“Proving the impossible”: Teacher’s union president Mercedes Martinez on the mass uprising for justice in Puerto Rico
Jesse Hagopian spoke with Mercedes Martinez, president of the teachers union Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, the Teachers Federation of Puerto Rico or FMPR, as it is known, on July 26, one day after former Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced his plan to resign amid mass protests and strikes sparked by revelations of his corruption and bigotry.
Protesters had many accumulated grievances, but what ignited the uprising was a series of text messages leaked by Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, the Center for Investigative Journalism. In the leaked messages, Rosselló and his associates insulted people who died during Hurricane Maria and made sexist and homophobic comments.
Martinez, a longtime movement leader, speaks about the ongoing struggle of Puerto Rican educators to defend the schools from privatization, colonial policies, and disaster capitalism that has harmed so many. But importantly, they focus their conversation on the great uprising that not only toppled Rosselló but is leading to radical new democratic organizing on the island.
Q: It’s incredible to see working people rise up and fight back at a truly massive scale after all the work that you’ve been putting in for years to organize your CONTINUE READING: “Proving the impossible”: Teacher’s union president Mercedes Martinez on the mass uprising for justice in Puerto Rico – I AM AN EDUCATOR
