“The priority should be the people of Puerto Rico,” he said. He also met with the heads of Puerto Rico’s agencies on Sunday, a meeting a spokeswoman said had previously been on his calendar. Help eventually came, but the weeks of darkness and death shook communities into action, said University of Puerto Rico professor Carmen Vélez Vega. The unity of purpose behind Puerto Rico’s protest movement has buoyed Benitez, the founder of the children’s garden. “Everyone recognizes there is a breakdown,” said Benitez, who favors independence for Puerto Rico, a reinvention of the island.

Source: Washington Post July 21, 2019 22:27 UTC