The Survival of the Island of Vieques: Resilient Agriculture and Community Solidarity 

By: Ranya Perez 

Supervised by Dr. Adriana Garriga- Lopez in the Department of Anthropology and

Sociology 
A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of
Arts at Kalamazoo College 
2019 

1
 Acknowledgements 

Coming into Kalamazoo College I would not have imagined myself being able to conduct
research in another country. Working on this project has been an experience that has
allowed me to learn about the world and myself. I would like to thank those who have
helped me in this process.

Gracias a los Viequenses por contarme sus historias y experiencias. Thank you to Sail
Relief Team for allowing me to stay at the hostel.

Para mama, papa, and sisters, I love you- thank you. Gracias por todo el efurzo que hacen
por la familia. Son mi luz. Los Amos!

To my SIP advisor and my beautiful mentor Adriana Garriga Lopez, thank you. Thank
you for your patience and your loving guidance.

Ana Elisa gracias por todo lo que haces para la communidad y por toda la ayuda que me
dio.

Thank you to Jorge Cora for engaging in conversations about blackness in the Caribbean.

To Cynthia Valentin, Cindy, Jesse and Abraham, thank you for being my family and
constantly reminding me to finish my SIP. I love you guys. 

To my Advisor Francisco Villegas, thank you for holding me down every time I
overreact and for using kindness to push me to be the best that I can be. 

To all my friends throughout the years that have held me and loved me thank you, I do
not see myself getting though Kalamazoo College without you guys.  “I am a person
through other people. My humanity is tied to yours.” - Ubuntu 

2
 Abstract 

The island of Vieques has been a US colonial territory for centuries. This paper

will examine the colonial violence of the United States in Vieques, Puerto Rico, in

particular, looking at the realities of the occupation of the United States Navy on the land.

Through ethnographic work gathered in the summer of 2019 from working with La

Colmena Cimarrona, a resilient agro-ecological organization, I was able to gather stories

of the realities of Vieques. The ethnographic work collected allows for an understanding

from the Viequenses who have faced centuries of colonial oppression but have used their

power and community solidarity in order to rise up and survive. The resilience of the

Viequenses are observed through the stories shared by residents who have worked to

become autonomous. I use the work of other authors in order to situate the historical

context of Vieques. Additionally, the stories shared allowed me to understand the theory

of community solidarity, agroecology, and food sovereignty. 

3
 List of Illustrations 

Figure 1: Vieques Map 

4
 Table of Contents 
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………
……..2

Abstract……………………….
…………………………………………………………………...3

List of
Illustrations ………………………………………………………………………………..
4

Table of.
Contents……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………5

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………
…….....6

Situating Vieques- Historical

Context…………………………………………………………….8

Methods……………………………………………………………………………………
…….22

Chapter
1…………………………………………………………………………………………25

Chapter 2
………………………………………………………………………………………..41

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………
…...60

5
 Introduction 

Working the land gives you peace and tranquility because it is a job that despite
being so difficult to do is very necessary. It is very worthy to know how to work
the land and how to harvest it. Having a direct contact with the earth gives you a
form of security that nobody has because you never go hungry, you never see the
famine because you have so many alternatives that hunger certainly does not exist
in your environment.

Jorge Cora’s quote demonstrates the importance of being able to work the land. Being

able to grow food allows for security and autonomy from the government since food is

provided by the government.  The United States has violently occupied Vieques for

centuries, leaving the island with huge vulnerabilities from the bombardment of the US

Navy and the current food industrial system that is in place. 

    I look at the history of Vieques, in particular, the resilient activism that has

resulted from the occupation of the US Navy. The US Navy violently occupied Vieques

for 60 years, in which they bombed the island, tested chemicals and weapons, mostly

tried to destroy Vieques. Nonetheless, that did not stop the people of Vieques but instead

amplified their fight towards resisting this violent and oppressive occupation. According

to Valeria Pelet (2016), “75% of the population was living below the poverty line, along

6
with being displaced and unemployed.” Nonetheless, the US Navy's presence on the

island is still felt until this day. 

The colonial dependency currently in place exacerbates the problems that the

Navy left. Viequenses today have many health problems because of the bombardment of

the Navy,  the land of Vieques are filled with toxins. While the Navy was in Vieques,

development was hindered and the agricultural sector was industrialized leading to the

importation of produce on the island. To understand the food crisis in Vieques, I use La

Colmena Cimarronas, a resilient agriculture organization that works to disrupt the

colonial violence and dependency of the United States. They state:

In Puerto Rico, more than 85% of what is consumed is imported, in Vieques,

maritime transport and fuel are added to that figure to understand the
precariousness with which people live on the island. During and before Hurricane
Maria the supermarket shelves are empty, the lines to receive gasoline are
customary due to the fact that it only arrives a few days a week and the materials
for the construction are scarce and with a cost of around 30% higher than that
would be spent on the "big island.

I use this description because it provides a proper perspective on the experiences

of those who live in Vieques. Vieques is the last to receive food, and at the point of

attainment, the food is rotten. Not only is this community not receiving adequate healthy

food, but they continuously experience moments where there is no food. This is a

massive issue because the island does not have the sufficient resources that they require

and deserve. People are not being fed, and the basic necessities are not being met. The

community has taken matters into their own hands and actively resist the settler

colonialism system in place. Nonetheless, I look at the experiences and stories of Vieques

in order to answer the question of What is the relationship between resilient agriculture

(agroecology) and community solidarity? 

7
 This overarching question allows me to research about race, solidarity,

community, and more. I think about how growing food is an act of survival and healing

while also being a direct rejection of the violent history of colonized black and brown

folks in the Caribbean. From this overarching question, I create a consensus regarding

growing food, race, and community solidarity in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Essentially, this

research looks at the way that community solidarity is used in order to become food

sovereign. The community works against colonization to feed its people. The farmers and

the community members that I shadowed, work to democratize the current food system

through the sharing of knowledge and by working directly in the land, I record their

stories in order to demonstrate their commitment to humanity. 

Situating Vieques- Historical Context 

To understand Vieques today, it is essential to look at its history and the stories

before the ones recorded in this project. It is important for me to situate the policies and

laws that have led to the vulnerability and resistance of the Puerto Rican people. I start

off by looking at the literature that explains Puerto Rico and Vieques through the lens of

American expansionism. Then, I look into the relationship between Vieques and the U.S.

Navy, demonstrating the violent reality of their occupation. Next, I look into Vieques

today, in particular, understanding the food vulnerability that occurs while also putting

that in perspective to the agricultural resilience that has arisen.  

According to Baruffi (2002), the United States had interests in attaining

Caribbean islands before the Spanish- American war, wanting to use the island of Puerto

Rico and Cuba as military outposts and markets for American exports. However, the
8
United States lacked a legitimate reason to have a war with Spain in order to acquire the

territories, therefore, on February 18th, 1898, during the mysterious explosion of the

battleship Maine in Havana, the United States declared war against Spain (Murrilo,

2001). During this time, the people of Puerto Rico had a massive urge to liberate

themselves from the control of Spain; therefore, when the Americans arrived, they were

met with little resistance because of the belief of being liberated and independent

(Baruffi, 2002). However, this belief would soon disperse when the Treaty of Paris was

signed, and Puerto Rico was transferred from Spain to the United States. This would lead

the Puerto Rican people to continue to resist this new form of control and demand an end

to the military government. In turn, the United States would violently pass the Foraker

Act, making Puerto Rico the first unincorporated territory of the United States (Murrilo,

2001). Like Emilio Pantojas- Garcia states in his review of The Puerto Rican Paradox:

Colonialism Revisited, "the construction of the notion of unincorporated territory meant

that some territories were not acquired with the intention of becoming a state of the

Union" (2005). This act legitimized the United States colonial rule over the island by

making Puerto Ricans citizens of the island but not the United States. In other words, this

meant that the United States would have total control of Puerto Rico and its people while

they would not have any representation in U.S. politics. 

For more than fifteen years, the United States forces on the same colonial

arrangement, transforming Puerto Rico's economy through the U.S. sugar industry, which

benefited the U.S. market while it limited Puerto Rican growers from competing in the

global market (Murrilo, 2001). Nonetheless, when it came to capital gain for Puerto Rico

and its people, there was no improvement for the general population. This led to an

9
increase in the resistance of the colonial arrangement by the people of Puerto Rico. Since

the United States wanted to maintain the dependency between the U.S. and P.R. and

remove the discussion of independence as an option for the island, President Wilson

signed the Jones Act in 1917, making residents of the main island, Vieques, and Culebra,

into citizens of the United States (Baruffi, 2002). Additionally, a bicameral legislature

was established, meaning that the decisions made in Puerto Rico could be vetoed by the

President of the United States (Murrilo, 2002). During this time, Puerto Ricans became

vulnerable to the Military draft and would be sent to war without any representation. Like

Susan Baker states in Understanding Mainland Puerto Rican Poverty, "foreign appearing,

and yet American citizens, Puerto Ricans have been marginalized on both the island and

the mainland" (2002). The vulnerability and marginalization of the island of Puerto Rico

plays a massive role in the violent history of Vieques. 

Vieques- The Violent Occupation of the US Navy 

Vieques is a Caribbean island, 21 miles long and 3 miles wide, off Puerto Rico's

eastern coast. It is an island that has succumb to many acts violence but most importantly

many more acts of resistance, the earliest going back to the Spanish conquest. During the

Spanish conquest, the Taino Indians were subjected to the encomienda system of forced

labor. However, it is believed that the resistance of the Taino was coordinated in Vieques

(Grusky, 1991). The Spanish would then cross over to the island with intentions to end

the rebellion, killing Tainos and burning down the villages. For the next three centuries,

Vieques would be fought over by English, Spanish, French and the Danes (Grusky,

1991).

