The ever-present nation: Puerto Rico

In Carmelo's writing trajectory one subject has come up more often than others, that of Puerto Rico.  Our island-nation has been, for the past 100 years absent part of U.S. History – belonging to, but never part of the United States. The quagmire continues to occupy (to the detriment of other issues) the agenda of all mainstream political parties in the island encouraging an endless debate that is, at best, sterile, at worst, divisive. Meanwhile Puerto Rican society commences to experience a post-national phase whereby most people in touch with the present either retreat to the most negative and hedonistic stages of individuality – or worst, indifference; and yet others unite in community efforts to solve their immediate, most pressing problems. It is my hope that, through Carmelo, the reader will comprehend that this “enchanted island” is more that an expensive tourist destination.

Intrigas políticas en caso Solís Artículo	Malthus vive en Puerto Rico Artículo	Piñones: ¿Quiénes son los racistas? Artículo
Solís Jordán trasladado a Guaynabo Artículo	Recordando aquel Once de Marzo Artículo	Oposición al ROTHR va a Washington Artículo
Zona marítima-mala planificación Artículo	La planificación de cara al siglo XXI Artículo	Cooperativismo y agricultura Artículo
Ecoturismo Artículo	La poesía salvó un bosque Artículo	The fight to keep our beaches Artículo
Outrage over medical experiments Artículo	Nuestro Valle de Lajas Artículo	AAA-Ondeo amenaza Valle de Lajas Artículo
Confrontamiento en Vieques Artículo	Citizens rally to save forest Artículo	Homenaje a Ramón Colón Artículo
Dame agua Artículo	Al garete los bosques estatales Artículo	Peligra el Valle de Cibuco Artículo
La Masonería Puertorriqueña Artículo	De mal en peor Biblioteca UPR Artículo	Groups ponder demilitarization benefits Artículo

THE STRUGGLE TO PUSH THE U.S. NAVY OUT OF VIEQUES ¡Victory! But the hardest part is still ahead… Sustainable development for Vieques and Culebra

In April of 1999 months before my venture with doctoral studies in Britain a U.S. Navy F-18 fighter plane was practicing with live ordnance on the restricted grounds of the Puerto Rican island municipality of Vieques, accidentally killing a civilian guard. The death of David Sanes unleashed a wave of massive civil disobedience strategies that included, among others, trespassing the firing grounds used by the U.S. Military and its NATO allies for the past sixty years. Civil disobedience proved in the long term to an effective weapon against the soberbial arrogance of the Military and its far-right allies in U.S. Congress. Positive effects included: an unprecedented common purpose that united most Puerto Ricans regardless of political differences; a favorable coverage from the media, including several editorials in the New York Times and other prestigious newspapers; finally, it proved the high-effectiveness of non-violent civil disobedience as a method of resistance rendering the powers that be helpless in looking for ways to discredit and eventually repress this growing social movement. Resistance came to a sudden halt on 11 September 2001. The focus of attention shifted to the tragedy in New York City and Washington D.C. and the pressing matter of its aftermath. As a psychologically wounded United States mourned its dead the underlying principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was substituded by war rethoric. Vieques was put aside as an issue for more pressing matters but the issue was kept alive by all concerned with a permanent peace for the inhabitants of the island. Carmelo has written extensively on the subject before and after the events of April 1999. They depict the abusive behavior undertaken by the Navy and theU.S. Department of Defense in the name of national security. The irony of it all is that right-wing congressmen and their unconditional allies in Puerto Rico dubbed un or anti american anything or anyone favoring the cause of Vieques, not realizing, perhaps deliberately, that the most ardent contributors are precisely the people of Vieques. Cancer incidence from all the depleted uranium dumped by the bombs is higher among the residents of the island municipality than in the rest for Puerto Rico. How's that for contribution to national security! On May 1^st 2003 the Navy finally left the island, leaving behind a joyous people that are still pondering about their future. They should not be disappointed. Click on the poster for more information.

This is only a small sample of writings. Carmelo has two online projects where he comments on the environment, biotechnology and other relevant subjects; please visit Carmelo’s blog and his bio-security project, as well as his Yahoo Group.

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