strike a victory leads us to think that this struggle does not ends here, but, in some sense, may only be in the beginning.
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Huelga del Pueblo • Puerto Rico • People’s Strike
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