10
  In the middle of the nineteenth century, Vieques was integrated into the sugar

plantation economy and the family of Don Jose Benitez was a huge investor in the sugar

economy, owning half of the island by the 1930s (Grusky, 1991). However, the

prosperity of the Benitez family decreased during the depression years due to new labor

laws which required an eight hour work days along with the quotas imposed by the

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) which forced Benitez to sell the

plantation to the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1939. Furthermore, under the pressure of the

past war (the Spanish- American War) the estate was forced to sell to the U.S Navy

(Gonzales, 1998). 

United States corporations owned 80 percent of the island from the early

twentieth century through 1941. These corporations employed and housed most of the

12,000 residents on the sugar plantation (Schmelzkopf, 2016). In 1941, Congress

approved the construction of the military base in Vieques. Three thousand of the residents

left out of Vieques or were resettled by the Navy in St. Croix while many others were

relocated on “some 800 acres of Vieques, in the villages of Santa Maria and

Montesanto,” which were designated as resettlement areas (Murillo , 2002). The

Viequenses who moved to these “resettlement areas,” were denied legal titles of their

homes so that the military could relocate them if they needed to (Grusky, 1991). During

this time, because of the construction of the military base, jobs were available, therefore

the negative economic impact was not immediately felt. But as soon as the construction

was done, the US Navy used the land for bombing practices and ammunition storage,

resulting in the displacement and unemployment of the residents of the land (Baruffi,

2002).  After the Korean War, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union

11
intesfied, resulting in technological competition, meaning that Vieques would be

“strategically” used for testing missiles (Langley, 1985). This would continue until the

jolt in the U.S military which resulted out of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the fear

of the spread of communism in Latin America. Because of this fear, the navy activated a

marine base called Camp Garcia, where interventions for communism would be staged,

for example, the gathering when the Bay of Pigs invasion failed in 1961 (McCaffrey,

2006). 

In the book the Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the United States in the

Twentieth Century, Ronald Fernandez (1992) states that “In 1961, the Navy drafted secret

plans to remove the entire civilian population of 8,000 from the island; even the dead

were to be dug up and removed from their graves.” At this point in time, the Navy would

be in control of the whole island of Vieques without having gained any formal

jurisdiction over the Viequenses (McCaffrey, 2006). The draft of these secret plans

clearly demonstrate the amount of power that the United States Navy had in Vieques,

clearly actively engaging in conversations about displacing a whole population- even the

dead, shows the disposability of Puerto Rican lives legally protected. 

Similar to the Navy's violent lack of transparency regarding the secret plans to

displace Viequenses, the Navy also tested live ordnance like napalm and depleted

uranium, without the knowledge of the people and also denied the usage on the island

(Baruffi, 2002). The inequalities promoted by the Navy led to many acts of civil

disobedience by Puerto Ricans across the diaspora and those in solidarity. It is important

to note the role of fishermen when it comes to the resistance against the Navy. For

instance, in the Times print archive of 1979 called Fishermen Protest U.S Navy

12
Exercises, it states that “for a week the Vieques fishermen had been staging “fish‐ins” in

danger area. Forcing cancellations or suspensions of ship-to‐shore or air-to-ground

bombardment exercises (1979). The fishermen’s goal was to drive the Navy off the island

altogether. They rejected the Navy’s violence by staying in the water and claiming their

territory. 

The protests in Vieques continued throughout years but in 1999, the death of

David Sanes, a Vieques native who was killed by a bomb which was dropped by a

military jet during the Navy's bombing exercises, sparked massive protests and solidarity

all over the world (Backiel, 2003). The Navy refused to investigate the incident or punish

those who killed Sanes (Becker, 2003); again, perpetuating the brutal legality of the

disposability of Puerto Rican bodies. Thousands of people protested in attempts to force

an end to the bombing. Between April 21, 1999, and May 4, 2000, thousands of civilians

overran the navy's Camp Garcia on the eastern end of Vieques, where David Sanes was

killed (McCaffrey, 2006). During these protests in 1999, the Governor Pedro Rossello

called for a halt to bombing in Vieques. This was an important moment because the

government has been understood to side with all things American and military

(McCaffrey, 2006). However, he gave in to a plan pressed on Puerto Rico by the Clinton

administration that would allow the continuation of bombing on the island. Nonetheless,

the protest would continue but on May 4, 2000, those who were protesting were viciously

removed from Camp Garcia. However, ten days later, the protests continued, and people

showed up to the firing range. Hundreds of Puerto Ricans served time in jail for illegally

entering the bombing grounds (Murrilo, 2001).

13
 The solidarity amongst Puerto Ricans throughout the world allowed for the mass

mobilization with international support. Celebrities like Ricky Martin spoke out on behalf

of the island’s cause. The movement evolving from a local struggle to an international

struggle for peace, offered a “broad discourse that sidestepped partisan debate over

colonialism. This discourse initially emanated from the Catholic Church and drew on

both traditional religious ideology and more progressive notions of social justice”

(McCaffrey, 2006). The movements commitment to peace and nonviolence gave

Vieques’ struggle a new legitimacy and “moral authority” because of the religious sectors

backup (McCaffrey, 2006). The discourse of peace allowed local activists to build a

broad coalition and cultivate consensus amongst the Puerto Rican diaspora and

international solidarity (McCaffrey, 2006). Nonetheless, in 2001, Governor Sila Maria

Calderon signed a treaty with President George W. Bush that guaranteed the military's

exit of the island in May of 2003 (CNN, 2001). The movements victory and mobilization

marked the refusal to accept injustices of state power. The people of Vieques rose up and

demanded a stop to the injustices faced throughout the 60 years of the Navy's presence.

Each protest that occurred throughout those 60 years strengthened and expanded the

movement. The mobilization of those in the Puerto Rican diaspora allowed for an

international presence for this movement which was critical in removing the Navy from

Vieques. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the struggle against the Navy

continues on today. The demilitarization of Vieques would not be complete until all of

the waters and lands that were contaminated by the Navy are cleaned, decontaminated

and rehabilitated. 

After the Navy's Departure 

14
 During the process of removing the Navy from Vieques, activists and those in

solidarity, spoke about the rehabilitation of the island; many plans were made during the

discourse of post-military Vieques (Grupo de Apoyo Técnico y Profesional para el

Desarrollo Sustentable de Vieques, 2002). Despite having all of these plans, none of them

would be continued because most of the former military areas were transferred to the US

Department of the Interior to become a wildlife refuge. This would confine the

Viequenses between contaminated and restricted federal lands. The “development” of

this wildlife refuge released the United States from much of the financial burden of

cleaning up the contamination to the level necessary for human use (Davis, Hayes, Jones,

2007). Activists on the island believed that transferring the land to Fish and Wildlife was

a direct punishment by some members of the US congress for stopping the military

operations (Davis, Hayes, Jones, 2007). Additionally, in 2007 access to most of the

eastern end of the island was still limited and the removal of unexploded ordnance and

munitions debris had resulted in the release of more contaminants into the air of Vieques,

since most of the munitions were removed through “open detonation.”

The landscape that was left in Vieques was very different from the one the Navy

took over in the 1940s. Davis, Hayes and Jones state that bombing and military

maneuvers change a landscape in ways that linger long after activities have ended

(Military Pollution and Natural Purity: Seeing Nature and Knowing Contamination in

Vieques, Puerto Rico,2007). In Vieques, most of the vestiges of the past agricultural uses

of the island were gone and what was left was a “landscape of forest and scrub vegetation

punctuated in the far eastern areas of the island with numerous craters and unexploded

bombs with tail fins protruding from the ground (Davis, Hayes, Jones, 2007). 

15
 The contamination generated by the Navy has caused large amounts of cancer,

kidney failure and respiratory ailments for the people of Vieques. However, the Navy

claims that military activities are not the source of the heavy metal contamination on the

island and the higher risks of diseases of Viequenses (Davis, Hayes, Jones, 2007).

Nonetheless, the Navy has contracted their own experts such as the Agency for Toxic

Substances and Disease registry to bolster its claims that the Navy's presence was not the

source for the increase in contamination and disease (Davis, Hayes, Jones, 2007). On the

other hand, studies have shown the link between the Navy's presence and high amounts

of contamination. For instance, a report testing the mercury contamination in

reproductive age women in Vieques demonstrated that young women in rural Vieques

were at a much higher exposure to mercury than those in other heavily industrialized

areas. Additionally, studies in Vieques have shown high concentrations of heavy metals

in the plants, fish and seafood commonly caught and eaten in Vieques (Acevedo, 2004).

Furthermore, it is believed that the Navy had over a hundred effluent water violations in

Vieques, including discharge of mercury (EPA, 1999). In turn, the people of Vieques

have suffered major health problems. In 1999, the risk of dying of cancer in Vieques was

61% higher than in Puerto Rico (Sanderson, Hans, Fauser, Patrik, Stauber, Ricky Steven,

Christensen, Jesper, Løfstrøm, Per, and Becker 2017. According to the article Health in

Vieques: A Crisis and its Causes by Deborah Santana, Cruz Maria Nazario and John

Lindsay poland, in 1998, the death rate from heart disease was 251.6 per 100,000

compared to 157.5 in Puerto Rico. Additionally, “between 15-32% of Vieques public

school students reported respiratory ailments in the annual health report of the Puerto

Rican Department of Education from 1995 to 1999 (Santana, Nazario, Poland, 2002).

16
These reports clearly demonstrate the negative impact that the Navy had in the health of

Viequenses.

Vieques Today 

“Colonialism has not ended. Lands are still being stolen and/or continue to be

occupied. Human dignities are being trampled upon and for some people the search to

regain their humanity is of utmost concern” (Dei, 2019). Vieques was stolen for 60 years.

The life of Vieques was tortured and hurt by the United States colonial power. Those

living in Vieques today continue to stick together in order to rebuild one another and the

island. As I conducted interviews in Vieques, I knew that the central concepts I wanted to

center my work on are anti-colonialism, agro-ecology, community solidarity and food

sovereignty. 

The community of Vieques has continuously worked together to maintain their

island and rehabilitate it. Since the US government does not provide any proper

resources, the community has built an anti-colonial based network that works from the

land and feeds from the land. I am defining anti-colonial as a framework that allows those

who are oppressed to reconstruct the systems and violent experiences from the ground up.

