Strike on May 1st??

Highly recommend everyone stay home and use corner store for any needs.

Those students aren't winning anyone over to their side - quite the opposite.

where can one find local PR news online?

El Nuevo Día (in Spanish)

El nuevo día also has an English section but it does not carry all news in English

Also http://m.primerahora.com in Spanish

http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/index.html In English but not how how well they keep up

You can also use google website translator to covert any site to English. Great forum btw very helpful. If you are using Google chrome web browser it will ultimately do it for you each time.

Seems to me it will all be out of the governor's hands pretty soon.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles … ring-offer

Reported to me that this AM people at the airport seen walking with luggage to airport as roads blocked. Pity the poor folks trying to make a flight.

Sitka wrote:

Reported to me that this AM people at the airport seen walking with luggage to airport as roads blocked. Pity the poor folks trying to make a flight.

Does this conjure up in anyone's mind the image of Army helicopters evacuating U.S. personnel and South Vietnamese officials from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon?  Figuratively, if not literally, getting the heck out of town before the collapse?

This was caused by the students, usually they're the controversial ones. The road had been cleared and is back to normal at the airport.

I don't oppose peaceful demonstrations, unfortunately the students had proven they like the confrontation.

This situation just left a bad taste to the tourist leaving the island. It doesn't help anyone or any cause.

People have reservations and need to get to the airport on time, if the road is backed up, you have two choices, wait and risk loosing your flight or get out with your bags and walk.
Very different situation in my mind.

Opinions?...
I have a guest visiting for just a few days from the states...I was going to take her to Old San Juan tomorrow, but am concerned now that might be a problem.  Unfortunately with the weather we don't have many other options😩
She leaves Wednesday!

Likely it will be ok, stoppage is just for today but may change. I'll post if I hear it is extended

Rey,
Since we are flying tomorrow it would be good to know if the strike is extended. 🤔

I'll see what I find and report.

Looks like a bank, I think Popular has some windows destroyed, there been some rock throwing, some gas and a few other issues so far.
I will probably hear later about arrests and injuries, none published yet

Hmmm...think I'll call a friend in LE

As Rey mentioned, Popular bank got some windows damaged at the branch closer to the protest site. Some tear gas at one of the sites, still working at knowing what side did it and major roads block around SJ area. Most incidents had been controlled before escalating. Airport area is clear and traffic is flowing to and out of the airport area.

Thereis a lot of coverage on the FB site. If you are member of some island groups it is been mentioned all over.

Well, I just read some reports in FB that violence is escalating. Throwing rocks, even reports of a bomb went off. Hwy 52 at the PONCE letters is block both ways.

Too much for pacific demonstrations!!

As Adlin reported, it is unclear about the gas, but it seems demonstrators and police are both using pepper spray, police also using rubber bullets in HatoRey. One guy was run over by a hit and run, several people have cuts, so far only heard of 2 arrests but likely under reported. CVS also suffered damage from spray painting and rocks. UBS and Banco Popular were stoned maybe more. Several police and stone throwers encounters. Fire at an old PNP center, 2 fire trucks there after dispersing some demonstrators.

Demonstrators saying the demonstrations will continue but I think they mean in the days ahead, no word about anything happening tomorrow.

Demonstrators have left some road obstacles on some of the roads including boulders.

Demonstrators seem to have left for the most part, police following behind.

There some videos circulating in FB of some vandals being arrested. For the most, things are calming down. I will suggest starting away from the metro area for the next few days.

Even Ponce and Plaza las Americas end up affected but nowhere like HatoRey.

There could be still some hotspots but the majority of demonstrators have left, the ones throwing stones are sticking around or moving away slowly.
Very confusing

Looks like tomorrow should be fine if they clean up tonight.

Apparently only 7 arrests

Last number of arrest I heard is 13.

Tomorrow should be fine, no demonstration are scheduled to my knowledge, those traveling should be fine.

Do note that the anger is against the local goverment and the Federal Control Board, no issues against Americans or turists.

All they wanted was to show they could cause things to come to a halt and they wanted to be heard. Blocking the airport was a way to get attention and show they can cause things to come to a halt, however this gives tourists a bad taste in their mouth when PR depends heavily on that income.

Sitka, how did go flying out today?

No problem getting to the airport 😊

Some of the people arrested are facing federal charges for damages to federal buildings. And are confirmed students from UPR.

So much for the conspiracy theory! 

Just curious, does anyone know if the general strike made national televised news yesterday?

I was there. Almost entirely a peaceful demonstration. There were a few clashes with police (and some pepper spray / gas used), but the situation generally did not escalate.

When the demonstration ended and most people started leaving, some of the more radical protesters threw rocks and burned a flag.

It was not the near-riot it's been made out to be.

Karenqc wrote:

Just curious, does anyone know if the general strike made national televised news yesterday?

I was watching for some coverage, but I did not see any. I hope everything has calmed down now.

About the strike I found:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/01 … nears.htmlhttp://uk.reuters.com/video/2017/05/02/ … nel=117759http://www.centrotampa.com/ce/list/puer … -20170501/

Several US latin papers carried it also.

Miminich, I saw some videos online of some protesters attempting to throw rocks at the Oriental bank but the other protesters stopped/blocked them, I was very proud of them for not allowing them to sully the march.

Hey Rey, I saw the online reports but I wanted to know if it was televised on CNN/NBC/CBS etc..did you happen to see anything there in the states? Just wondering if the general strike was on or off the radar for folks in the states.

No i did not get home on time to watch the news. Today there was coverage about the debt and the lawsuits.

Hmmm.....ok, thanks Rey!

I was about to write a post going something like this: Putting aside the economic situation, wondering if social values remain stable or if bad economics have trickled down into a general malaise.  But just saw this thread and got my answer. Respondents on this forum and others thought I was crazy when I said the US Congress would first roll over Obamacare and kill Medicare next. Well, they just finished off step one. Point is social/political forces rapidly converging for the worse stateside. Born in '43 so never thought I'd see this, but here it is, just hatred everywhere, attacking, counterattacking, pitting one group against another. So, what is an newbie expat to do, bolt from the frying pan into the fire, stay put, look for spots of equanimity at home or abroad, if any?  Just asking.  D.

20 people throwing rocks at police and at banks that were involved with the debt in my book is not something I worry about. The rest of the thousands of participants were demonstrating peacefully and calling out their frustrations at the goverment and the Federal Control Board that ordered the cuts to make to the budget.

Nothing to worry about in my opinion.

ReyP wrote:

20 people throwing rocks at police and at banks that were involved with the debt in my book is not something I worry about. The rest of the thousands of participants were demonstrating peacefully and calling out their frustrations at the goverment and the Federal Control Board that ordered the cuts to make to the budget.

Nothing to worry about in my opinion.

I agree. I have family in the island and things are back to normal on most of the island. The protest are mainly concentrated around the metro area and some of the UPR colleges, not all of them. Most of the citizens are against the vandalism and are expressing their oposition to the way a few are behaving.