WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.400 Hey, dear listener, We've got a question for you. Latino 2 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.640 USA wants to know what questions you have about the 3 00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:11.200 COVID nineteen vaccine and the vaccination process. We want to 4 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:14.560 try and help you find answers, So call us at 5 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:18.279 six four six five seven to one one to two four. 6 00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:23.040 That's six four six five seven one one to two 7 00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:26.520 four and leave us a voicemail or send a voice 8 00:00:26.520 --> 00:00:29.080 memo with your questions and a little bit about yourself 9 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:35.800 to audience at latinousa dot org. That's audience at latinousa 10 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:38.920 dot org. We'll be listening to all of your voice 11 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.599 memos and your question might be featured on an upcoming episode. 12 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:51.800 Yess yes. So this month we're bringing you episodes of 13 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:56.640 La Brega. It's a special seven part mini series presented 14 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:01.640 by Latino USA and WNYC Studios about the Puerto Rican experience. 15 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.880 Today's episode viyekis and the promise to build back better 16 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:09.760 And if you'd like to hear any of the episodes 17 00:01:10.080 --> 00:01:14.640 in Espanol, visit the La bregafed wherever you listen to 18 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.679 your podcasts Now, I'm handing it off to WNYC's Alana 19 00:01:18.720 --> 00:01:19.880 Casanova Birges. 20 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.600 Thirteen days after Maria, a group of people affected by 21 00:01:30.600 --> 00:01:33.839 the hurricane met at the Calvary Chapel. That's a church 22 00:01:33.880 --> 00:01:35.120 in Guennabo, Puerto Rico. 23 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.000 There's a lot of loom the room. 24 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.160 President Trump was there visiting the island to assess the 25 00:01:43.240 --> 00:01:46.319 hurricane damage. He stopped at the church and it was 26 00:01:46.360 --> 00:01:48.840 in that visit that he did something a lot of 27 00:01:48.880 --> 00:01:54.280 Puerto Ricans will never forget. He started throwing rolls of 28 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:57.240 paper towels towards the hurricane victims. 29 00:01:57.840 --> 00:01:58.440 Great people. 30 00:02:01.320 --> 00:02:09.000 It was, let's say, a controversial act, throwing paper towels 31 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:12.800 at the victims of the hurricane like it was a game. 32 00:02:14.440 --> 00:02:16.120 I've never seen anything like that before. 33 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.720 You're supposed to be helping victims of a hurricane. 34 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:21.880 So he's like, there's a lot of love for me here, 35 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.880 right hey, through paper towsand people. 36 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:25.400 People loved it. 37 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:29.920 To kick federal citizens when they are down is shameful. 38 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:35.120 At the time, thousands were homeless and millions were without electricity. 39 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:40.320 It was an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and for many this 40 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.359 act by the president was deeply offensive. 41 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.240 Mister Trump also appeared to criticize the US territory for 42 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.640 their more than seventy billion dollar debt. 43 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.240 I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown 44 00:02:52.320 --> 00:02:53.680 our budget a little out of whack. 45 00:02:54.440 --> 00:02:57.160 The President made these kinds of remarks in public, but 46 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.440 in private, his advisers were having meetings with then Governor 47 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.880 Ricardo rossell Nevares and his team. 48 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:07.280 ELDA President, This. 49 00:03:07.320 --> 00:03:10.600 Is Carlos Mercader, former director of the Puerto Rico Federal 50 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:15.320 Affairs Administration in Washington. In other words, he was Rosello's 51 00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:18.800 point man on Capitol Hill. Mercader says that the day 52 00:03:18.880 --> 00:03:21.920 after Trump's visit to the church, the Governor's team was 53 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:24.680 summoned to the White House. He says they were brought 54 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:26.080 to the Situation. 55 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:29.440 Room bonker Ki Blank West Wing. 56 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:31.680 A kind of bunker in the West Wing where military 57 00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:36.000 decisions are made and crises are dealt with. Vice President 58 00:03:36.040 --> 00:03:38.280 Mike Pence was at the head of the table, surrounded 59 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:41.880 by various FEMA representatives, all looking at maps. 60 00:03:41.600 --> 00:03:45.520 Of Puerto Rico I and Fort President. 