This is an interview with "Las Meet "Las Marianas"- Puerto RicanMarianas," women members of the Taller de Arte y Cultura in Women Build New Organizations Adjuntas, taped on Aug. 24, 1986. We spoke to Tinti Deya-Massol, Evelyn Perez, "Bechi" Torres, and Noemilda Velez (photo 1 to r) Free Puerto Rico!: You are an organization of women in the Taller de Arte y Cultura; can you tell us about your work and bow you came together as a group? B: We began by coming to the Taller de Arte y Cultura, and then we decided to form a group of wo- men who were part of the Taller to struggle shouldcr-to-shouldcr with our men. One day we decided to Newsletter of the New Movement in Solidarity call the group "Las Marianas" in with Puerto Rican honor ot Mariana Bracetti. Who Independence & Socialisnij was she? She was the one who November sewed the flag of the (irito de Lares. Free 1986 (The (irito dc Lares, Sept. 23, 1868, was the attempted uprising to de- clare an independent Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico! <-'d-) As more women were joining the Taller, we wanted to make our group bigger and support each other in dealing with our overall Trial Begins Dec 8 for Jaime, problem, the 2020 Plan. To struggle to a tiny maximum-security court- against the 2020 Plan not over the Oscar, Kojo room inside the Metropolitan Cor- heads of our men, but hand-in-hand rectional Center in Chicago to begin with them against the problems of The US government is taking proceedings on charges of conspir- this society. One of the main prob- every measure possible to stop the acy to effect the escape of Oscar lems is the plan for mining. We arc work of the Puerto Rican inde- and other prisoners from the totally opposed to mineral exploit- pendence movement. Right now Leavenworth F'ederal Penitentiary ation of Puerto Rico. And we arc- the government is pursuing a and conspiracy to purchase and willing to do whatever is necessary "continuing investigation" that has transport weapons and explosives. alongside the men, to struggle to charged a leader of the National The government has tried to stop this Plan. Committee to Free Puerto Rican isolate and weaken the prisoners I'PR!:Wby did you build an orga- P()\Vs with conspiracy. The case, in this case: Oscar has been video- nization for women? Through it in which the government claims taped while being strip-searched, you struggle against the 2020 Plan, a conspiracy including Puerto Rican and Kojo and Oscar were each but what Jo you project as your and New African prisoners and given only a third of the written direction in organizing? Arc there several North Americans, has been materials they needed on the case, particular issues for women that the excuse for violations of human while the prison guards read the you arc addressing? rights through a very high level of other third. The government has F: Well, the majority of us surveillance and spying. The Na- not even specified when it will women have to work in order that tional Committee has learned that hand over the thousands of pages our families have enough to eat. the Puerto Rican independence of documents they claim as We decided that although we were movement is the number one "proof" of the conspiracy. Federal all — men and women -- meeting priority of the FBI. Judge Hart expressed his "hope" together as part of the Taller, it On October 1, Puerto Rican that all materials would be made women met together, we could POW Oscar Lopez-Rivera, New available to the defendants and that bring more women into the work. African Political Prisoner Kojo the MCC would provide adequate We set up a series of activities like (s/n (trailing Brown), and National arrangements for the defendants to sewing or embroidery, a whole lot Coordinator of the National Com- prepare themselves, but was un- of activities where we learned to do mittee to Free Puerto Rican POWs, willing to make a more specific different things from each other. Jaime Delgado, were again brought cont. on p. 3 cont. on p. 4 First New Movement Work Brigade Goes to Puerto Rico In August and September, some struggle will not end until the the industrial "parks" being built members of the New Movement got entire 2020 Plan is defeated by around Ponce. Alexis Massoi the opportunity to see first-hand a free Puerto Rico. showed the New Movement how the US colony of Puerto Rico We were able to meet with several /ones which have been really works. We visited the is- many groups which form the Taller, developed for industrial, mining land in two work brigades, to learn including students who work in the and military use: land "frozen" about current conditions and to high schools to resist US military in the mining areas, barred for make a video documenting the recruitment and to show positive any use because of mining plans; facts of the 2020 Plan. The August alternatives for Puerto Rican youth, a water treatment plant that ad- group participated as delegates to and Las Marianas, a group which mits it is already unable to pro- the Encuentro Cariberio, a confer- incorporates women into the strug- cess the toxic chemicals that ence in support of Human Rights gle through cultural projects and it was created to handle; new and National Sovereignty in the education. The women of Las Mari- DuPont plants to make the same Caribbean and Latin America, anas and other women we inter- type of chemical herbicides that where we heard representatives of viewed pointed to the contin- caused the Bhopal disaster. Women 27 countries. The conference high- uing fight against forced steri- from Mayague/ told us they arc lighted the Puerto Rican POVVs and lization and to the importance being poisoned by toxic gas leaks Political Prisoners, climaxing in a of women in the struggle to in the pharmaceutical and cloth huge demonstration through the liberate the island. factories there. We talked to local streets of San Juan in support of We could see that Puerto Rico fishermen and community residents the independence activists arrested already bears the scars of the who are organizing to fight the in- on August 30, 1985. The second implementation of the 2020 Plan. stallation of Voice of America trans- New Movement work group parti- Near Adjuntas, we saw a super mitters in Cabo Rojo. In organizing cipated in the Grito de Lares cele- highway which is being built to to protect their health and environ- bration on September 23 and inter- handle heavy mining equipment. ment, local people have become viewed many activists. The visits We saw the US Army Corps of aware of the military role the US made us see that Puerto Rico is Engineers building a dam at has planned for this region of truly a Latin American nation, and Maragucz above the city of Ponce. Puerto Rico. We saw this in many we North Americans have to act to The construction has already dis- local struggles: Puerto Ricans are end the colonial control of Puerto placed 2500 families, in order uniting local issues into a larger Rico by this country. to generate electricity to supply cont. on p. 3 We focused our work on the 2020 Plan, which is already putting into place the infrastructure for a new stage of exploitation. The New Movement traveled to many "development sites" with Alexis Massoi of the Taller de Arte y Cultura of Adjuntas. The Taller has been at the forefront of the national struggle against the 2020 Plan. While the New Movement was in Puerto Rico, the Taller scored an important victory in their campaign to stop the strip- mining of the mountainous re- gion where Adjuntas is located: the colonial government an- nounced it would not permit mining, and said it would buy back the land from US mining companies to put it to agri- cultural and recreational use. Although this decision is a direct response to the massive organi- September 23, Lares — Hundreds assembled from all over the island to commemo- zing done by the Taller, Massoi rate the 118th anniversary of the first declaration of an independent Puerto Rico. and others pointed out that the The National Committee to Brigade from p. 2 Trial Begins from p. 1 Free Puerto Rican POWs has pub- understanding of the nature of order. He did order the trial to begin lished an analysis of this important colonialism on their island. When on December 8. Although Jaime case in their journal, Libertad. The we visited the squatter community Dclgado is out on bond, it is diffi- following is an excerpt from their of El Tuque, outside Ponce, we met cult for the three defendants to pre- explanation: people who have had to sci/e land pare themselves for this case under "While the ongoing attack clearly because of the lack of housing. the unprecedented restrictions the follows the FBI's decision to make They arc now struggling for water, MCC claims as "security measures." the Puerto Rican independence electricity and roads, and the colo- This include videotaping of any movement its number one priority, nial government is scheming to win persons who wish to witness the several things have become increas- their support by offering such proceedings, as well as metal ingly apparent. Chief among these services bit by bit. But in Villa detector searches conducted twice is the prosecution's motive behind Sin Micdo, in the northeastern on each person.