The aim of anti-colonial discourse is for the oppressed to come to voice, and

“subsequently to challenge and subvert the hegemonic systems of power and domination”

(Dei, Asgharzadeh, 2001). According to Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001), the anti-colonial

discursive framework allows us to shift our attention from “abstractionism and discursive

gymnastics (318)” to lived experiences of individuals and collectivities. They state that

anticolonial frameworks “open the door for hitherto discredited notions of spirituality,

emotionality, and sentimentality, so that these modes of expression are also validated as

17
legitimate forms of knowledge, emerging from lived experiences of the bodies”(318).

This framework allows for the experiences of Puerto Ricans to be heard. Throughout the

years, the United States has continued to silence and disregard the voices of Puerto Rico.

Nonetheless, this framework works to center the voices of the oppressed and to resist

against the damages of the hegemonic power of the US. Additionally, anti-colonial

thought realizes the necessity of solidarity and the importance of collective struggle

against hegemonic colonial relations. Dei and Asgharzadeh state that “anti-colonial

discourse collective action is based on common individualistic and collective desire for

emancipation” (Dei, Asgharzadeh, 2001).   Throughout the years, folks on the island of

Vieques have worked together to resist the violent colonial ruling and to work towards

becoming free. The network of people that I interviewed have taken power into their

hands to rebuild each other and the community of Vieques. Viequenses continuously

work to become free by resisting against that which is “dominating, imposing, and

dehumanizing: that is, that which is colonial” (Dei, Asgharzadeh, 2001).

The concept of community solidarity is based on the belief that empowered

compassionate communities can heal themselves and in doing so create a map for greater

social change (Tompkins, 2018). Additionally, Martin Luther King’s beloved community

framework works well to help define what I believe is community solidarity. The beloved

community framework can be understood as a “community in which different

backgrounds recognize that we are all interconnected and that our individual well-being

is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of others” (King, 1956). The focus on the

individual well-being through the empowerment in the wellbeing of others, is what drives

18
the connectivity between the two. The resilience of the Viequenses has been aided by the

connectivity of those in the community and well-being of each individual. 

Nonetheless, food vulnerability in Vieques is a huge issue that local agricultural

and community members want to solve. The lack of food security in Vieques has a huge

impact on the lives of everyone that lives there.

Food Insecurity 

Puerto Rico imports 85 percent of its food from the United States (Macewan,

2017).  Plantation workers grew most of the island’s food prior to US colonialism, this

production declined steadily until dropping precipitously after the 1960s, making the

island largely food dependent (Felix, Holt- Gimenez, 2017). According to Georges Felix

and Eric Holt- Gimenez (2017), “the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly

known as the ‘Jones Act,’ limits the possibilities of trading goods directly with other

countries and dooms the island to high food prices.” Even worse, in Vieques 95 percent

of the food is imported. The irregular and unreliable ferry service hinders the access to

food for those in Vieques. For instance, Sarah Sax (2019) states that in the Spring of 2019

both cargo ferries to the island of Vieques were broken, therefore, the Viequenses did not

have access to gas, milk, eggs and fresh produce. Nonetheless, the community continues

to resist the oppressive symptoms of coloniality by growing food and learning from past

knowledge. For instance, Adriana Garriga Lopez (2019) states, “food sovereignty in

Puerto Rico is enacted at a small scale by diverse groups of very committed people

working under severe structural constraints that include the intensifying effects of climate

change” (184). Through community solidarity, resilient land-based knowledge and

connectivity with the land, Viequenses have been able to continue. In order to become

19
sovereign and have the survival of the community, food needs to be grown, as Sheryll

Durant (2019) states we need to be in service to the land. Broad Garret mentions that "the

salience of food as a universal social and cultural necessity, combined with the

documented ability of local organizing to serve as an avenue for capacity-building within

historically marginalized communities, offers a foundation upon which an agenda for

sustainable community change can be built." The network in Vieques works to dismantle

the current system and to provide access to generational knowledge, education and food.

Additionally, sustainability is continually being produced through the democratization of

the existing food system. Nonetheless, the goal is to be food sovereign. 

Food sovereignty is built on anticolonial theory, providing adequate food for

those who have been violently denied access. Similarly, the Nyeleni Declaration (2007)

states that "food sovereignty emphasizes the democratization of food systems, policy,

practice, knowledge and the rights and autonomy of food producers." The term food

sovereignty emerged from La Via Campesina in the mid-1990s as a critique of the

corporate food regime (Wittman, Desmarais, and Wiebe, 2010 and Fairbairn, 2010). Food

sovereignty is not an academic concept but the outcome of a social movement of

peasants, farmworkers, and small producers to challenge the global neoliberal food

regime. Food sovereignty is the "right of nationals and people to control their food

systems, including their own markets, production modes, food cultures and

environments" (Wittman 2010). Witman, Desmarais and Wiebe (2010) state that "food

sovereignty places special emphasis on "how, where, and by whom food is produced" (3),

and therefore it promotes the rethinking of our relationships not merely with food,

agriculture, and the environment but also with one another with reference to democracy

20
and social justice." This is important because it looks at the production of food as a

whole. It respects those who work within the land and continues to sustain and value land

and community-based knowledge. Like mentioned before, this movement, along with the

knowledge of food, have been done by learning directly from the land and working with

those in the community. Simpson mentions that, "education comes from the roots up. It

comes from being enveloped by land. An individual's intimate relationship with the

spiritual and physical elements of creation is at the center of a learning journey that is

lifelong" (Simpson, 2017). 

Agroecology is a critical element in the construction of food sovereignty. The

Nyeleni Declaration (2015) defines agroecology, as "standing together in the circle of

life, and this implies that we must also stand together in the circle of struggle against land

grabbing and the criminalization of our movements." This work requires being vulnerable

because of the systems that are in place which criminalize the act of fighting against the

violence that the US produces. Based on the past work of other organizations, Cruz and

Medina (2015) believe that agroecology is the answer on how to transform and repair our

material reality in a food system and rural world that has been devastated by industrial

food production and its so-called Green and Blue Revolutions. It is important to note that

the "production practices of Agroecology (such as intercropping, traditional fishing and

mobile pastoralism, integrating crops, trees, livestock and fish, manuring, compost, local

seeds, and animal breeds, etc.) are based on ecological principles like building life in the

soil, recycling nutrients, the dynamic management of biodiversity and energy

conservation at all scales" (Joshi,Gottlieb, 2010). 

21
 This practice is based on working directly in the land and with those from the

land, this is important because this knowledge will continue for centuries through the

passed down the knowledge and through reading the land. It is difficult to destroy

knowledge when the whole community is built off this resistance. As much as the US

would like to erase Vieques, it is impossible because the resistance will continue pa'

lante. 

Methodology

Over the summer I conducted qualitative research in Vieques, Puerto Rico. I spent

a month engaging with the Vieques community where I listened to people's stories and

22
worked in agriculture. When thinking about the goal of this project, I believed I wanted

to find ways to write about blackness, agriculture, and solidarity. I had the opportunity of

working with La Colmena Cimarrona when they visited the Arcus Center in 2018 and I

asked if I could go visit the farm and work during the summer. As I engaged in

conversations about food justice and small farming with Dr. Adriana Garriga-López, I

decided to focus this project on the relationship between resilient agriculture and

community solidarity. I contacted Ana Elisa from La Colmena Cimarrona where I

explained my project and was offered support. Ana Elisa became my point person and I

would conduct my research under her direction when it came to navigate Vieques. 

In order for this project to get approved, I submitted an application to the IRB.

While working on my IRB application, I thought about the questions that would give me

a full image of what Vieques is like. I created 10 sections each focusing on different

topics. The sections were: relationship with the land, demographics, agriculture, bees,

solidarity, the United States, healing/spirituality, race, gender and farming. These topics

would become the main point of understanding and navigating the experiences of those in

Vieques. When it came to writig the questions, I thought about these topics along with

the history of Vieques. Additionally, since this was a semi structured interview, I knew

that I would be able to shape these questions into a conversation. One of my main goals

was to make sure that these interviews did not feel forced, therefore, it was important for

me to start with the question of what the interviewees relationship with the land is.

Nonetheless, I knew that certain questions would be shaped differently once I was in

Vieques because I was only going based off of what I knew and I had never been in

Vieques before, so I was ready to fully engage in educating myself once I was there. 

23
 For the purpose of this research, I planned on interviewing 10-15 people. When I

arrived in Puerto Rico, I wanted to have set dates to interview people, however, I did not

know anyone, and Ana Elisa was out of the country so I had to navigate Vieques by

myself for the first week. I noticed that Vieques reminded me of home (the Dominican

Republic), the people looked just like me. 

Through Ana’s connections in Vieques, I was able to stay at Sail Relief, a hostel

focusing on farm work and volunteer work. I first noticed that this space was mostly

white and did not particularly look like the rest of Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, I started

learning about the land while observing the way the community worked. During this

week, I went to Finca Conciencia where I was able to interview Jorge Cora, a black

boricua who focuses on anti-racist land work. I also met him when he came to the Arcus

Center and was extremely interested in what he had to say about blackness. This

interview lasted about one hour, and a half and it opened conversation about things that

were not on the interview questionnaire at first. I was also able to work in the land by

helping out in the weeding process. Jorge asked me to grab a ‘pala” and to start moving

the soil around. We did this because we wanted the land to be prepared for when it

rained, since during this time Vieques was experiencing a sequilla (dryland).

Additionally, I was able to participate in a Hurricane Relief class at la Fortaleza through

my connections at Sail Relief, where I met many people from the community. This was a

very different space to what my hostel looked like since it was local Puerto Ricans rather

than white tourists. In this class, I observed and had conversations about the government

of Puerto Rico. Through these conversations, I got connected to a farmer, Ana Composta,

24
half Dominican and Puerto Rican woman who does most of the composting in Vieques,

who I would then interview a couple of weeks later.

