Disaster Legal Aid for Communities in Puerto Rico

As a new administration takes office in the EEUU, the disaster recovery landscape is threatened. Trump's administration has expressed intentions to clawback reconstruction funds, has terminated federal workers in charge of recovery processes, has eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that are instrumental for the equitable disbursement of recovery funds, and even has threatened the existence of FEMA (the central recovery agency in the federal government). While Trump states that states and other jurisdictions should be responsible for their recovery, populations - particularly those in risk-prone, climate-impacted, poverty-stricken zones- wonder about the plausibility of surviving disasters.

Puerto Rico's hurricane season is about to start in a few months. While the recovery from Hurricane María, Irma, and Fiona, the floods and earthquakes, and the pandemic itself are still far from done, budget cuts and a shift in the recovery process accountability are a direct threat to survival. Our Recuperación Justa project is still working with families who have been fighting for a chance to have an adequate house 8 years after a hurricane. Without the base structures and agencies in place, we wonder how a disaster's aftermath would look.

At Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, we believe in the government's primary responsibility to prevent, respond, mitigate, and rebuild around disasters. There is a shared responsibility between the local and federal governments, which must look after particularly vulnerable communities. We also believe in the reality of the climate crisis and the urgency to dedicate long-term funding to mitigation and the planned and participatory relocation of families at heightened risk. These beliefs are at the core of our advocacy work. Moreover, these are some reasons to keep our Just Recovery program running and responsive to amplify the demands present before, during, and after a disaster. People are, without doubt, more vulnerable today than ever. We must accompany them and demand recovery justice. We count on you to be on our side.