SSN Commentary

#RickyRenuncia: Dismantling the Puerto Rican Plutocracy’s Hold on the Island’s Educational Institutions

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University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Originally published as: Awilda Rodriguez and Enid Rosario Ramos, "#RickyRenuncia: Dismantling the Puerto Rican Plutocracy’s Hold on the Island’s Educational Institutions," Latino Rebels, July 22, 2019.

Puerto Rican Governor Rosselló’s defiant stay in office amid a long list of corruption scandals —including the arrests of former Education Secretary Julia Keleher and character-questioning leaked chats— is the latest illustration of the assumed entitlement to govern by the Puerto Rico’s wealthy. The resounding and intensifying calls for Rosselló’s resignation (#RickyRenuncia), as well as the demands for an end to government corruption suggest Puerto Rico is on the precipice of change. In order to disrupt the long-standing practices of corruption and to secure the future for our children, Puerto Ricans have a unique opportunity to go beyond the calls for the governor’s resignation and demand the severing of ties between its educational institutions and political parties.