Protests grow in Puerto Rico amid demands for higher wages

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DÁNICA COTO

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Shrill whistles mixed with drums, tambourines and the clacking of spoons on pots as public employees shut down streets in Puerto Rico’s capital Friday to demand better pay and pensions.

The crowd shimmied and clapped as demonstrators held up signs reading, “Fair wages now!”

It’s a call that has echoed across Puerto Rico in recent weeks as government employees and supporters take to the streets, emboldened by thousands of public school teachers who abandoned classrooms in early February to demand raises and better pensions.

Protests have multiplied and the unrest is posing one of the biggest challenges for Gov. Pedro Pierluisi a year into his term.



Public employees march to demand better salaries, adequate pensions and better employment conditions, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-puerto-rico-pedro-pierluisi-709f1a7892a433f7160f2cfbbcfa0750

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Banner reads: "The People Before the Debt."

The hashtags:

Retire in Dignity
Just Salaries (Fair Wages)
No Privatization
Collective Bargaining

No matter what the bastards say, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens— as well as our brothers and sisters.

[Marcuse]

2. US investment and tax policy encouraged Puerto Rico to mortgage its future. The future is now.

Seems somewhat similar to what China is doing to Africa.