While news stories in the U.S. and Puerto Rico have been filled with outraged responses to the racist “joke” made at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last Sunday calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage,” there has been quite a bit of discussion about how this may or may not tip the presidential election, given the number of Puerto Ricans in key swing states.
What hasn’t been explored much by mainland U.S. media is the impact it may have on the important gubernatorial election on the island, where the race has shifted significantly in the past few months. Leading candidate Jenniffer González-Colón is being challenged by Juan Dalmau, a third-party candidate who has upended the race and is only 2 percentage points behind in the latest poll.
Author and journalist Javier A. Hernandez wrote a detailed profile of Dalmau for LA Progressive on Oct 24, 2024, prior to the debacle at Madison Square Garden, which took place on Sunday, Oct 27. It’s titled “Juan Dalmau Ramirez: A Bold New Future for Puerto Rico”:
As Puerto Rico approaches its November 5th election, it stands at a critical juncture in its political history. Juan Dalmau Ramírez, the gubernatorial candidate of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), has teamed up with the Citizens Victory Movement (MVC) in a groundbreaking electoral alliance. If successful, Dalmau Ramírez will make history as Puerto Rico’s first pro-independence governor, offering a clear alternative to the two-party dominance of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP) and the pro-status quo Popular Democratic Party (PPD). His candidacy represents a viable effort to disrupt decades of corruption, colonial governance, and economic stagnation.
Dalmau Ramírez is no newcomer to Puerto Rican politics. Dalmau, a former senator, serves as Secretary General of the PIP and has long advocated for sovereignty, economic development, and self-determination. With a law degree from Harvard and a reputation for being approachable and well-versed in Puerto Rico's most pressing issues, Dalmau has garnered widespread support, particularly among young voters eager for change. His vision centers on breaking away from the colonial status quo to build a future based on sovereignty, democracy, and sustainability.
The PIP/MVC Alliance: A Challenge to the Status Quo
Dalmau’s alliance with the MVC represents a direct challenge to the entrenched PNP and PPD, which have alternated in power for over 50 years. Both parties are frequently embroiled in scandal, corruption, and federal investigations. A key focus of the PIP/MVC Alliance is their opposition to the Fiscal Control Board (FCB), an unelected body imposed by the U.S. Congress under the PROMESA Act to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances. Dalmau sees the FCB as an undemocratic entity that prioritizes foreign creditors over Puerto Rican citizens and has pledged to remove it, restoring Puerto Rico’s economic sovereignty.
Political Science professor Jenaro Abraham wrote “Puerto Ricans are finally taking out the trash” for The Puerto Rican Independence Report:
On Sunday October 27th, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, serving as the opening act at a Trump rally, called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage.”
In the US, Republicans scrambled to save face for the egregious comment, while Democrats attempted to score political points by pinning the comment to Trump’s causal racism, in light of the impending election. But on the island, Puerto Ricans were busy filling the streets in their support for gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau, secretary general of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).
[...]
Some conservative news outlets in Puerto Rico have Mr. Dalmau trailing the PNP governor candidate and Trump fanatic Jenniffer Gonzalez by a mere 2 points, while others have Mr. Dalmau up by a few. Aiding this uptick in support for the PIP are artists such as Bad Bunny, Residente, Kany Garcia, and Ricky Martin, who have thrown their weight behind Alianza candidates. More support has also come from Puerto Rican politicians in the US such as AOC and Nydia Velazquez.
With caravans of thousands of cars making their way from one side of the main island to the other, one of the central messages of La Alianzahas been uprooting colonial corruption, which for Puerto Ricans which essentially, and coincidentally means “taking out the trash.”
People not familiar with the political parties on the Island are often confused by the fact that PR also has a Democratic Party and a Republican one, whose members can vote in the U.S. primaries but not in the presidential election on the mainland. The “New Progressive Party” is not progressive, and has members who are right-wing Republicans. They are considered the pro-statehood party and have mainland alliances with both Democrats and Republicans who support statehood. I covered some of these complexities here in March of 2024 in “Caribbean Matters: The winds of political change are blowing in Puerto Rico.”
This story introduced Dalmau and was followed up with a story on the island’s gubernatorial primary titled “Caribbean Matters: US media ignores Puerto Rico’s June gubernatorial primary.”