61 00:03:51.480 --> 00:03:55.880 The atmosphere was tense, Mercader said, because the FEMA administrator 62 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.360 was defending the hurricane response, and the governor told him 63 00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:01.640 in front of the Vice President that what they were 64 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:06.560 doing was failing. Later, Rosello's team met with more heads 65 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:10.120 of federal agencies. It was during this meeting that something 66 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:16.320 unexpected happened. The director of the Office of Management and 67 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:20.000 Budget at that time, Mick mulvaney, told them that President 68 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.360 Trump wanted to meet in person. 69 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:29.560 Governor Carlos Lodos. 70 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.240 And without knowing what to expect, they were shuffled directly 71 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:34.200 into the Oval office. Mercado says they actually bumped about 72 00:04:34.320 --> 00:04:37.320 five or seven other federal agency heads that were waiting 73 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.560 to meet with Trump. The President entered the room, the 74 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:42.640 governor and his staff thought this would maybe just be 75 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:52.440 a photo op, something quick in a momento, and then 76 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:55.960 Trump told the governor, you know what, I want to 77 00:04:55.960 --> 00:05:00.560 do a press conference with you. It was a total surprise, 78 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.400 something that was never on the agenda. In fact, the 79 00:05:04.440 --> 00:05:08.720 administration had told them that Trump was too busy to meet. 80 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:09.680 They associate. 81 00:05:09.960 --> 00:05:12.480 The President got out of his chair and walked to. 82 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.480 A cabinet. 83 00:05:16.640 --> 00:05:22.880 Filled with cans of aerosol hairspray. He sprayed his hair 84 00:05:23.440 --> 00:05:27.159 and with a very serious demeanor, looked back at Mercader. 85 00:05:26.880 --> 00:05:28.680 And said, Carlos, you go there. 86 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:35.400 The White House Press Corps then filled the room. 87 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:36.400 Thank you very much. 88 00:05:36.440 --> 00:05:38.840 It's great to have the governor of Puerto Rico with us. 89 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:41.719 We have gotten to know each other extremely well over 90 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:44.920 the last couple of weeks, and I can tell you 91 00:05:45.080 --> 00:05:49.080 are a hard working governor. It's a tough situation, so 92 00:05:49.200 --> 00:05:52.040 much has to be rebuilt, even from before. With that 93 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:54.560 being said, I think we've done a really great job. 94 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.280 In the recording, you can see a governor caught between 95 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:01.320 making the president feel comfortable and the need to communicate 96 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:03.359 the dire situation in Puerto Rico. 97 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.240 Thank you, mister President. Thank you for setting this opportunity. 98 00:06:07.320 --> 00:06:10.240 It's a catastrophic situation in Puerto Rico, as you know, 99 00:06:10.440 --> 00:06:14.080 but certainly, working in a united front, we are going 100 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:16.920 to be We know we're going to build better than 101 00:06:16.960 --> 00:06:19.680 before and today it's an example. 102 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:22.919 An example. That's how rose Yo described the work that 103 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:27.760 his government was undergoing alongside Trump's administration, an example of 104 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:33.680 working together to rebuild Puerto Rico, build back better. That 105 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:42.320 was the slogan of the promised reconstruction From WNYC and 106 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:47.480 Futuro Studios. This is La Vega. I'm Alana Casanova Burgess 107 00:06:47.640 --> 00:06:51.120 and in this episode, the historic agreement that was supposed 108 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.440 to help the island's reconstruction after Hurricane Maria. Supposed to 109 00:07:02.960 --> 00:07:05.680 when it comes to so many things, Puerto Rico is 110 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:09.560 the exception to the rule, including with federal responses to 111 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:13.320 natural disasters. This is how it's supposed to work. A 112 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.120 massive fire in gulfs California, a huge hurricane strikes Texas, 113 00:07:17.320 --> 00:07:20.000 and another one makes landfall in Florida, and one of 114 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.960 the first federal agencies to respond is FEMA. 115 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.200 If you'd start with Harvey all the way over to 116 00:07:25.320 --> 00:07:28.240 the California wildfires, over twenty five million Americans have been 117 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.000 an impact. The FEMA search and rescue teams alone saved 118 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.400 over nine thousand lives. Tens of thousands of lives have 119 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.720 been saved. Over four and a half million Americans have 120 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:39.040 been registered inside FEMA's Individual Assistance Program. 