 During the second week, Ana Elisa returned, and I shadowed her work with La

Colmena Cimarrona. Since her work is community oriented, I was able to talk to many

people. There were conversations about the Navy and its impact in Vieques,

conversations about the ferry and its inconvenience, food vulnerability, farming and

more. I would ask those that I was engaging with if I could record the conversation that

we were having and that was extremely beneficial because they were important stories

vital to what makes Vieques the place it is today. When it came to having interviews,

they were never planned until the end of the trip since I started knowing more people and

it became easier to schedule. As I met people who worked in agriculture through other

people or just random conversations in town, I asked to interview them. I would always

carry consent forms with me because I never knew who I was going to meet. Towards the

end of the trip, I remember people that I wanted to interview so I spoke to Ana and we

found ways to create a schedule in order to ensure I had those interviews before I left.

When it came to conducting the interview, I would start by introducing myself

and then the project. To ensure confidentiality, I would provide the participant with a

consent form which we would go over together. I explained the option of having a

pseudonym, which none of my participants took, and then I would go on to ask if it was

okay for me to record the conversation. Ensuring confidentiality was essential to ensure

the safety of the participants. Nonetheless, I made it clear that the interview was

voluntary and could end at anytime that they wanted. 

25
 Each day regardless if I was conducting interviews or not, I would write in my

field notes. My fieldnotes consisted of a date, an explanation of where I was, how I felt,

and what occurred during that day. Writing daily ensured that I was keeping track of my

days and being present while conducting this research. During the end of my trip, I

attended a Beekeeping event given by La Colmena, where I learned about Africanized

bees and how to care for them. Through this workshop, I fell in love with learning about

bees.

For the transcribing process, I slowed down the recordings and written word for

word what was said. Additionally, I sent a few interviews to TranscribeMe with funding

from the Arcus Center. On the other hand, for the coding process, I used the research

program called Dedoose, where I created codes based on what was said during the

interviews. I ended up having 123 codes which resulted from reading the transcriptions

and understanding the main points of what was said and patterns in the responses. This

allowed me to find connections between the different conversations that I had. 

26
Chapter 1: Understanding the Reality of the Occupation of the US Navy in Vieques 

During my research in Puerto Rico, I tried to understand life in Vieques. For my

first week, I found myself surrounded by foreigners at a hostel, like me, with different

purposes in Vieques. The first group of people that I met were white folks who came to

Vieques to help rebuild the island after Hurricane Maria and to farm. I remember

thinking about my body and the way that it was being read in this very white space in

Puerto Rico, I felt as uncomfortable as in the United States. I kept thinking about the

local Viequenses and the way that they felt in their own land. Nonetheless, I did notice

the push to understand Vieques and the urge to be allies by these foreigners, however,

being so remote and not speaking Spanish hindered many of these folks. 

Furthermore, during this time a revolution was beginning to form in Puerto Rico

and there were massive protests and mobilizations against the corrupt government. I

noticed that some of the foreigners seemed to care while others did not. I found this

incredibly painful and aggravating because isn’t our role as “allies,” as people who came

to “help,” to get involved and provide support? I remember having multiple

conversations with Viequenses about what it means to be in solidarity during times of

danger, and in all, I found that showing up is what matters. If everyone shows up and is

accountable for one another, then dangers of protesting in a country that you do not know

how to navigate decreases. Nonetheless, I found that many foreigners did not “show up.”

27
I found that there was a huge separation between many foreigners and Viequenses. For

instance, during a conversation with Hilda Bonialla, an agronomist of the Agricultural

Extension Service in Vieques, she stated, “We are very segregated, they are over there

and we are over here.” The lack of communication and integration by the foreigner

continues to further the separation between them and the Viequenses.

When it came to navigating Vieques, I found that the best way to build

community was to go to the community. Walking around the streets of Vieques, felt like

home to me, I felt comfortable. I noticed that people looked like me and accepted me. My

favorite walk consisted of stopping by the ice cream shop and then engaging in

conversations with Mayimbe, a local to the plaza. I compared the feeling of comfort to

how I felt with the foreigners. I thought about the difference in comfortability and I

realized that the reason I felt the same way as I did in the United States was because

many foreigners bring their old structures of navigating the world and perpetuate many

colonized practices. For instance, Oscar a community organizer stated:

The things that they did not like about the big cities, where they used to live, that
is why they came here. But the thing is that they perpetuate the same
circumstances that they left into Vieques. We are in Vieques, we are not
connected to Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is separated from the United States so the
things here are going to be more complicated. But the people that come here have
these attitudes and expectations, they demand things. But in Vieques only 8,000
people live here, so things are going to be different. You could never compare
Vieques to a city like Boston, that has more than a million people, that you can
get in a car and drive four hours to each side. By logic when you have these
attitudes and you have lived in a city like that and you have so many availability
and so many resources, living here is clearly going to be more difficult. In the
beginning they say that they like it but once they move here, they start getting
mad since they there is no availability in resources that they had when they were
out there. 

Through the quote above we can see how the internal dynamics of understanding the

world for these foreigners has created a separation between them and the locals. The

28
privilege of leaving a place like Boston does not follow them so these foreigners try to

maintain power and change the things that are in place as a way of “bettering” the land.

This is extremely damaging because it perpetuates colonial positionalities of power and

creates the same violence that the United States and the US Navy has done to Vieques.

Oscar argued that the foreigners that come to Vieques first say the love it, so they choose

to move here and live here but then they start to get frustrated and upset because they no

longer have the same available resources that were out there. This goes to show the

entitlement that is sometimes followed by those who move to Vieques. Sure, they love

the lifestyle in Vieques that they have, because it is one that is privileged, however, when

it comes to a lack of resources many get to leave and get more resources, many have the

control and power to even change the area and that is where those who are local from

Viequense and the foreigner differ. 

I mention all of this to put into perspective the experiences that I recorded. When

I picture my research in Vieques, I think I lived a double life in a way; a life with the

people of Vieques and a life with foreigners. During the day I would spend my days in

the community and then I would go to sleep in a house full of foreigners and people who

supposedly cared about being allies. In this chapter, I start by discussing the experiences

of the Viequenses with the United States Navy. I then focus on the violence and the

realities that the Navy enacted. Lastly, I describe the relationship between the Viequenses

and foreigners. I argue that the violence that the Navy produced in Vieques, is still felt

today and is continuously produced by some foreigners who come to the land. It is

essential to look at the realities of the Navy and to understand the colonial dynamic that is

currently at play because of some of the foreigners that arrive to Vieques. Nonetheless,

29
Viequenses dedication to one another allowed for the survival of its people and the

island. 

When it comes to understanding the realities of Vieques today, it is important to

look back at the history of the land of Vieques. During my interview with Hilda Bonilla,

she asked to imagine what it would be like to be removed from your home by extremely

powerful strangers who do not even speak the same language. She stated: 

Vieques was sustainable, they reached zero, so Vieques is still trying to get up. 20
years have not passed, but people still talk about the Navy and it hurts, because
imagine that one day they arrive at your house and they say, "all of you need to
leave”.

The pain that I felt imagining and listening to stories, cannot put into perspective the

realities and violence that those in Vieques felt. For 60 years, the United States Navy had

tried to destroy the island of Vieques along with its people. When it comes to thinking

about the United States Navy and their relationship with Vieques, I can only think of the

phrase “como perro por su casa,” which directly translates to “like a dog in his house.”

The United States Navy came to Vieques and violently took over the people and the land,

demonstrating the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States.

Robert Rabin, a historian and activist of the fight against the US Navy, states: 

In Vieques, the US Navy takes approximately 70% of the entire land in the 1940s;
15,000 strings on the east side, 8,000 on the west side. Takes the most fertile land;
the most important aquifers; the highest points of the topography; the most
important lagoons; the closest point of contact with the big island; they cause the
closure of the last sugar mill, the main source of work, the Playa Grande plant;
and they really put an end to agricultural life, to the economic life of the people.

30
Figure 1: Historical land use (1941 to 2003) of Vieques. Adapted from Bauer et al. 2008.

Furthermore, in the quote above, Robert Rabin demonstrates the violence that occured

when the US Navy arrived. Everything that the people of Vieques had built or worked for

was expropriated and in the hands of those who did not care about anything but their own

economic capital. The US Navy destroyed the island of Vieques, by taking all the land

and using it for violence. In the map above we can see that the United States government

annexed approximately two-thirds of the land on Vieques for use by the Navy as a

training facility. Furthermore, Schmeltzkopf states that, “the US Navy appropriated

26,000 acres of land for bombing practice and ammunition storage, resulting in the loss

of jobs and homes for most of the Viequenses. 3,000 residents left the island, while the

rest were crowded into the remaining 7,000 acres” (Schmeltzkopf, 2017). The

expropriation of land and jobs demonstrates the, militarization, dehumanization, and the

31
violation of human rights that the United States keeps reproducing. Similarly, Russell

Baruffi states that:

In all, the Navy confiscated 21,100 acres at a price of $1,041,500 – an average of

about $50 per acre. Within the next few years, the Navy added 4,340 more acres
of formerly private and public land to their stock at a price of $520,400. These
policies created thousands of landless, homeless people on the island. 

Both Rabin and Baruffi demonstrate the extreme colonial dictatorship and violence that

the US perpetuated in Vieques and Puerto Rico more broadly. The United States was

making revenue with the violent removal of land while Viequenses were struggling to

survive. Furthermore, according to Ryan Morgan (2016), the Navy opposed the economic

development of Vieques, therefore, today a quarter of Viequense households are living on

less than $10,000 a year, and nearly half of the island’s residents are living under the

poverty line (Morgan, 2016). Since the Navy forcefully controlled everything in Vieques,

many Viequenses were not able to increase their economic revenue. For instance,

contamination of the water devastated the livelihood of Viequense fishermen, leaving the

fishermen without an income and access to their trade (citation). Similarly, the Navy

denied locals access to some of the most fertile and choicest grazing lands on the island,

therefore, there was a decline in agriculture.  