After the Trump rally furor, PopSugar posted a story by Puerto Rican journalistMiguel Machado titled “How the 2024 Presidential Election Could Shape Puerto Rico’s Future”:
With both the 2024 Presidential election and the Puerto Rican Gubernatorial election rapidly approaching, citizens of the Caribbean island once again found themselves in a delicate position and in the headlines. Donald Trump's latest rally was filled with the kind of hate we've come to expect. However, Latinos and Puerto Rico were specifically singled out this time, with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe comparing the island to a "floating pile of trash" after commenting that Latines "don't pull out." Not only did these comments alienate Puerto Ricans, but they also seem to have bolstered support for Vice President Kamala Harris among the community, as only hours later, she received late-game endorsements from Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and current global phenomenon Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — AKA Bad Bunny. And while the self-proclaimed "biggest star in the world" is no stranger to political action, prior to his endorsement, his efforts had been more focused on the heated race for the governor's seat on the island.
[...]
Puerto Ricans on the island can't vote. But the diaspora on the mainland can. The policies that the president of the United States sets can have more of an impact on the quality of life on the island than the ones set by the local government. For example, in 2023, when a group of Puerto Rican journalists demanded that the Financial Oversight and Management Board — a US entity that oversees and approves matters related to the colony's budget — make information relating to financial reports, communications, and other important economic data available to the people, the US Supreme Court ruled that the board could have "sovereign immunity." It, therefore, did not have to comply with the request. While the board has reduced the overall debt by a large amount, it has done so at a high cost to the people, with austerity measures that have impacted public services, as well as federally funded healthcare programs across the island.
So yes, no matter what happens during the island's elections, nothing will change overnight. The US still holds a lot of the cards. But the PNP and PDP's grip on power has done nothing but dig the island deeper into debt, deeper into disrepair, and deeper into the pockets of foreigners who come giving nothing and taking everything. It has not provided any opportunity for a clean political slate. And if we can clean house, remove corrupt politicians, and put the country on a path forward, then we'll be able to negotiate our ultimate political fate from a position of power.
It will be interesting to see whether or not the current furor over the racist remarks made at the Trump rally are going to affect the outcome of the close race between González-Colón and Dalmau.
Puerto Rican reggaeton star and rapper Bad Bunny has over 45 million Instagram followers, and major mainland papers like The New York Times reported on his response to the Trump rally and how his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris may impact our presidential race. The article is titled “Bad Bunny Responds to Racist Remarks at Trump Rally With a Message of Puerto Rican Pride”:
In an Instagram post Bad Bunny captioned simply “garbage” — an allusion to the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of garbage” — the popular musician shared a previously unpublished eight-minute introductory video from his 2021 sold-out stadium concert in San Juan that highlights, in Spanish, the pride he feels for the island. The dramatic montage features narration citing Puerto Rico’s “kings and queens and champions” in sports, politics and entertainment, including Roberto Clemente, Míriam Colón, Sonia Sotomayor, Lin Manuel Miranda and Bad Bunny himself.
“We are the definition of heart and resistance,” Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez, wrote in a statement that closes the video. “For those who forget who we are,” the statement continues, “don't worry, we will proudly remind them.”
Here’s his video:
But what about the election on the island?
Here’s a post on polling in the governor’s race, pre-rally:
Puerto Ricans supporting Dalmau have been quick to bring receipts for González-Colón’s recent denunciation of the garbage remarks, reminding everyone of her allegiance to Trump and that she was the former chair of “Latinos for Trump.”
González-Colón’s links to Project 2025 have also been documented:
News programs on the island are putting her on the spot:
Translation:
#Decisión2024 Jenniffer González did not respond today to whether she would reiterate her support for Donald Trump after the "trash" comment against Puerto Rico. She also preferred not to recommend to Puerto Ricans in the United States whether they should vote for the Republican candidate.
#NotiCentro
Editorial cartoonists like Kike Estrada of “PlanetaKike” are pointedly connecting González-Colón to the garbage remarks and Trump. She’s drawn here riding a GOP elephant.
Translation:
A floating garbage island
“Jenniffer Gonzalez supports Trump in this movement. She wants you to vote on a lying Presidential ballot for these people”
Will the racist rally and attacks on Puerto Ricans make a difference? I don’t know, but I hope so. Our future is going to be in the hands of voters on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as is the intertwined fate of Puerto Ricans. I’m looking forward to victory for both Kamala Harris and Juan Dalmau.
Join me in the comments section below for updates, and for the weekly Caribbean News roundup.
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