{"id":5050783,"date":"2020-09-01T12:57:32","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T12:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malatinonews.com\/?p=5050783"},"modified":"2020-09-01T12:57:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T12:57:32","slug":"massachusetts-primary-day-puerto-rican-debt-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/2020\/09\/01\/massachusetts-primary-day-puerto-rican-debt-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Primary Day: Puerto Rican Debt Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an unusual campaign season dominated by\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\">COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0concerns, Primary Day is here. The heavy vote-by-mail election is generating record numbers in Massachusetts for the more than 50 contested races, including a\u00a0challenge to longtime Rep. Richard Neal\u00a0from Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The progressive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/topic\/alex-morse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morse<\/a> is hoping to unseat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/topic\/richard-neal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Neal<\/a> by campaigning to cancel Puerto Rico&#8217;s debt (among other things). It&#8217;s a different stance from Neal on how the United States should respond to the island\u2019s decades-long debt crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked, Neal&#8217;s campaign did not reference the debt crisis directly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/alex-morse-richard-neal-puerto-rico-debt-crisis_n_5f4b3cc5c5b64f17e13ecb06?guccounter=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported <\/a>HuffPost. \u201cRichie Neal believes that the fundamental issue of rebuilding and stabilizing the economy must be the highest priority, and without this resolved the debt will only grow exponentially without any hope for a sustainable future for Puerto Rico,\u201d said, Kate Norton, a campaign spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/MAPrimary.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5050787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/MAPrimary.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/MAPrimary-300x188.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption>Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mayor Alex Morse (left) is challenging House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Morse supports getting rid of the U.S.-run fiscal oversight board (\u201cLa Junta\u201d) that has veto power over Puerto Rico\u2019s budget, canceling Puerto Rico\u2019s debt, and giving the people of the U.S. commonwealth full \u201cself determination\u201d to decide their status vis-a-vis the mainland United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That position has grabbed the attention of many Puerto Ricans including San Juan\u00a0Mayor Carmen Yul\u00edn Cruz who endorsed <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/person\/alex-morse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morse<\/a>\u00a0in bilingual video messages praising his connection to the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I know <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexBMorse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@AlexBMorse<\/a> and I know he understands the urgency of the moment; I know he has what it takes to go to Congress and fight for you. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/D4TvHSJ7mo\">https:\/\/t.co\/D4TvHSJ7mo<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Carmen Yul\u00edn Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarmenYulinCruz\/status\/1298273755160952839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 25, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the videos, Cruz explained how as mayor, Morse welcomed many Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria&#8217;s devastation in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen Puerto Ricans did not receive the necessary help from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>, Alex Morse opened the doors of Holyoke, Mass.,\u201d she&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alexmorseforcongress.us10.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=026911c77ecf92ab3ee9e6940&amp;id=9d352c7836&amp;e=69cc6d6bb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said in a Spanish version<\/a>&nbsp;of her endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Puerto Rican voters stand to play a critical role in today&#8217;s primary race. Nearly one in five residents of the House district, made up of parts of central and Western Massachusetts, is Latino, the overwhelming majority of whom are Puerto Rican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least one Puerto Rican Morse supporter said his stance on Puerto Rico was a motivating factor for her.\u00a0Morse \u201cunderstands the need for Puerto Ricans to determine our own destiny, and that starts with abolishing La Junta, followed by canceling the debt, and entrusting working committees composed of on the ground grassroots organizations, community and municipal leaders to move the nation forward,\u201d said Gladys Franco, a school administrator from Springfield to HuffPost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Richard Neal efforts include securing additional aid for victims of Hurricane Maria, and celebrating Puerto Rican culture through the creation of a Hispanic Heritage Month and the construction of the National Museum of the American Latino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s a tight race, according to\u00a0an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1tCdGPejbbxmgWQo4ZBnT7Wf4slflgU2r\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">internal poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted for Morse\u2019s campaign last month that found that he\u2019s trailing Neal by only 5 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For residents looking to vote in person today,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.state.ma.us\/ele\/elevotingprocess\/votingprocessidx.htm\" target=\"_blank\">polls will be open statewide<\/a>\u00a0from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For information on polling locations, check the Secretary of the Commonwealth\u2019s \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.state.ma.us\/wheredoivotema\/\/bal\/MyElectionInfo.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Find my election information<\/a>\u201d tool online and enter your address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Cover photo: Ricardo Arduengo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an unusual campaign season dominated by\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0concerns, Primary Day is here. The heavy vote-by-mail election is generating record numbers in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5050784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[223,259],"tags":[413,2570,4856,35,5155],"ppma_author":[6208],"class_list":["post-5050783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2020election","category-politics","tag-alex-morse","tag-hispanic-vote","tag-primary","tag-puerto-rico","tag-richard-neal"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria.jpg",1024,576,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria.jpg",1024,576,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria.jpg",1024,576,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2020\/09\/HMaria.jpg",1024,576,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Hugo Balta","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/author\/hugobalta\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In an unusual campaign season dominated by\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0concerns, Primary Day is here. The heavy vote-by-mail election is generating record numbers in [&hellip;]","authors":[{"term_id":6208,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"hugobalta","display_name":"Hugo Balta","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a940ffc25b7c12da41aa09d0728281f4d2892c88c10b72e5bdd634e2b5ddeb57?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"mfb_rest_fields":["title","uagb_featured_image_src","uagb_author_info","uagb_comment_info","uagb_excerpt","authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5050783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5050784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5050783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5050783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5050783"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5050783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}