The Treatment and Survival of Viequenses 

When it comes to thinking about the destruction in Vieques it is important to pay

close attention to the treatment that the Navy had on the people of Vieques. As I

mentioned before, the US Navy arrived in Vieques as if it was their homes, not only did

they violate people's homes but they also violated the people that lived there. The Navy

would knock on peoples’ doors and would threaten and intimidate them, demanding that

32
they leave. During Murillo’s research (2011), he mentions that he attended a town hall

meeting at the Fort Count Mirasol Museum, where local residents-fishermen, students,

clergy, and community activists-came together to speak out against the constant military

maneuvers being conducted by the U.S Navy. He recalled, the experience of Lucia

Carambot, who mentioned that Viequenses suffered a lot and that the Navy would take

people out of their homes and threatened them with having to sleep on the street. She also

stated that the Navy took out a woman who was pregnant and about to give birth and told

her she had to leave. Clearly, the Navy had no concern for the wellbeing of the

community, nor any empathy when it came to the lives of Viequenses. The forced

brutality and violence depict the lack of respect for others and the perceived disposability

of Puerto Ricans. When thinking about the vulnerability of those in Vieques, it is

important to think about the treatment of women by members of the Navy. According to

Helen Jaccard and David Swanson (2013), “women were dragged out of their homes and

gang raped.” The power that the Navy had allowed these people to feel as if their crimes

and violations of human rights would be disregarded due to their status. Furthermore,

during a conversation with Ana about Vieques, she stated: 

The Americans would come and they would abuse the woman, they would do a
million things. I remember being told, ‘you girls can walk with us until the plaza
but only until there.’ When the convoy would come down, that meant that all the
Americans were coming, everyone would be scared because they would go into
people's homes because people would say, “there is that girl, there is the other
one…” When they started abusing the women of Vieques, because that is the
reality, they would abuse the women of Vieques. The men of Vieques would hide
in the mountains and they would throw rocks at the convoys. We did not have any
arms but they needed to defend the women of Vieques. You know what I saw one
day? I was little, I remember that the Navy created a fear so strong because they
could go into town and just grab anyone they wanted. That day everyone from the
town came and everyone was so mad. They were so furious that they overturned a
convoy truck. The people would say “we need to defend the women because if
not they will rape them all.”

33
When Ana mentions that her family used to stop her from walking past the plaza, we can

understand the fear that the Navy instilled in the families and the people of Vieques.

Again, the power positionality and the colonial relationship between the Navy and

Viequenses, gave those in the Navy the power to feel as if they could do whatever they

wanted. Nonetheless, Viequenses would survive by looking out for one another. 

The people of Vieques defended each other and helped each other in order to

survive the atrocities that the Navy created. It is important to bear in mind that when the

Navy first arrived in Vieques, the Viequenses did not have any arms to defend

themselves. This goes back to the colonial occupation that the US has in place in Puerto

Rico. The usage of rocks, which were the resources available to Viequenses,

demonstrates the push for survival. It is essential to think about the dangers that these

people were getting themselves into. During the Navy's occupation in Vieques, Puerto

Rico's Gag Law (Law 53), known in Spanish as Ley 53 (Ley de La Mordaza) was also in

place. This law was enacted to suppress the independence movement in Puerto Rico

(,1989). “The law made it a crime to own or display a Puerto Rican flag, to sing a

patriotic tune, to speak or write of independence, or meet with anyone, or hold any

assembly, with regard to the political status of Puerto Rico” (1989). The law impeded

local organizing and Puerto Rican culture. Nonetheless, we can further see the control

that the US had on these people. The goal was to suppress the Puerto Rican identity and

people in order to maintain control. Regardless if Puerto Ricans rose up or not, the US

Navy maintained their power and did what they wanted, therefore, fighting for Puerto

Rico was a risk worth taking for many folks. The criminalization of the Puerto Rican

identity was a violent reality that these folks had to live with for many years, therefore,

34
surviving meant doing it what it took to be okay. Although, the law of La Mordaza was

repealed in 1957, the criminalization of Puerto Ricans is still in place and can be seen in

other forms like incarceration. 

Nonetheless, Robert Rabin also states, that Pedro Albizu Campos, an activist of

Vieques, described what the Navy was doing as a type of genocide against the Puerto

Rican people in Vieques. It is important to note that this colonial relationship was a

genocide leading many Puerto Ricans to leave the island of Vieques. Due to the forced

expropriation of land and the violence that was being perpetuated by the Navy, many

Viequenses had to relocate. During my conversation with Hilda about the presence of the

US Navy in Vieques, she mentioned that many families did not have anywhere to take

their children, therefore, they would stay outside for many days. Because of this, many

families chose to relocate, for instance, Hilda stated, “many went to Santa Cruz, many

went to the big island or to the United States. So, the society in Vieques lost control.” The

relocation to the big island, the United States and St. Croix was a direct response of

survival for many Viequenses. However, for others that was not an option, and many

refused to leave. Moreover, Murillo (2011) mentions that:

in 1947 relocation of the entire population of Vieques to St. Croix was actually
discussed by U.S military planners and colonial authorities, although eventually it
was disregarded until the 1960s. In the 1960s, in response to the Cuabn
revolution, the Kennedy administration began to rethink this idea, proposing to
government Luis Munoz Marin that all of its residents, as well as the almost 600
residents of nearby Culbera, be relocated. Marin rejected the idea as being
profoundly destructive. In 1975, after intense pressure from people on Culebra,
the U.S Navy finally abandoned the island, making the Vieques facility that much
more important to the Pentagon” (Murillo, 49).  

I think it is really important to note how the Puerto Rican people would be discussed

without having any of them be involved in that process. They were spoken about as if

35
they were just things who could be relocated, instead of people who would directly feel

what was occurring. 

The excerpts above demonstrate the violent relationship that the US Navy had

with the bodies of Vieques. The women of the island were very vulnerable and

susceptible to sexual violence by the Navy. We can think of the relationship between the

Navy and the women as a violent one. 

The Bombardment of the Navy 

Culebra began to organize during the 60s and 70s and finally with the support of

those who were in solidarity with Puerto Rico, Culebra was able to stop the bombing

practices of the Navy. Robert Rabin spoke about the increase in bombardment in Vieques

after the end of the bombings in Culebra. He states

the navy increases, what they could no longer do in Culebra they added to
Vieques, leading to a huge increase in bombardment. That increase in
bombardment, increased the restrictions, in particular the movement to the East
zone. For the fishermen of Vieques, this was something super noticeable and
problematic, everyday they saw more restrictions in their movements, more
damage to their nets, to their fishing art. Therefore, the fishermen began
maneuvering themselves to block the Navy, paralyzing maneuvers.

As we can understand, the lives of these fishermen were immensely affected by the

Navy's presence in Vieques. The fisherman's survival depends on their trade and the

Navy's arrival created restrictions on where they could fish along with the destruction of

the fish life. Furthermore, in the book Islands of Resistance: Puerto Rico, Vieques, Carlos

Ventura (2001) states: 

Vieques used to be the largest producer of fish and other seafood for all of Puerto
Rico. But since then, things have gotten to a point where the fishermen in Vieques
are almost nearing extinction. And this is directly related to the bombing practice
that takes place regularly on the eastern end of the island. 

36
Nonetheless, the US Navy did deny that there was any impact on the fish. For instance,

Winston Martinez (1998), coordinator of the Navy's Cultural and Natural Resources

Protection Program at the Roosevelt Roads base states that “when there are maneuvers,

fishing is restricted because of the safety of the area. In that way, actually, the maneuvers

are helping to conserve the fishing in the area. Because it's not being overfished, because

the area is closed for fishing for two or three weeks at a time.” Martinez’ statement

demonstrates the lack of commitment to the Puerto Rican people of Vieques. The lack of

transparency and the lies told by the government, depicts the continuation of Puerto

Rico's role as a “colonial laboratory” for the United States. 

Nevertheless, reports did show that significant amounts of lead, nickel and other

metals were in the ecosystem. For instance, Dr. Neftali Garcia, the president of Scientific

and Technical Services, an environmental research group based in San Juan, reported that

“exploited munitions damaged various lagoons on the eastern end of the island and

created craters basically make the land in the area useless for any other activity. He also

found that the navy had closed connections of the lagoons to the sea, therefore, during

dry spells, there was an increase in salinity, leading to the death of thousands of fish.”

Evidence did and does show that the Navy created severe damages to the ecosystem and

to the people of Vieques. Additionally, Arturo Massol-Deyá’s research, Trace Elements

Analysis in Forage Samples from a US Navy Bombing Range, found “the presence of

high concentration of lead in S. filiforme (manatee grass) from Carrucho Beach

(Vieques), indicating the potential for dispersion and dangerous bioaccumulation along

the marine food chain. Fishes, crustaceans, and manatees directly or indirectly consume

this marine plant, which humans’ fish and eat after.” Many locals and specialists believe

37
that there are links in the food consumption and the contaminated environment with the

health problems of the Viequenses. For instance, Robert Rabin states:

there are still thousands and thousands of unexploded bombs left on the seabed in
the eastern part of Vieques. And the town goes on, doesn't it? Suffering the
consequences of more than half a century of military toxics on the environment,
in the food chain, in the air, in the earth, in the water, with very high levels of
cancer and countless other ills, and many other diseases, related to that long list of
metals harmful materials, which the Navy dispersed to the environment during its
practice and training, its military experiments.

