Marking the anniversary of an 1868 uprising here that launched the struggle against Spanish colonialism, this annual event has become a rallying point for those fighting to end U.S. colonial rule over Puerto Rico. The two dominant political parties, which advocate either the "Commonwealth" status quo or statehood, are embarrassed by this heroic chapter in Puerto Rican history because it is a reminder that today Puerto Rico remains a classic colony--no longer of Spain but of U.S. imperialism--and that this Latin American nation has a legacy of revolutionary struggle.

The U.S. government’s refusal to abide by the overwhelming majority sentiment in Puerto Rico for stopping the U.S. Navy’s bombing practice on Vieques is a graphic illustration of the colonial relationship between Washington and Puerto Rico. Several speakers at this year’s Grito de Lares rally condemned the governor of Puerto Rico, Sila Calderón of the pro-Commonwealth Popular Democratic Party (PPD), because she has proved incapable of delivering on her electoral promise to end the bombing exercises.

María de Lourdes Santiago, vice president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), said that Calderón had shown herself to be "weak-kneed" in face of Washington’s pressure to remain in Vieques. In contrast, she noted that the independence movement has gained broader popular respect for its role in leading the fight against the U.S. military’s occupation of this Puerto Rican island.

"The Lares of 1868 is embodied in Vieques, shamefully, by what it means to live in a colony. But we are here honoring the heroes of 1868 and we will fulfill our pledge that, if by May 2003 the Navy doesn’t leave Vieques, we’ll make it leave." Santiago said that the PIP would organize mass protests in Vieques if the U.S. Navy did not stop bombing by then, as U.S. president George Bush has verbally promised.

Speaking along similar lines were Carlos Zenón, a leader of the Vieques fishermen; Héctor Pesquera, co-chair of the pro-independence Hostos National Congress (CNH); and Juan Mari Bras, a longtime independence advocate.

Mari Bras noted that over the past few years, the pro-independence forces have united in action at the Grito de Lares and other events, unlike in the past, where different organizations would hold competing September 23 actions. A joint statement by the Nationalist Party, PIP, CNH, New Independence Movement (NMIP), Socialist Front, and Pro-Independence University Student Federation (FUPI) affirmed their goal of "joining forces in seeking a common effort to initiate a true decolonization process that can only culminate in our independence."

Many speakers spoke in defense of several independence fighters who today continue to serve long years in U.S. prisons for their pro-independence activities.

A number of speakers condemned the U.S. moves toward war in the Mideast. Rafael Bernabe of the Socialist Front said that while the U.S. government had used the September 11 events to justify launching aggression abroad, one year later it was carrying out a broader war in the Mideast.

"Many Puerto Ricans have refused to fight in the U.S. government’s wars, from World War II to Vietnam and the Gulf War," said José Torres, a university student at the rally. "Being cannon fodder for the empire is another reason we need independence from the United States."

FUPI was one organization that had a visible presence at the rally, with a large and attractive booth. FUPI members spoke with pride of how, when the fall semester began, they had once again forced the ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) recruiters to leave the University of Puerto Rico campus. They also passed out their newsletter, Patria Nueva (New Homeland), which urges youth to participate in the Puerto Rican delegation to the Latin American and Caribbean Students Congress (OCLAE), which will take place in late November and early December.  
 
Ongoing anti-Navy fight in Vieques
Capitalist politicians here have used Washington’s accelerated war drive in the Middle East to try to dampen political protests, claiming that "now is not the time." Despite a slower pace of activity, the fight against the U.S. Navy in Vieques continues in many different ways. They range from weekly picket lines in front of the U.S. federal prison, where several Vieques protesters are serving six-month terms, to a hunger strike at an ecumenical chapel in San Juan to protest the recent U.S. military exercises on the island.

Ismael Guadalupe and other leaders of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques invited Militant reporters to Vieques on September 22. The committee has established a permanent protest camp in front of the main entrance to the U.S. base, Camp García.

Guadalupe explained that since World War II, when U.S. officials forced farmers and other residents of Vieques off their land and handed it to the Navy for bombing and other military training exercises, there has been an uninterrupted struggle to remove the U.S. military.

Why is the U.S. government so insistent on keeping its control over Vieques? "Here they have trained for invasions of Grenada and Nicaragua in the 1980s, and for the wars on Yugoslavia and Iraq in the 1990s," said Emilio García, one of those staffing the protest camp. "They used the island to train for the invasion of Afghanistan, and now they are using it to prepare for an invasion of Iraq. After completing their training in Vieques, many of the ships go off to the Mideast."

In addition to using the island as a springboard for imperialist aggression abroad, the U.S. military has contaminated the land and water of Vieques with typical colonial disregard for the health of its residents.

The bombing has disrupted the daily lives of fishermen and others. "Kids sometimes have to stop classes when the bombing is taking place nearby. It traumatizes them," said García.

Jaime Peralta, another member of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, previously worked as a civilian guard on the U.S. base. He was a co-worker of David Sanes, who in May 1999 was killed when a U.S. plane on training exercises dropped a bomb described by the Navy as "errant."

"We would often talk about the danger of a U.S. plane dropping a bomb on us," said Peralta, "and it finally happened."

"They talk about the war on terrorism," he added, "but the U.S. government is responsible for terror in the world"--a reference to ongoing war moves against Iraq.  
 
Vieques women’s association
Carmen Valencia, a leader of the Vieques Women’s Alliance, explained that her organization had been formed three years ago in response to the growing campaign against the Navy’s presence. "Our purpose is to educate about our struggle--we’ve traveled throughout Puerto Rico, to New York, Massachusetts, and even to Asia and Africa." Members of the women’s alliance have been some of the most active fighters to get the Navy out of the island.

The women’s association also offers volunteer help with outpatient clinics in Vieques, which have historically been denied adequate medical facilities. "Until recently, women giving birth had to travel to the main island by ferry or plane. The government opened maternity facilities only a few weeks ago," Valencia said. "We still don’t have medical specialists in Vieques. All the doctors are general practitioners, and you have to go to the main island to go to a specialist."

The U.S. military’s refusal to leave Vieques in defiance of the will of most Puerto Ricans, explained Guadalupe, is an illustration that "there is no democracy here. We Puerto Ricans are not the ones who decide things. They are decided in Washington."

He noted that today, with the growing U.S. war moves against Iraq, it is likely that Washington will decide to keep the Navy in Vieques. "We are preparing for May 2003, when the Navy is supposed to leave. We will be organizing big mobilizations of people to cross into the occupied lands if the Navy doesn’t leave." Protests are planned in San Juan and other Puerto Rican cities, as well as in other countries.

Martín Koppel and Paul Pederson are the Socialist Workers candidates for governor of New York and for U.S. Congress in the 12th District, respectively. Chessie Molano, SWP candidate for lieutenant governor of Illinois, contributed to this article.
 
 
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Socialists well received in Puerto Rico  
 
 
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