121 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.560 FEMA's ability to provide aid comes from something called the 122 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:46.280 Stafford Act, and the letter of the law in this 123 00:07:46.400 --> 00:07:50.120 Act is clear. FEMA has the duty to rebuild, but 124 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:52.960 only up to the way things were before a disaster. 125 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:57.160 FEMA cannot make destroyed buildings better than they were before, 126 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:02.240 except in rare instances, and today's story is about one 127 00:08:02.280 --> 00:08:08.920 of those exceptions. Christina del Marquillez from El Centro de 128 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.120 Perio TiO, the Center for Investigative Journalism in San Juan, 129 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.400 has been covering Puerto Rico's rebuilding efforts for more than 130 00:08:16.440 --> 00:08:19.400 two years, and she takes the story from here. 131 00:08:23.840 --> 00:08:27.240 After the im pronto press conference with Trump, the surprise 132 00:08:27.320 --> 00:08:30.559 engagements from the White House kept coming for the Puerto 133 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:31.520 Rican team. 134 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:36.000 In the Momento I Almessani. 135 00:08:36.800 --> 00:08:40.480 Carlos Mercare recalls a launch on the White House messanine 136 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.960 where Tom Bazzard, Trump's Homeland Security advisor, showed. 137 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:51.079 Up Bossard literal governor rom documents as the loguer Alua. 138 00:08:52.160 --> 00:08:56.280 He had a handwritten document with some scribble notes and 139 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.960 ideas about Section for twenty eight of the Staffer Act. 140 00:09:00.760 --> 00:09:05.040 This was a defining moment for the recovery of the island. 141 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:08.560 Section for twenty eight is a very specific part of 142 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:11.720 this tougher Act that grants FEMA the power to go 143 00:09:11.800 --> 00:09:15.880 beyond the norm when it comes to reconstruction after natural disasters. 144 00:09:16.160 --> 00:09:19.880 The document offered Rosse Joe help rebuilding everything that was 145 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:23.480 damaged on the island, and went even further and proposed 146 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:28.040 building new and improved infrastructure for example, if a building 147 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.360 had only lost some of its windows, Section for twenty 148 00:09:31.400 --> 00:09:34.040 eight made it possible to replace all of them. The 149 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.800 idea was that the effected structure would be rebuilt better 150 00:09:37.880 --> 00:09:41.560 than before. With Section for twenty eight, the federal government 151 00:09:41.800 --> 00:09:45.120 was promising stronger and more resilient construction. 152 00:09:45.160 --> 00:09:49.520 Una grand Cantidad, the Inner Opera, Comparatium and Tempomas Corto. 153 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:53.319 Puerto Rico would receive more money in a shorter period 154 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:57.040 of time. Trump's people set at the launch. Section for 155 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:01.680 twenty eight had been used before, but in really isolated cases, 156 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.320 like the reconstruction of New York's Lower Manhattan subway station 157 00:10:05.920 --> 00:10:09.600 and New York's energy plant. Back when Hurricane Sandy hit 158 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:13.600 the East coast in twenty twelve, the plan Buzzard had 159 00:10:13.640 --> 00:10:16.760 for Puerto Rico was using Section four twenty eight for 160 00:10:16.880 --> 00:10:20.800 the whole island's reconstruction. The most expensive use of the 161 00:10:20.880 --> 00:10:21.760 section up to. 162 00:10:21.760 --> 00:10:25.440 That Pointdrico de Nia selection Acatavanioch. 163 00:10:25.760 --> 00:10:29.280 But Puerto Rico had to ask for it first. The 164 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.840 governor had to make a formal petition based solely on 165 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:36.560 that handwritten piece of paper given to him by Buzzard, 166 00:10:36.880 --> 00:10:39.360 and he had to do it right then and there. 167 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.960 It was attempting offer. Any politician would prefer to end 168 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:48.960 their term with brand new infrastructure, better than the one 169 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.520 they came into power with. But there was a catch 170 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:56.360 in section for twenty eight, the local government would be 171 00:10:56.440 --> 00:11:02.520 responsible for any unforeseen expenses during construction, and Puerto Rico 172 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:05.600 was a jurisdiction in the middle of a financial crisis. 