I must say that this is one of the
darkest eras within the history of the PPD. As a delegate of the
party I am deeply hurt and upset over the occurrences of yesterday's
general assembly. I have never been so displeased with the party and
have been sucked of the little motivation I had left of winning the
2008 elections.
I have never been sympathetic towards
Governor Acevedo Vila. When Hernandez Mayoral resigned his candidacy
in the 2004 elections I was quite upset when Acevedo Vila was named
his successor. For the last two decades the PPD has floated off into
the seas of colonial conservatism with Acevedo Vila simply
representing a continuation of the party's gravitation towards the
political center. Hernandez Mayoral represented a possible shift back
to the more progressive politics of the PPD's past in comparison to
the center Victoria Muñoz, Hector Luis Acevedo, and Sila
Calderon.
Acevedo Vila was the most conservative
of the two and during his career has demonstrated that he is
controlled by the grandes intereses (including the federal
government, which I've always considered part of those interests.) My
vote for Acevedo Vila in 2004 was simply an anti-Rossello vote, for
if the PNP candidate would have been anybody else I would not have
preferred to turn in a blank ballot. In fact, for Resident
Commissioner I voted for the PIP's Edwin Irizzary instead of the
PPD's Roberto Prats, who much like Acevedo Vila has traditionally
been a pro-colony conservative. Acevedo Vila has done little to
distinguish himself from the estadolibrista crowd. 
Acevedo
Vila's autonomista talk was nowhere to be seen during the
pivazo ordeal or the Filiberto Ojeda operation. It wasn't
until Acevedo Vila was himself targeted by a federal investigation
that he began calling for autonomy. El Nuevo Dia published
an article yesterday outlining the contradictions in Acevedo
Vila's anti-federal tone. (UPDATE: El Neuvo Dia's 4/29/08 edition notes that the recent federal arrests of Education employees was actually requested by the Anibal's Secretary of Education. This further demonstrates the contradiction within the administration concerning its recent anti-federal stance.)
I am dumbfounded at how some PPD still wish for Acevedo Vila
to remain the party's 2008 candidate. After winning the previous
election with 4,000 votes and only through a court's ruling, Acevedo
Vila has not done one single thing since taking office that could
have won him votes. The pivazo ordeal angered the PIP and
enforced PNP claims of PPD indenpendentismo; the sudden raises
in public utility prices and cut backs in public services has poked
at even the most faithful followers; The PPD leadership's muting of
inner-party ideological debate (from Willie to Baez Galib and even
Sila Mari) has isolated the party's diverse; the federal
investigation has obviously had its political damage; and yesterday's
activity has further upset those who would have voted against Acevedo
Vila if his candidacy was to be put to a delegate vote. The most I
can say is that I will not be voting for him in
November.
Ironically, the PPD knows this. The few that have
supported Acevedo Vila's candidacy prior to yesterday's assembly
would say things like, "it's better to loose with dignity"
(El
Nuevo Dia, 4/26). Others have said that Acevedo Vila's campaign
funding practices are "what everybody else does" and that
"at least it's not public money in question." There is a
consensus that we will loose. I believe that our leaders simply wish
to portray unity believing that division could cause long term
damage. Unfortunately, enough damage has already been done by Acevedo
Vila and his stubborn insistence in maintaining his
candidacy.
Yesterday's activity was such a blunt manipulative
move that a day after I am still distraught. Avecedo Vila resorted to
a public "voice" vote instead of a secret vote. This forum
was attended by 12,000 party followers, of which 4,200 are actual
voting delegates (El
Nuevo Dia, 4/28). Such tactics have been used by Fidel Castro and
Rossello to assure their total dominance of party machinery. Upon
arriving to the scene a fellow delegate told me via telephone, "this
is fixed, this is fixed." If the measure were to have gone to a
secret vote, surly Acevedo Vila would have lost. It is the Mayors
that choose their Municipalities' delegates and considering the fact
that 29 of the 36 PPD Mayors called for Acevedo Vila's resignation of
the 2008 candidacy (El
Nuevo Dia, 4/26), it is obvious that this group would have
obtained a majority of votes.
Representative Javier Garcia
Gaban has acknowledged that it was impossible for any members of the
party to present their doubts to the assembly. "In these types
of assemblies, feelings and emotions - instead of responsibility -
dominate. If the president is agile, then he can manipulate and
control the assemblies." The Representative stated that his PPD
Caucus - including minority speaker Hector Ferrer - told the Governor
not to run. Even the Association of Non-Mayor Municipal Presidents
and the vast majority of PPD Mayors agreed that Acevedo Vila should
drop out the race (El
Nuevo Dia, 4/28). Fortuño stated today that Acevedo Vila
had "manipulated" the assembly (El
Nuevo Dia, 4/28). Unfortunately, he is right.
no ha hecho nada desde que ha tomado la oficina...???...
oh si, anibal se levanta todos los dias pensando como le hace la vida mas insoportable a los puertorriquenhos. tengo entendido que lo del IVU se le ocurrio despues de ducharse un sabado...
si, el lo hizo todito... que? que hay una legislatura pnp que prometio crear un caos para que no se pueda gobernar en este pais??? Naaaa, eso no cuenta... es anibal y siempre lo sera.
Antes de tomar su puesto ya yo sabia que no iba hacer nada...
El tipo no tenia un programa de gobierno. Nada. Es lamentable decir que los PNP tenian una plataforma concreta (salud universal, tren por la isla, y toda esa mierda) pero los PPD no tenia nada.
AAV no presento absolutamente nada durante la campaña del 2004. Su victoria en las elecciones simplemente era una victoria anti-rossello. Nadie voto por AAV porque querian ver mas obras o programas... votaron por el pq no querian a Rossello.
Como yo explico a la gente despues que me criticaron tanto por votar por el: prefiero un gobernador sin plataforma que un gobernador con una plataforma mala.
I know it has been a while from the posting of this message but it was interesting to find a blogger who like me is a Popular and a conservative in American politics, this is rare indeed. What prompted me to write this message though, is your assertion that Jose Alfredo is more liberal than Acevedo! Surely you're not speaking about the same Hernandez I'm thinking of! The Hernandez family was at one point a little more liberal than most in the party but that was for very short, don't forget that RHC sided with the muñocistas when Muñoz very unfairly took the nomination from Sanchez-Vilella. RHC also coined the term "plumitas liberales" to describe the left wing of the PPD, and his son seems even more conservative, he does not have ONE credential to become governor, none whatsoever and I come from a family who was very active in donating for RHC and my father is very much a refaelista, but I just can't see where Jose Alfredo is more "liberal" than Anibal. And it is not entirely true that Anibal just now is asking for sovereignty, look up the party's resolution on status in 1998 under his first presidency, it is much more daring than RHC's "Nueva Tesis" and unlike the Hernandez, Anibal has had no fear when it comes to criticizing the American system. Anibal has a lot more to do but he is definitely the most "left" of the PPD's presidents just look at the people that surround him, Charlie Hernandez,Luis Vega Ramos, Hernandez Agosto, Nestor Duprey to name a few. He is also the first governor to come from the middle class, which gives him a very different perspective on things. Hernandez Mayoral represents the old party, very patrician and intellectual, but that era is gone, that aristocracy is withering away, which is really a good thing.
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