The quote above demonstrates the massive health problems that the US Navy left for

those in Puerto Rico. The environmental problems have a direct connection to the well-

being of those on the land. The constant intake of chemicals clearly has a negative

outcome on the lives of these folks. Also, during my conversation with Nidia Cabral

about the Navy, she mentioned that the reason that there is so much cancer in Vieques is

because of the 60 years that U.S Navy spent on the island. Furthermore, Hilda had the

same sentiment when she stated, “the Navy left many psychological problems, physical

health problems, respiratory problems, heart diseases. It has been found that the

community that was the closest to the bombardment is where most of the cancer patients

of Vieques come from.” The health problems that people face is a direct result of the

contamination brought by the bombs. Like Hilda said, “all the components of those

bombs went into the air, so you could feel the movement of the earth, you could feel the

air pollution.” These experiences and realities were purposely ignored by the U.S

government. The people of Vieques were left voiceless and have not been met with the

support and respect that is needed to rehabilitate an island that has gone through 6o years

of bombardment as well as tropical disasters. Additionally, Robert Rabin also states:

They use the island of Vieques for the entire long list of actions, U.S. military
aggression against countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and other parts of

38
 the world. Vieques was used right? For all these military actions of the Second
World War, until the first of May 2003 when finally the Puerto Rican people, the
people of Vieques forced them to stop the bombardment… And in that process
they caused not only a socio-economic dislom with land expropriation, the closure
of the agricultural economy, the constant obstacle for more than five decades of
any kind of economic development here on the island, a forced emigration,
families broken up. In addition to these socioeconomic, human elements, they
also created an ecological environmental disaster that was difficult to believe,
difficult to understand, in the eastern part of Vieques, in the shooting range.

The people of Vieques need reparations and government support in order to rebuild the

island that the US violently violated and tried to destroy.

The conversations about rebuilding Vieques were driven by motivation and

determination and with the goal to self-sovereign. The United States did not repair what

they destroyed and the people of Vieques are no longer waiting and are using their voice

to share their concerns. For instance, Nidia, a community member working with La

Colmena Cimarrona, states:

60 years jodiendo. 60 years you expect that they'll at least give you a house, a car
to every person that suffered. At least a house and a car to those who don't have
and to those who do have both, at leaste 10,000$. You would think that we would
at least have a better working ferry. Look they can at least bring us two mini
cruises, the small ones with all the amenities because when the Navy was here in
Vieques, the big island of Puerto Rico would eat, because they would give money
for Puerto Rico but that money would arrive at San Juan not to us here in
Vieques. Millions and millions of dollars. Where was the money being used? It
was for all of Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, the money that is collected now needs to
be used to maintain us. Why do we need to have a messed up ferry? We are
struggling! I don't want an old ferry! You know why I don't go to the protests?
Because I want a new ferry, I do not have time! After 60 years! And I want an old
ferry?! They can take those old ferries somewhere else, gift them to someone else.
We need two new ferries and two new boats! 

As I interviewed Nidia, she expressed all of her frustrations with a smile. She demands

responsibility and care for her people who had been brutalized  yield for 60 years. The

cry for at least having a working ferry demonstrates the lack of responsibility of the

United States and the perpetuation of the disposability of these bodies. 

39
The Relationship with the United States and Foreigners- Tourism

The United States is a colonial power that has worked to maintain its control by

enacting violence and destroying countries and people along the way. For instance, Jorge

Cora, an activist and farmer, states:

I think that the United States has been a nation that is extremely abusive in
Latinamerica, not even just Latin-American, the whole world. All around the
world the United States has done huge barbarities. There are many countries that
have not been able to get back up. If the United States is not beating you up, they
are taking your human rights away, or making sure that nothing gets to you, they
will boycott everything. It's like when you are little and you are playing ball and
you get mad and your ball, the bat and your glove gets taken. Everything gets
taken.

Jorge’s description of the United States as a colonial hegemony demonstrates the

frustration and pain that those who are violated feel. For years, the United States has

violently attacked countries who have continuously been working to survive.

Nonetheless, it is essential to think about who goes to Vieques and who thrives

economically in Vieques. When it came to having conversations with locals about

foreigners and tourist many gave similar answers, pertaining to the colonial relationship

that is felt. For instance, Jorge states, “it is a colonial relationship. Because coming to

Vieques is like coming to do whatever you want, they can do more than a person who is

even from Vieques. They allow more to those who are foreign.” Through this quote, we

can understand that foreigners are greater valued than those who are from Vieques. As

Karen Schmeltzkopf (2016) states, “Vieques as a tourist destination is based on the

segregation and invisibility of both the Viequenses and the contaminated land.” The local

communities and the local economy of Vieques is not valued or even seen by those who

are not sought out to look for these communities. During my first few days in Vieques, I

40
had a hard time navigating which shops were owned by Viequenses and finding local

“Puerto Rican” food. Moreover, during my conversation with Hilda, she described the

lack of integration by those who are not locals. She notes the difference in economic

status between those who come to Vieques and the locals, she states:

The majority of them have a high status, with a lot of money- they are the people
who can have a house in New York City and one here, they spend 6 months and 6
months over there. They come with power, and they understand that with their
power they control most of what happens in Vieques, they are involved with the
government, they navigate the industrial economy of the island. Nonetheless, that
resident from the United States does not integrate into the community of Vieques.
Many don't ever learn Spanish. Therefore, they bring their own employers when
they bring their businesses and many do not hire Viequenses, so there's always
constant competition. 

Hilda’s statement demonstrates the economic privilege that nonlocals have in Vieques.

The disregard to learn Spanish and to actually integrate into the community demonstrates

disrespect and privilege that many have when coming to Vieques. Coming to Vieques

and creating a life without any regards to those around and using economic privilege to

maintain control and power continue to reproduce colonial structures. Sheller (2007)

argues that “such a structure of legitimation echoes the original US self- legitimation of

its role in Puerto Rico as a whole- industrious capitalist gringos saving Puerto Ricans

from their own failings, backwardness, and racial degeneracy.” This argument reminds

me of the many conversations I had with locals regarding the “white- savior

organizations on the island. For instance, I heard many stories about the white women

who “save” dogs from the street and protect them from the violence and mistreatment

that the Viequenses give them. Moreover, when thinking about the culture of the

Caribbean and the animals from the street, it is important to understand that locals do not

mistreat any of the dogs. It has been noted that many locals leave food out for the animals

41
and protect their local stray dog. Many locals also speak out regarding the intelligence

that these dogs have compared to tourist dogs, since these dogs already know how to

survive living on the streets. Nonetheless, this situation demonstrates the type of cultural

misunderstanding that foreigners have with locals. 

Additionally, many foreigners have called Vieques home and consider themselves

locals to the land without truly emerging into the community. Ana Composta mentions:

You can find them calling themselves locals. You go and read the menu and it
says "the jangueo site of the locals", obviously, "the locals hang out." None of
them are locals, I am not even a local. I was born at The Rio Piedras Medical
Center on the Big Island, I'm not from Vieques. I've been here for nine years-- I'm
naturalized.

The name “jangueo site of the locals” and the people who mostly hang out there,

foreigners, we can see the acknowledgement and “admiration” of the Puerto Rican

culture but not the commitment to what it means to truly be a Viequense. Since locals and

foreigners have different types of realities and life experiences, I argue that foreigners

need to do better at learning what it means to be part of the community that is Vieques.

Additionally, Schmelzkopf  (2016) states:

most longtime expatriates consider themselves to be locals of Vieques, regardless

of their relationship to the Viequense community. They point to their Puerto
Rican citizenship as evidence of their commitment to the island. Yet most do not
have children in the local schools and they have no immediate interest in the
problematic educational system. While some have gotten can-cer or other
contamination-related illnesses, unlike Viequenses, they generally go to the US
mainland for treatment. Moreover, many want to protect the island from land
speculators unless they are the ones buying the properties. 

Foreigners need to look at their positionality and become aware of the colonial system

that they continue to perpetuate. Like Schmeltzkopf mentions, many foreigners want to

protect the island from land speculators unless they are the ones who are buying the land,

nonetheless, this continues to perpetuate the problem that local Viequenses constantly

42
face. Similarly, Ana Composta states, “we still have a colonized patriarchal system; they

are the ones who have the land, the businesses. We are the ones who scrub, cook, clean,

do all the work. There is a process of passive aggressive gentrification that continues to

happen in Vieques.” Foreigners maintain control and power in Vieques through their

money; they buy land and only create economic partnerships with other foreigners. To

further this point, Schmeltzkopf (2016) states that:

most entrepreneurial migrants would not identify themselves with neocolo-

nialism, a term they use for big corporations who want to build hotels and res-
taurants on “their” island, particularly because the majority of these migrants were
motivated initially by lifestyle rather than by business opportunities. Yet
neocolonialism is present; expatriates control the tourism industry. 

The quote above demonstrates the lifestyle privileges of foreigners who think they are not

a problem because they are doing “minimal” investments on the island. However, the

problem is that these little businesses take from the community that genuinely is and

needs to rebuild itself. The Viequenses cannot compete with the group of business that

these foreigners bring as a way of “integrating” and “bettering” their new home. To

further this point, the strip of Esperanza has only one business that is owned by local

Viequenses and the rest are owned by white foreigners. This is an example of how slowly

things are becoming owned by the foreigner, again maintaining colonial power

dynamics. 

43
Chapter 2: Resilient Agriculture and Community Solidarity: The Survival of
Viequenses 

The violent colonial history of Vieques has created much hurt in the lives of

Viequenses. The constant bombardment and disrespect by the United States Navy

destroyed many lives in Vieques. The environmental damages and health damages are

still felt today, the fight against colonial ruling contintinues and the strength of the

Viequenses can be seen through the fight against the Navy. Viequenses are resilient and

rely on one another to get through the tough situations that the United States has

produced. Morevorer, in this chapter, I start off by explaining the realities of Viequenses

44
today when it comes to the resources that are in place. I look into the food vulnerability

that is felt in Vieques, specifically looking at the governmental damage done. Then I

move on to understanding how working in agriculture is a way that folks have responded

to the abandonment of the government. Next, I turn to community solidarity and how

folks across Vieques have dedicated themselves to the survival of their people.

Nonetheless, folks in Vieques, have used their solidarity with one another to create

community and produce resilient agriculture in order to survive the inequalities produced

throughout the years of colonial ruling. I argue that through agricultural education and

community solidarity, Viequenses can become food sovereign, directly working towards

decolonization and becoming autonomous. 