173 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:09.760 In simple terms, Puerto Rico did not have the means 174 00:11:09.800 --> 00:11:19.480 to deal with those unforeseen expenses. Merca says. The governor 175 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:23.040 told Baszard that he was open to the idea, but 176 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:23.920 it needed. 177 00:11:23.640 --> 00:11:33.360 More Discussionoando and then Puerto Rico. 178 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:37.840 Merca remembers it as a constant struggle, meeting after meeting 179 00:11:37.920 --> 00:11:41.440 of here debate about what would be best for Puerto Rico. 180 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:45.160 One of the main pieces of contention was the time 181 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:48.320 frame FEMA would allow the government of Puerto Rico to 182 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:52.800 inspect and describe the damage. FEMA basically functions as an 183 00:11:52.800 --> 00:11:56.719 insurance company that evaluates and then approves money for reconstruction, 184 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.320 but they're always trying to spend as little as possible, 185 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.280 so in practice, FEMA wanted to use the four twenty 186 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.440 eight to build back better, but with as little investment 187 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.480 as possible under part while the Puerto Rican government was 188 00:12:13.520 --> 00:12:19.200 trying to secure enough money to actually get the projects done. 189 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.680 So all parties had to reach an agreement on every 190 00:12:22.760 --> 00:12:28.400 single project following an island wide disaster, and that obviously 191 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.720 was going to take some time, but the proposal from 192 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:36.960 the federal government was that all agreements would be due 193 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:42.360 in twelve months, and at that moment there were five 194 00:12:42.520 --> 00:12:48.400 thousand projects pending for review, schools, community centers, parks, roads, 195 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.480 and public buildings. The total amount to make these projects 196 00:12:52.520 --> 00:12:59.880 happen thirty billion dollars. A few weeks after the intent 197 00:13:00.160 --> 00:13:04.240 meetings at the White House, Carlos Mercader remembers traveling back 198 00:13:04.280 --> 00:13:07.360 to Washington with Governor rosse Jo to attend meetings and 199 00:13:07.520 --> 00:13:11.000 related to four twenty eight. In one of those meetings, 200 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:15.800 Elaine Duke, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, burst into the 201 00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:18.920 room with another piece of paper yea. 202 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:23.320 Yeogo and told the governor signed this. 203 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.679 It was a formal printed letter to be signed by 204 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.840 Ross Joe asking for authorization from the federal government to 205 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.280 implement Section four twenty eight for all of Puerto Rico. 206 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:45.079 Merca says she was very insistent, telling the governor they 207 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.000 had waited too long and that this had to be 208 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:54.120 done now, and the governor told her, look, I cannot 209 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:58.480 do it this way. What's the problem. What's missing? She asked, 210 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:08.240 and rose Jo responded, we need to discuss it because 211 00:14:08.280 --> 00:14:11.160 you haven't agreed to anything we have proposed, and to 212 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:16.560 be honest, we have reservations. The most important reservation was 213 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:21.600 the process. For each reconstruction project. They had to navigate 214 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:25.320 a sea of red tape at both local and federal levels, 215 00:14:25.560 --> 00:14:28.920 and while rose Jo evaluated if Section four twenty eight 216 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:32.920 was really worth it, the conversation with federal staff had 217 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:37.200 become more difficult, especially when talking about the amount of 218 00:14:37.280 --> 00:14:48.920 money around the reconstruction. America says that every time Trump's 219 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:53.000 kevinet talked about money, he felt they had a grudge. 220 00:14:52.680 --> 00:15:00.560 About it, and Amento on thescendency to annoy Doula mercader. 221 00:15:00.920 --> 00:15:05.240 So their tune was condescending at times, and some like 222 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.800 Mick mulvany, who would eventually become Trump's chief of staff 223 00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:11.920 and had been appointed to be the captain of this effort, 224 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:18.800 took it even further, acting this spody at times. 