First of all, I am an uneducated voter. I follow issues but the who’s who in Puerto Rico politics is very confusing. The ballots have more people than items on an I-Hop menu.
Let me break it down in a nutshell: Three parties have dominated politics here, each known for its desired relationship with the United States. I call them teams because they act like sports’ teams with parades, music, flying flags and making lots of noise. The Red Team (PPD) is for Commonwealth status, the Blue Team (PNP) is for Statehood and the Green Team (PIP) is for Independence.
There are 27 elected senators and 51 representatives, some elected at large and others by district. There are 78 municipalities each with an elected mayor and municipal legislators, the number of which depends on the municipality’s population.
Back to my point. Wanda Vázquez, former Secretary of Justice, unwillingly became governor of Puerto Rico when Ricardo Rosselló and Secretary of State, Luis Rivera Marin resigned. Rosselló tried to appoint Pierluisi to be Secretary of State but was not confirmed and so the job went to Vázquez. Her goal was to recover Maria relief funds and review government contracts.
Oh dear…..my how you’ve changed. Why not stick to disasters, which now there are five: Maria (still), Earthquakes, Covid 19 and yesterday she announced a State of Emergency Drought. Instead you’re on the campaign trail and messing with the Civil Code which has been around since the Spaniards landed and you’re letting developers build on the public coastline and giving away natural resources. It would’ve been so easy to say that you can’t deal with those issues now because you’re an unelected governor. You would’ve had time to deal with the really important state of affairs left to you by disasters. You could have worked on the educational crisis and school closures as a result of budget cuts and disasters.
Now you’re talking about purchasing tablets, software, training for 325,000 students, teachers and principals for $250 million!! The idea seems destined to fail. I wouldn’t be able to do it with 2 kids, lots of space and not working outside the house. https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/educacionestacercadecompletarlacompradecomputadorasparaestudiantes-2566853/
I’m sure there are better and more creative ways to educate. How about a classroom of 10 students? Hire more teachers, keep the tablets in school.. go with the small group to lunch or have it delivered to the classroom.. have gym and art as well. Small groups, better learning and healthier. It seems like the government and educators have never had children. I forsee lost and stolen laptops, wifi that doesn’t work and kids bouncing off the walls while their parents lose their jobs. Sounds like a jodienda to me. What do you think? Well I better get back to cleaning and think about something else.