The current realities of Vieques consists of a violent colonial relationship with

both Puerto Rico and the United States. Those in Vieques, have a damaging colonial

dependency that has hurt their health and lifestyle over the years. In Vieques today, there

is a huge lack of resources in the agriculture sector, food sector, transportation sector and

in the medical sector. All these resources are interconnected and they each exacerbate the

difficulty of the other. For instance, Ryan Morgan (2016) states:

Poverty in Vieques exacerbates the health crises – all of the above issues occur on
an island without a functioning hospital. The hospital that had existed there
succumbed to a project of privatization of medical services in Puerto Rico during
the mid-1980s, and became nothing more than a “glorified first-aid station.” As a
result, residents who are suffering from any of the myriad severe health problems
prominent in Vieques (to say nothing of people who have other medical
emergencies) have to take a lengthy ferry ride to Fajardo, on the main island of
Puerto Rico, to receive proper treatment.

Ryan Morgan’s statement demonstrates the vulnerability of folks in Vieques. After

Hurricane Maria, the hospital in Vieques completely closed down, and the residents still

do not have any proper health care. During immediate emergencies, the residents depend

45
on a helicopter to fly them to the nearest hospital, which is Fajardo. Furthermore, due to

the high rates of cancer, which is a result of the contamination generated by the US Navy,

Viequenses continuously rely on the ferry to take them to receive medical attention.

Nonetheless, this dependency on the ferry further creates huge issues because many

extremely sick patients are prone to death, and also traveling back and forth becomes

expensive and dangerous. To further understand the damages of the ferry, Robert Rabin

states:

The Maritime transportation system is vital for the life of Vieques and Culebra
and the government of Puerto Rico does not give a shit about the people and even
less the transportation system. They have let it slowly destroy and now they are
looking to get away from their ministerial responsibility to provide transportation
for us, with this idea of privatization. Like if it were to be a business, when it's a
human right. It's the government's duty. So the people suffer the consequences
every day, especially the vulnerable communities like the older people more on
older people, young mothers with infants, sick people, college students. Even
tourism suffers,? Both the tourists who want to arrive, as well as tourism in
Vieques. It is important to continue and we are super pleased that there is a big
effort, that we see a community organization, the collective Mas que 135 working
together. 

Robert Rabin demonstrates the frustration and suffering of the Viequenses through his

description of the lack of responsibility of the government. Having access to

transportation, is a human right that Puerto Rico along with the United States deprives

folks from having. Additionally, Oscar talks about the lack of dedication from the

government to improve the ferry, he states:

The ferry has a lot of problems because it has never been administered correctly.
For instance they do not even have a mechanical workshop. In Puerto Rico
everything goes in and out by sea so when one boat gets stuck it slows down the
whole process and we get stuck without many resources. The things are sold
become incredibly expensive, and you always have to be very careful to make
sure that the items in the supermarket do not have mold and have gone bad. 

46
The quote above puts in perspective the lack of commitment that the government has for

the people of Vieques. Not having proper administration or tools for the ferry

demonstrates the disposability of the lives of those in Vieques. Evertime, I went to the

grocery store in Vieques, I spent most of the time looking for items that were not expired.

I even changed to a vegetarian diet because the meat that I ate made me sick. This

experience allowed me to further understand the dietary restrictions that many have

because of the quality of food. 

To further understand the dangers of not having proper maritime transportation, I

look into three quotes, by Ana Composta, Ique and Hilda Bonilla which speak on the

vulnerability of those in Vieques. For instance, Ana Composta states:

If there are not any boats arriving in one week- for whatever catastrophic reason
or whatever it is, there is no food in Vieques. In one week that the boats do not
come to Puerto Rico, there will be no food in the stores, anywhere. However, in
the mountains there is yuca, thank God that we might be able to get by with the
natural resources that we keep planting. We need to keep planting because the
forest is transforming from being tropical and fruitful to spiky and arid.

Puerto Rico and the United States both understand that not having proper maritime

transportation in Vieques puts the lives of Viequenses in immense danger. Since Vieques

relies on imported food, there needs to be adequate administration in order to ensure that

people are not left hungry; however, that is not the case, and people in Vieques have

experienced hunger. For instance, Hilda Bonilla states, “If we have a problem on the pier

of San Juan, in the docks of the two islands municipality, people go hungry, and we have

felt that crisis when the ferry does not arrive.” Through this quote we can understand the

urgency and vulnerability of those in Vieques; not having food is a human rights

violation that needs to be addressed urgently. Furthermore, to fully understand the food

47
vulnerability in Vieques, it is essential to note that 85% of the food that comes into

Puerto Rico is imported. For instance, Sarah Sax (2019) states that: 

Puerto Rico, which consistently ranks higher for food insecurity and hunger than
most other parts of the U.S., imports roughly 85 percent of its food—that number
jumped to 95 percent after Hurricane Maria. Food insecurity on Vieques is
compounded even more by an irregular and unreliable ferry service. Earlier this
spring, for instance, both cargo ferries to the island were broken, cutting off
residents’ access to gas, milk, eggs, and fresh produce.

Nonetheless, the ferry service in Vieques is vital for the survival of Viequenses. The lack

of autonomy to have good locally grown food is a direct symptom of the colonial

relationship that is imposed on the Viequenses. During my conversation with Ique, he

spoke about the importance of ending the dependency of waiting for food and how

becoming autonomous on the agriculture sector can help stop the food vulnerability in

Vieques. Ique stated: 

The ferry that we have here, although a slow route was implemented, the
problems are still the same, nothing has changed. Many times, there isn't even
transportation, the boat breaks, there is no more diesel for the boat, the weather is
bad so it won’t get there, etc, a lot of problems. We do not have a form of having
food, we rely on food being brought to us. One of the ways to stop this
dependency is by having our own agriculture, if we do that in community a
different communities also grow food hen we can sustain each other. Here we
depend on maritime transportation, where boats are not reliable because of the
weather and other things, we need to have our own agriculture in order to sustain
ourselves.

The quote above demonstrates how building community and growing food is a direct way

of never having to rely on the government for food since they are leaving people hungry. 

To put into perspective Ique’s push for autonomy, we can think of the

abandonment of the government during Hurricane Maria. For instance, William

Cummings (2018) states, “President Donald Trump denied that Hurricane Maria killed

nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico last year and said the death toll was a Democratic

48
ploy to "make me look as bad as possible." Donald Trump's political agenda to make

things personal, demonstrates the lack of urgency and importance in making sure that

Puerto Ricans received adequate resources to survive Hurricane Maria. The disposability

of these lives can be seen when Trump denied the deaths of Puerto Ricans. Similarly, the

mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz (2019), stated "The US government response has

been inadequate, has been inefficient, and has been inappropriate," says Cruz. She alleges

that Puerto Ricans have yet to see any of the $4.9bn loan approved by the federal

government in November.” Cruz’ statement shows the disbelief of abandonment that the

government produced. Puerto Ricans were speaking out and continue to do so because

staying quiet will allow for the colonial ruling to continue. 

Nonetheless, Hurricane Maria was a tremendous tragedy that demonstrated the

lack of commitment and responsibility to the lives of Puerto Ricans. It further showed the

unsustainable practices along with the inequitable relations of power and the disposability

of these bodies. Similarly, Nidia spoke about what occurred when Hurricane Maria hit

Puerto Rico, and how folks were left with many food restrictions because of the food

shortage. She stated:             

When there are problems with ferries things go scarce. That's what happened
during Hurricane Maria because Fajardo's ferries couldn't get out. Those who are
vegetarians those who are vegetarian because they had problems, because they
had to eat something other than vegetables. We did not have anything that was
green, so no vegetables and that is where the panic came in. 

Clearly, Nidia demonstrates how people struggled to find the food that they needed in

order to survive. The abandonment by the government shows the reality of the colonial

dependency that currently occurs. These lives do not matter to the government, which is

49
why they did not receive food in the first place, and if food does arrive, the food is

unhealthy. For example, an NPR report stated:

They found that 11 of the 107 different food items in the warehouse were candy
and chips, including M&Ms and Twizzlers. And every item in the fruit category,
which included sweetened fruit cups and applesauce, exceeded the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans' recommendations for added sugars. Eighty-three
percent of veggies, which were all canned, exceeded the recommended content of
sodium.

The words “exceeding the dietary guidelines for Americans” demonstrates that Puerto

Ricans are not thought of as American, therefore, they receive food that would not be

beneficial for their health. During my conversation with Jorge Cora, he spoke about the

health risks of feeding your body unhealthy bad food. He stated:

A person who does not eat healthy, will also not have a healthy mind. Someone
who is eating chips, and refined food with a bunch of chemicals, already has a
mind that is not okay. You need to have good food in order to have good
thoughts. We have a huge mental health problem going on, it is very serious,
immensely serous. The amount of people that have to take medication, that is a
huge, before there would be one or 2 crazy people but now that number has
increased. What is happening? There are  so many people with dietary health
problems, so many! Before it was older people with stomachs, now there are 12
year olds walking with huge stomach. 

Jorge Cora’s statement demonstrates the changes throughout time that he has seen in the

health of generations. During our conversation, he also mentioned that the

industrialization of food has a lot to do with the changes in health today. He also stated

that he grew up growing from the land, therefore, he understands the importance of eating

from the land. Furthermore, he also stated:

We are eating food that is dead, the food is not alive that is why there is so much
cancer. That is why there are so many people who do not have any energy to
work, they are not receiving the proper nutrients that they need. There are so
many people who are poorly fed  and so many people with diseases because of
our current food system. 

50
Jorge Coras description of the health realities in Puerto Rico shows his understanding of

how the government is controlling the lives of folks. He mentions that the food that

people are eating is dead and serves the purpose of ailing the body. The constant mass

production of food continues to further the failings of the global food system. The global

food system has failed to account for all the lives of folks and has served to neglect,

malnourished and exacerbate the problems of the food crisis. For instance, Damian

Carrington (2018)  spoke about the damages of the global food system, he states:

The global food system is responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions,
which is more than all emissions from transport, heating, lighting and air
conditioning combined. The global warming this is causing is now damaging food
production through extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. The food
system also fails to properly nourish billions of people. More than 820 million
people went hungry last year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation, while a third of all people did not get enough vitamins. At the same
time, 600 million people were classed as obese and 2 billion overweight, with
serious consequences for their health. On top of this, more than 1bn tonnes of
food is wasted every year, a third of the total produced.