225 00:15:18.920 --> 00:15:20.400 Deespota in Puerto Rico. 226 00:15:23.520 --> 00:15:27.880 Our podcast team Richette to Baszard, Mulveny, Duke and Brocklan, 227 00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:32.080 who was famous administrator during the four twenty eight negotiations, 228 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.960 Only Long responded to our request and told us he 229 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:42.600 was not available. So during all these harsh negotiations, rose 230 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:49.600 Jo came to a conclusion amazing he would formally request 231 00:15:49.800 --> 00:15:53.120 four twenty eight because it was evident that it was 232 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.600 the only way the federal government was willing to work 233 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:02.720 with Puerto Rico. Y Instead of twelve months, rose Jo's 234 00:16:02.760 --> 00:16:06.200 team got the federal government to give them eighteen months 235 00:16:06.400 --> 00:16:11.960 to evaluate all five thousand projects, and that's how Governor 236 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:17.040 rose Jo finally accepted and officially asked for Section for 237 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:25.280 twenty eight to be applied to Puerto Rico. It was 238 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:28.880 actually the only option on the table, but rose Jo 239 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.840 and his team went back to Puerto Rico to announced 240 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.520 implementation of Section for twenty eight as a resounding victory 241 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:41.840 of his administration. Tosinko at a press conference, he spoke 242 00:16:41.880 --> 00:16:45.400 about important achievements they reached in a span of forty 243 00:16:45.400 --> 00:16:46.160 eight hours. 244 00:16:46.400 --> 00:16:51.120 Are you Mechani, Morven Keyama and Laso Deema. 245 00:16:51.400 --> 00:16:54.280 He explains they made a series of requests to the 246 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:59.760 federal government and then mentions a quote novel mechanism section 247 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:06.240 for twenty eight. He then describes how for twenty eight 248 00:17:06.280 --> 00:17:10.359 allows the government to take all big rebuilding projects and 249 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:15.840 add them all together. He says this gives more flexibility 250 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:21.320 to move estimates around, and this wasn't the only time 251 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:25.200 he praised section for twenty eight. The audio quality isn't 252 00:17:25.320 --> 00:17:28.800 very good, but here he's speaking to the Puerto Rico 253 00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:34.840 Builders Association. In this twenty seventeen speech, you can hear 254 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:38.520 how Rose Joe talks flowingly about the prospect of rebuilding 255 00:17:38.560 --> 00:17:44.879 Puerto Rico with a new set of tools. He asks 256 00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:48.880 everyone to wrap this opportunity by the horns and make 257 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:56.280 a better, more robust, and resilient Puerto Rico. I admit 258 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.320 this is a little puzzling. After hitting met god that 259 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:04.199 explained how much pressure Washington put on the governor to 260 00:18:04.280 --> 00:18:08.240 accept four twenty eight. So I asked him why, despite 261 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.159 all the troubles he had just described, they presented this 262 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.800 as an achievement of their administration. 263 00:18:15.560 --> 00:18:24.560 Well process, so. 264 00:18:22.080 --> 00:18:25.080 Because the read and agreement stated this would be a 265 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.119 faster process than the normal one, he said, but the 266 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:33.680 Porican government knew that Section for twenty eight was not 267 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:41.600 risk free and it was a massive undertaking. Even months 268 00:18:41.600 --> 00:18:45.360 after the hurricane, the situation was dire for a lot 269 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:49.720 of Phorricans, and neither FEMA nor the local government had 270 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:54.800 a clear idea of how in practice they would really 271 00:18:54.840 --> 00:18:56.639 build back better. 272 00:18:57.320 --> 00:19:01.040 Basic supplies like food, water and medicine still scarce, and 273 00:19:01.080 --> 00:19:05.160 shaw marias forcing many families to improvise their holiday celebrations. 274 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:09.960 Every school in the island has dealing with the same situation, 275 00:19:10.280 --> 00:19:13.480 losing student, losing people, losing family. 276 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.920 Half of the island did not have electricity at the 277 00:19:17.040 --> 00:19:20.480 end of twenty seventeen, three months after the storm. 278 00:19:20.600 --> 00:19:24.480 You inside the medical crisis in Puerto Rico. Tomorrow marks 279 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.439 one year since Hurricane Maria devastated the island. 280 00:19:27.560 --> 00:19:30.119 Right now, people are traveling hours to get the help. 281 00:19:30.040 --> 00:19:33.400 They film out. 282 00:19:36.760 --> 00:19:40.320 That last voice is on mar Marero, a former director 283 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.480 of the office that is in charge of the recovery 284 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:47.720 efforts in Puerto Rico. I interviewed him in February twenty nineteen, 285 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:50.800 and he told me that even a year after the 286 00:19:50.840 --> 00:19:54.760 approval of Section for twenty eight, there wasn't a single 287 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:59.560 project greenlad, not even an agreement on a fixed cust 288 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:05.680 estimate for any of the rebuilding projects, and without those agreements, 289 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:09.120 not a single one of these projects could get started. 