Calles de la Resistencia: Pathways to Empowerment in Puerto Rico

• Date: 01 May 2020
• Author: Jean Hostetler-Díaz
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20926980
• Published date: 01 May 2020
• Subject Matter: Introduction

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X20926980

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 232, Vol. 47 No. 3, May 2020, 4–12

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20926980

© 2020 Latin American Perspectives

4

Introduction

Calles de la Resistencia

Pathways to Empowerment in Puerto Rico

by

Jean Hostetler-Díaz

The Boricua (Puerto Rican) heritage is one of resistance and valiant defense

of freedom. From the initial, violent Spanish conquest of Borinquen (the island’s

original name), the realities of domination and oppression by hostile invading

armies confronted an organic consciousness of liberation within the indigenous

culture. From the initial, violent Spanish conquest, the realities of domination

and oppression by hostile invading armies confronted an organic conscious-

ness of liberation within the indigenous culture. Puerto Ricans have always

resisted, organized, and taken action against their oppressors and against their

colonization in all its forms. It has been a centuries-long, life-and-death strug-

gle, with brutally repressive policies and other methods of suppression and

control constantly attempting to defeat the forces of resistance. At various

times, conditions have reached critical mass, and a clear confrontation of forces

has occurred. Last summer that point was reached when the forces of resistance

became abundantly visible and their power obvious. Ultimately, this sustained

collective uprising, now known as El Verano Boricua (The Puerto Rican

Summer), directly and triumphantly challenged state authority.

This process of political upheaval has created opportunities for social trans-

formation and opened spaces for action, including acts of rebellion and insur-

rection. “Calles de la Resistencia: Pathways to Empowerment in Puerto Rico”

pays tribute to one of those acts—the renaming of streets in Old San Juan.

During the summer uprising, protesters posted their own signage over existing

street signs; for example, Calle Fortaleza was renamed Calle de la Resistencia.

Claiming domain over the streets is a profound act that asserts the right of the

people to defend and control their own communities in all respects.

El Verano Boricua was the culmination of many years of suffering and

social unrest. The increasingly harsh consequences of neoliberalism were

crushing the nation, literally undermining its social fabric. Schools were

closing, unemployment raging, infrastructure crumbling, taxes increasing,

and all costs rising, forcing thousands to leave the island. But it was Hurricane

María that revealed how tenuous life on the island had really become, how

ineffective the state had become, how misconduct and mismanagement had

destroyed the state apparatus, and clarified beyond any doubt what it meant

to be a colony.

Jean Hostetler-Díaz teaches at Riverside City College and is a coordinating editor of Latin American

Perspectives. The collective thanks her for organizing this issue.

926980LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X20926980Latin American PerspectivesHostetler-Díaz / Introduction

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