Puerto Rico’s complicated history with the US was on display at New York’s Puerto Rican Day parade on Sunday.
The event honored Oscar López Rivera, a man regarded by some as a terrorist and by others as a freedom fighter, the same day that islanders vote on whether they want to remain a US territory.
López Rivera was both cheered and booed during the parade.
Organizers of New York’s Puerto Rican Day parade, an event attended by tens of thousands of people, named López Rivera the event’s “National Freedom Hero”, a decision that prompted controversy and backlash as corporate sponsors pulled out of the event. Even some attendees were taken aback.
Nanchelle Rivera, a 28-year-old Orlando, Florida resident not related to López Rivera, said the political activist “did not represent me”, according to the Associated Press. As she booed, a López Rivera supporter shouted back, “This is your history!”
López Rivera was a leader in Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or Armed Forces of National Liberation, in the 1970s and 1980s. FALN was responsible for more than 100 attacks in cities, such as New York and Chicago, including a bombing that killed four people New York’s historic Fraunces Tavern.
López Rivera was convicted of seditious conspiracy in 1981 and sentenced to 55 years in prison. He served 35 before his sentence was commuted by Barack Obama. Bill Clinton had also offered to commute López Rivera’s sentence, but López Rivera had refused because not all imprisoned FALN members would have been released, the New York Times reported.
The announcement that López Rivera would be honored at the parade concerned politicians and corporations alike. New York mayor Bill De Blasio marched in the parade, but said earlier that week he was “uncomfortable” marching alongside López Rivera. Sponsors, such as JetBlue airlines, Goya food company and Univision, pulled out of the parade.
On the other hand, New York City council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito tried to smooth out conflict over López Rivera’s presence. “I’m here to celebrate,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “This is a day of unity and celebration.”
In Puerto Rico, residents head to the polls amid a protracted recession. Residents will vote on whether they want to remain a territory, seek independence or become a US state. Any change of status for the island would need to be approved by Congress.
Managed to hop on a moving truck. Neat view. pic.twitter.com/162oXYQevB
— Luis Ferré Sadurní (@luisferre) June 11, 2017