290 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:15.000 And these delays seriously affected one of the most important 291 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:20.199 projects of the promised rebuilding, the hospital and Vikes Island, 292 00:20:21.520 --> 00:20:24.840 a project that had been planning since Hirek and Maria 293 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:28.480 hit the island, and which they even referred to as 294 00:20:28.520 --> 00:20:32.879 an early project, a brand new hospital for the nine 295 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:39.000 thousand residents of this island municipality. 296 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:45.320 And the delay on this project will end up having 297 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:51.160 dire consequences. When we return what happened in Vikes, we'll 298 00:20:51.160 --> 00:21:04.280 be right back, and we're back to. 299 00:21:04.320 --> 00:21:14.280 La Brega Aquietoi treando baso entre algo the La Malasa. 300 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.520 This is Diana Ramos, a producer who lives on the 301 00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:21.240 island of Jequis. Here she describes how hard it is 302 00:21:21.280 --> 00:21:26.280 to reach what was the Centro diagn Centeno, the only 303 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:30.160 health center with an emergency room on vieks ay Algna. 304 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.760 She says some of the electric poles are still bent 305 00:21:34.840 --> 00:21:38.760 over almost horizontally, and the area around the center is 306 00:21:38.840 --> 00:21:44.200 overgrown with vegetation de larian henera. This was in October 307 00:21:44.280 --> 00:21:47.840 of twenty twenty, more than three years after Hurricane Maria 308 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.919 hit Viekis and the rest of Puerto Rico, and this 309 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.160 was the first project of the Build Back Better Plan 310 00:21:54.320 --> 00:21:58.480 under section four twenty eight of the Stafford Act. Cristina 311 00:21:58.520 --> 00:22:03.000 del marquills from Elcent The per continues from here. 312 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:08.000 Vieks lea Isla, Nina is a place that is deemed 313 00:22:08.040 --> 00:22:11.239 by many as the colony of the colony. It's an 314 00:22:11.280 --> 00:22:15.280 island haunted by a long history of negligence and abuse 315 00:22:15.520 --> 00:22:20.280 by both the Pourrican government and the federal government. To 316 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:24.440 understand the impact of four twenty eight in Vis, one 317 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.200 has to first understand the long struggle of this community 318 00:22:28.280 --> 00:22:35.359 for better health services. This is saida Torres. She says 319 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:39.560 that Vikes has never existed for the poor Rican Department 320 00:22:39.600 --> 00:22:44.200 of Health. Torres is now a retired nurse. She knows 321 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:47.760 the history of the islands health services because she spent 322 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:52.240 her entire career serving in the only hospital in Vis. 323 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.359 This health center is crucial since the nearest hospital is 324 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:58.800 an hour and a half away by boat or a 325 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:05.320 thirty minute flight. Getting on a plane is not cheap either, 326 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:10.200 and in reality is inaccessible to most of the x population. 327 00:23:10.800 --> 00:23:13.080 So most people have to use what has been for 328 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:19.399 decades an inconsistent ferry system. Sadly SAIDA is also a 329 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.920 veteran to this commute. She's a cancer patient who has 330 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.960 to travel every twenty one days to Las La Grande, 331 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:28.800 the Big Island, to get the treatment she needs. 332 00:23:29.800 --> 00:23:35.240 I mean problem. 333 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:41.000 Often the fairy is not available for one reason or another, 334 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:45.320 and she has to call to cancel her appointment. And 335 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.719 we're not even mentioning the days where she can travel 336 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:52.520 and how difficult it is for her to actually get 337 00:23:52.560 --> 00:24:01.280 back home. She says that at least two times she 338 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:04.240 has had to wait for the eight pm ferry because 339 00:24:04.280 --> 00:24:06.639 the procedure took longer than expected. 340 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.480 La Media. 341 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:15.400 She waited until eight pm, no ferry, then waited for 342 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.840 the ninth ory pm ride still no fairry. Her return 343 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:25.760 trip after a day where she underwent chemotherapy started at midnight. 