Protests and Parodies: The Power of the Puerto Rican People
In case you missed it, the people of Puerto Rico just spent 12 days peacefully protesting and calling for their governor, Ricky Roselló, to resign. I’m not going to get into crazy details, if you want to know more, go follow the incredible journalist David Begnaud or you can read some background here.
Quick summary of the #RickyRenuncia movement
The governor participated in a chat full of comments that were hateful towards basically everyone including homosexuals, women, people with disabilities, and even Hurricane Maria victims. There were also admissions to corruption. The island demanded his resignation, and the hashtag #RickyRenuncia (Ricky Resign) was trending basically throughout the entire 12 day protest.
Ricky’s the Bad Guy
It was hard to watch the protests from afar. My friend Maria wrote a great article about “Diasporicans,” watching from the mainland. I chose to show my support in the form of a Bad Guy parody. Enjoy. (PS here’s the original song by Billie Eilish.)
Don’t get it? Let me explain
Again, I’m not going to do a deep dive here, but I will try to explain each line briefly.
“You’re a corrupt guy
sexist and stuck up guy”
The #RickyLeaks chats revealed alleged corruption. Participants in the chat were indicted on 32 counts of money laundering, conspiracy and wire fraud. (Source). The chat was also full of misogynistic comments and Ricky Roselló mocked the poor as well as victims of Hurricane Maria.
“JUNTA lovin’ schmuck guy
really fucked shit up guy”
La junta is the colloquial name for the financial oversight board of Puerto Rico which is was created through the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). Promesa means “promise” in Spanish, which makes it all the more insulting that their money saving “solutions” were based on shutting down huge amounts of public schools, slashing university budgets, and cutting healthcare. These decisions were made after la Junta paid some insanely expensive “consultants.”
“You’re the bad type
make your party sad type
make the pueblo mad type
disappoint your dad type.”
Ricky Roselló’s own party abandoned him pretty quick. They either stayed silent or actively called for his resignation. The pueblo is a colloquial term for the people of Puerto Rico who were, understandably, pretty freakin’ mad about not just this chat, but decades of corruption. This chat was just the final breaking point and proof of the corruption they always suspected. As for disappointing his dad, Ricky is the son of Pedro Roselló, a former Puerto Rican governor who was basically forced to resign from the party in disgrace due to this scandal.
“It’s time to go now
the Pueblo’s in control now
You’re food for the crows now
Puerto Rico ain’t your home now.”
After 12 days of peaceful protests, Ricky Roselló was forced into resignation, which is when the hashtag #RickySeFue (Ricky left/Ricky’s gone) began trending. He may have officially resigned, but the Pueblo (and many news outlets) reported that he was kicked out, or essentially given no other options. The “food for the crows” line is a reference to a particularly terrible exchange from the chat. It said, “Now that we are on the subject, don’t we have some cadavers to feed our crows?” The cadavers they were referencing were the bodies overflowing the morgues after Hurricane Maria. So yeah, it’s pretty freaking disgusting. At the time of this writing, many of Roselló’s family members have already left the island and Primera Hora reported that on August 2nd, Ricky will leave the island as well.
You’re the bad type
Homophobe don’t care type
Can’t be friends with mayors type
Greasy slicked back hair type
The chat included a lot of blatantly homophobic comments. As for “can’t be friends with mayors type,” this refers to a desperate grasp for supporters. At one point during the protests, Ricky was asked if he could name just ONE person who supports him. He said the Mayor of San Sebastián supported him. The mayor was quick to basically say, “nah dude.”
Some of you may be wondering why I banged on a pot at the end of the video. Banging on pots became a unifying thing across the island. Not only did protesters bring them to the streets, every night at 8pm around the island, people took their pots and spoons outside, hung off their balconies, or walked into the streets to bang on pots and call for Ricky’s resignation. It’s beautifully Puerto Rican.
What’s next?
Ricky Roselló’s resignation goes into effect August 2, 2019 at 5pm. I know I said Ricky’s the bad guy, but the corruption goes much deeper than that. His second in command was also involved in the chat and resigned, so the Secretary of Justice,Wanda Vazquez, will become governor. However, the people of Puerto Rico want to clean house of all the corruption, and Wanda allegedly has some serious issues of her own. #WandaRenuncia has already begun showing up, so the fight is far from over. Maybe another parody song is on the way? Let me know if you have requests!
