Currently, Puerto Ricans are fighting battles on multiple fronts: for the right to determine their political status and for living wages; and against gentrification, vulture capitalism, people displacement, and COVID-19. Then there’s the long and ongoing battle to keep its beaches open to all, as is the law of the land.
In the case of Los Almendros beach in Rincón, when a swimming pool was built in front of the Playa y Sol luxury condominiums, it destroyed the egg-laying habitat of an endangered species of sea turtles. Protests ensued in 2021, resulting in arrests of demonstrators who have refused to give up their battles to both protect the turtles and keep the beach open and accessible.
It was announced on Monday that a judge has ruled in favor of the protesters, demanding the pool be demolished and the sea turtle habitat restored. It’s one small but important victory—for both the people and the turtles!
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For a little background on the situation, let’s go back to July 2021, when Ángel L. Carrión, writing for Global Voices, asserted that the swimming pool became “Puerto Rico's symbol of climate change and corruption.”
A coastal town like Rincón, located on the westernmost tip of the main island of Puerto Rico, is undeniably vulnerable to climate change and biodiversity loss. That is why, over the course of several weeks, hundreds of people have protested at Los Almendros beach in Rincón, where a swimming pool destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 is being rebuilt.
Residents are worried about accelerating environmental degradation, the government's historical lack of vision regarding climate change, suspicions of corruption because of the heavy police presence, and the hindered access to beaches due to private construction.
The pool belongs to a private beachfront apartment complex, Condominio Sol y Playa. Critics of the construction project claim that the pool is being rebuilt too close to the water, which was also the previous pool's flaw. With stronger and more frequent storms occurring in the Caribbean due to climate change, it stands to reason that the next hurricane that hits Puerto Rico could destroy the pool again.
Carrion also pointed out a direct link to the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, and his family, including this tweet in his story.
Translation:
It is important to remember that the cousin of the governor, @pedropierluisi, Walter Pierluisi Isern, owns apartments in Condominio Sol y Playa in Rincón. That is to say, the governor is using the Puerto Rico Police to protect an illegal family asset.
This is significant because protesters’ efforts to stop construction met with extremely zealous acts of police force.
This video is prefaced with “Ladies and gentlemen, before you; The Puerto Rican Police.”
The ACLU Puerto Rico also weighed in on the police violence.
Patricia Mazzei covered the story for The New York Times:
RINCÓN, P.R. — The turtle, presumably, had no way of knowing it would become a symbol of protest when it got stuck for hours in a construction site on a beach in western Puerto Rico, unable to return to the sea.
But the endangered hawksbill had wandered onto the site of a swimming pool being built so close to the ocean’s edge that a swimmer could practically step from the pool into the waves. A photo of the struggling turtle, its front flippers digging out of the sand, turned this summer into a symbol of defiance for Puerto Ricans alarmed at what is happening to their beloved coast[...]
“Without that turtle, none of this would have happened,” said Miguel Canals Silander, the director of the University of Puerto Rico’s Center for Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, who lives not far from the beach.
A photo of the turtle taken by Eliezer Molina went viral; the image anchored a petition to stop the pool construction.
Translation:
My God, look at the Carey right in the excavation of the Pool in Rincón... What have we become 😢 . I feel ashamed of others for DRNA, OGPE, JP and for you @GovPierluisi
Democratic Reps. Nydia M. Velázquez, Steve Cohen, Alan Lowenthal, and Darren Soto soon got involved.
Four Congressional Democrats urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to declare Los Almendros Beach in Rincón, Puerto Rico as a critical habitat for endangered hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles.
The request comes after the offices received reports from concerned residents,environmental groups, and animal welfare organizations regarding increased activity on the beach that is negatively impacting key nesting grounds of the species. Most recently, the letter states, a female hawksbill wandered into a swimming pool construction site, laid its eggs there, and was trapped inside. Nearby residents reported that the turtle was harassed by stray dogs which posed a threat to both the turtle and its eggs.
“This unfortunate incident clearly illustrates development disturbing these animals’ habitat and the need for protection,” the letter states.
But that turtle wasn’t the only turtle in danger.
Just last month, Rep. Velázquez raised the issue again.
Then, on Monday, came the good news!
Gleeful responses to the news flooded Twitter. One of my favorites notes that “The best Valentine's gift has been seeing how Pierluisi's cousin is left without a pool.”
Meanwhile, protests continue at other beaches on the island denying access to the people, including in Dorado.
On Saturday, hundreds of Puerto Ricans climbed the rocky paths that surrounded Dorado Beach to protest the decades-long privatization of one of Puerto Rico’s most prominent natural resources.
By law, every beach in Puerto Rico should be open and accessible to the public, but the last few decades have seen private beachfront hotels and apartments creep onto the coastline, essentially privatizing some beaches unless a person is staying at one of these many expensive developments or if they choose to brave dangerous paths that lead into these beaches.
Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is one of these examples. Over the years, multiple people have complained that they were denied access to the ostensibly public beaches because the development declared that they were on their property. This culminated in a Saturday protest demonstration at Sardinera Beach, which protesters have now dubbed “Ghetto Beach.”
Check out the flyer for the protest. It’s great.
Protests will continue wherever attempts are made to take away people’s right to access, or developers threaten wildlife. We’ll be tracking them here. Power to the People!
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