344 00:24:26.560 --> 00:24:33.000 It's as a cancer patient, it's the worst thing that 345 00:24:33.040 --> 00:24:37.000 can happen to you, she says, and SAIDA is not 346 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:41.480 alone in this. Scientific studies have shown that ba caances 347 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:45.160 have hired cancer rates, as well as very high occurrences 348 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:49.919 of diabetes, hypertension, lupus, and asthma. When compared to the 349 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:56.120 big island, saida asks herself why this is? 350 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.080 This is a bitch to be a island near Puerto 351 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:06.119 Rico and the Caribbean Sea, peaceful isness, white sand, palm trees, 352 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.199 and the intensely blue water of the Tropics. 353 00:25:08.600 --> 00:25:12.000 The answer can be found in films like this, an 354 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:17.080 industrial documentary from the fifties commissioned by the United States Navy. 355 00:25:18.080 --> 00:25:20.640 But one day, ships of the Atlantic Fleet came from 356 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:23.879 the west and, slipping across the long horizon at dawn, 357 00:25:24.280 --> 00:25:28.159 commenced to hurl steel and explosives against this strip of sand. 358 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:32.760 For more than six decades, most of vis Island was 359 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:35.600 used by the US Navy under Allies as an open 360 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:48.160 range where they conducted wargames with live ammunition and real explosives. 361 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:54.680 During those decades of constant bombing, various groups in Vies 362 00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:00.240 and Puerto Rico demanded that the US Navy leave Viakes, 363 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:05.040 and then on April nineteenth, nineteen ninety nine. 364 00:26:05.280 --> 00:26:09.160 Sea was bombas akinianas libre al Cansalom and postally observation 365 00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:13.400 Danes Rodriguez monitorial as practical as Novales. 366 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:19.359 David Sanis was a against employed as a security guard 367 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.639 in an observation post inside the range where the Navy 368 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:26.720 practiced its wargames. Two five hundred pound bombs hit the 369 00:26:26.760 --> 00:26:32.800 observation deck were he patrolled, killing him immediately. His family 370 00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:36.320 heard the explosions and were kept in the dark about 371 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:41.040 what happened for at least a whole day. This death 372 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:46.200 sparked a civil disobedience movement. The against Puerto Ricans from 373 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:51.120 the main island. DYASPUR groups and US activists and politicians rallied. 374 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:55.359 They traveled to a military practice range, entered the area, 375 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:59.800 and waited for the federal authorities to arrest them. 376 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:01.760 This is portage a. 377 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:06.120 Line first to night the vehicles showdown. Activists on Puerto 378 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:09.520 Rico's Vehicus Island continued to wait today for a possible 379 00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:12.159 federal ray. 380 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.000 What steps have you taken then to enforce the law. 381 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:21.240 It's a federal law. Sometimes it is not wise to act. 382 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:24.159 And all I'm saying is I'm giving you what I 383 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:25.960 think is good advice. 384 00:27:26.560 --> 00:27:29.000 Someone's going to die doing that. That blood will be 385 00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:30.600 on your hands now. 386 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:35.640 Somebody has already died. Mister senator, I understand if the 387 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:39.639 bombings continue not to do or thank you your content 388 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:40.120 very much. 389 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:41.680 We opened this hearing. 390 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:47.920 Don't push it, and at the end they actually made 391 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:48.560 it happen. 392 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:52.679 My attitude is that the Navy ought to find somewhere 393 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:54.280 else to conduct its exercises. 394 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:57.120 These are our friends and neighbors, and they don't want 395 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:57.560 us there. 396 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:03.120 In two thousand and one, President George W. Bush announced 397 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:05.879 that the US Navy would leave Viekes in two thousand 398 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:09.760 and three, but the legacy of the bombings continues today. 399 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:14.720 A group of Pekansas so the federal government asking them 400 00:28:14.800 --> 00:28:19.480 to acknowledge the environmental harm caused by decades of warkins 401 00:28:19.560 --> 00:28:23.359