Through the quote above, we can understand the damage that currently occurs throughout

the world because of the current food system that is in place. Our current food system is

extraordinarily unsustainable and regularly neglects folks as well as the planet. The mass

production of unhealthy food consistently puts the lives of people at risk because of the

lack of nutrients. Furthermore, the global food system is a symptom of colonization with

the goal to mass-produce and commodify in order to have a capital gain. Nonetheless, the

realities of the global food system can be analyzed through the realities of the folks in

Vieques. For the next section of this chapter, I look at the reality of the food system in

Vieques, by working through the experiences and statements that folks in Vieques spoke

to me about. Nonetheless, the lack of resources in Vieques is a result of the dependency

due to the colonial ruling. Folks have worked with one another to become autonomous

51
and to provide the resources that the government fails to provide by being in solidarity

with one another and accountable to the dedication of being sovereign. 

Imported Food 

In Vieques, farmers are working the land to grow food and feed themselves and

their community. These farmers are trying to build community and become food

sovereign in order to become autonomous and become a few steps closer to ending the

colonial ruling of the United States in Puerto Rico. By maintaining a dependency, the

United States continues to control the lives of Puerto Ricans- Viequenses. For instance,

the Former US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger stated,

“If you control the oil you control the country; if you control food, you control the

population.” This quote represents the minds of those with colonial power; their goal is to

maintain control. When it comes to an understanding of the realities of this food

vulnerability, residents of Vieques have a lot to say. For instance, Hilda Bonilla states: 

Well, we recognize that in the archipelago, 85% of the food that we eat is
imported. Most of the food comes from the United States, and not directly from
the country that produces it. We have a huge food vulnerability problem here. The
food that we eat, gets worse and worse. Most of those products come through the
United States, they do not come directly from that country that produces it. So the
issue of vulnerability, because whatever happens on that route of that food, that
supply chain is affected, and then the product does not reach that supermarket
shelf. We have that within that crisis, the solution is to learn agriculture.

Hilda states that the solution is to learn how to work the land. By growing their own food

they remove control from the United States. Robert Rabin speaks on the United States as

a big corporation controlling the food industry, he states:

Puerto Rico imports 80% of its food. This is crazy., right? A country that could be
producing for export, but, again, you have to understand this in the colonial
context, right? The green giant, the United States, does not want people living in
Puerto Rico to grow their own food. This is a captive clientele. So imagine, if

52
 80% of food is imported in Puerto Rico, in Vieques, it is 95% of the food. The
food also arrives from the ferry, and it is the leftover food of the other markets,
they come canned. It is a serious problem that contributes to the health problems
of the human development of our families.

Robert Rabin shows how the United States has maintained its control of the food system

in Puerto Rico in order to have a capital gain. People in Puerto Rico are not eating

healthy, locally grown food; instead, they are eating food that has either been mass-

produced or has been sitting in a box for months. Ana Composta spoke about the toxins

that are in the food that Viequenses purchase because of the mass production of those

items. She states: 

Puerto Rico also imports most of its food, they send what is left over. We are
going through a food crisis, because if you go to the supermarket here, you don't
get anything fresh, everything you can buy or consume is processed with a high
content of chemicals. It takes a long time, it comes from far away, and it has been
packed for a long time. It is difficult to eat healthy here, but we have the capacity
and potential to produce food.

These foods that are produced do not benefit the health of the people. Viequenses have

seen the difference between healthy locally grown food and imported food. For instance,

Ann states: 

When you buy food in the supermarket, many of the food has chemicals so that it
will grow fast. I prefer that my food grows at its natural state. God gives, I know
that when I eat what I produce, I can eat with confidence, I am not scared about
something bad happening. Before, the food that we would buy did not have so
many chemicals. Now if you look at a pumpkin that you have grown yourself
versus one you buy, you  The pumpkin that you grew in you has is strong and you
see that it can last one week, two weeks, and you do not see any damage because
it does not have any chemicals. WHen I grow food, I never put chemicals, never
in my plants, things should come from God, and I enjoy that. Many people buy
things, but I don't buy anything in order to ensure I am not intaking any
chemicals! 

Her description of the differences that she noticed in the quality of food that she grows

versus the food that is store bought, demonstrates the importance and urgency to locally

53
produce. The chemicals that are used in order to mass produce, are destroying the health

of the people.  

Hilda Bonilla spoke about the accountability that folks need to take in order to

survive the current colonial violence. She mentioned that the negative response of the

government during Hurricane Maria shows the proof of the disposability of these lives.

She believes that it is vital for folks to accept the violent reality of the disposability of

their lives and need to learn how to grow their own food. She states:

After Hurricane Maria, people started to understand the importance of producing

food. Many have spoken about how they want to start growing food but they have
not truly committed. They need to practice producing food and give it the
importance that it deserves from society. Agriculture is spectacularly important,
and for years we have left it,  since industrialization we have misassessed the
contribution of agriculture to our society. We need to reevaluate our relationship
to agriculture, and figure out what to do with our current food crisis. 

 Similarly, Jorge spoke out about the accountability that people need to have with

one another. By being conscious about what is being consumed folks can truly

understand what they are putting in their body, he states:

We need to construct a society that is more aware, especially in Vieques, because

people need to be aware of what they are consuming because everything that is
consumed is imported and the things that arrive are never in good quality. We
need to care about agriculture because without it, we would be even more lost
than we are now. Through this work, through agriculture, I hope that we stop
bringing all the bad food to Vieques and that we are able to sustain ourselves with
healthy, fresh food that we can produce. 

Understanding what you are putting in your body allows there to be health changes in
Viequenses. The food that folks currently eat are harmful to the body therefore, changes
will be felt and appreciated. For instance, Miranda Herbert Ferrara and Michele P.
LaMeau  (2015) state:

There are a variety of reasons for maintaining a healthy diet, such as preventing
disease, controlling weight, and sustaining an overall longer and better quality of
life. A poor diet and lack of proper exercise have been linked to heart disease,
several different forms of cancer, and diabetes. According to the American
Cancer Society, for example, consuming processed and fried meats and alcoholic

54
 drinks increases the risk for colon and liver cancers. Unhealthy eating habits and
an inactive lifestyle have also been linked to a variety of anxiety issues and
depression.

Nonetheless, the consumption of healthy food works further to decolonize the body

because it is no longer being intoxicated. The quality of life decreases when people intake

food that is unhealthy and not fresh. Clearly, the constant intake of such horrible food has

massive health risks that require centuries of healing. 

The Misunderstanding of Farming and Education  

We have not educated our society to understand that agriculture is the most
important industry in the community and that it would be an honor to farm
because it is what will sustain everyone's life. When it comes to resources, people
do not think about working in agriculture, the young man is not taught in school
what agriculture is. Many of the adults, the older folks have been traumatized in
agriculture, before the nuclear family was forced to produce, therefore those who
are traumatized say “why are you going to work as a farmer when everything is at
the supermarket?”    

Hilda Bonilla spoke about the generational gap that she has noticed in agriculture. The

trauma that was embedded in these folks, hindered them from having a relationship with

growing food. Hilda Bonilla and Geigel both believe that in order for there to be a

generational shift, the youth and the community need to be educated about the blessings

and importance of growing food. Hilda Bonilla states:

We need to mainstream the message that “without  agriculture there is no food

and there is no life.  We humans do not produce-- our body does not produce
food. Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis, we do not have that
capacity. So we need three plates of food every day, healthy, nutritious and
balanced food, which farming provides. Without the resources needed in
agriculture, human beings cannot thrive. Therefore, I have learned that agriculture
is the most important industry in the eco-society of Puerto Rico and of any
country. Nonetheless, the only way to see changes is by working the whole
community, the whole community; from education within schools, having a
curriculum in schools aimed at agriculture. We also need to push the government
to understand that the input of agriculture is important for the gross income of the
country, because we are all evaluated, all industries in the government are

55
 evaluated by the contribution to the gross income of the country, but the income
of agriculture is what most contributes, directly and indirectly. 

The quote above demonstrates the importance of growing food and the value that it has

for human life. The agriculture sector in Puerto Rico can be profitable for the

government, Hilda mentions that as a way of “selling” agriculture to the government

since they only seem to care about economic gain. The push to educate young folks is

essential because it allows for the generational knowledge that is farming to be passed on

throughout the years. Also, learning about agriculture at a young age disrupts the

negative conceptions that society produces throughout the years since students will

understand the importance of growing food. Monte Stevens (2019) taks about the

spiritual connection to food, and the importance of learning the ancestral stories passed

on while people grow food. Farming allows for conversations about how the social

system was built and forgetting about them, is an act of violence in itself. Nonetheless,

these stories were used in past generations to educate the youth about the necessity of

farming. Similarly, Geigel mentions:

You change their thinking, if young students are getting involved in growing food
from the moment that they start school, society will change and thrive. We will
change the values that are in place, and there will finally be value in working in
the land. When you think about the classes that are taught here, you get lessons on
the United States but never any history or lessons on Puerto Rico so of course if
you start changing the education that people are receiving, then changes will be
seen in the world. We need to educate our youth on the importance of land and
the importance of their own history.

Geigel states that in order to change society, the youth need to start learning about

agriculture as soon as they get in school. Additionally, Geigel touches upon the erasure of

knowledge and history that education produces. Instead of seeing the value in Puerto

Rico's knowledge, there is this push to learn about what is "modern." The shift to

56
industrialization placed agriculture in a negative platform so, agriculture was not seen as

a successful career but rather as an "easy" career that the "peasants" would do. Similarly,

Ique spoke out on the misjudgment of farming, he states:

Many people think that farming is just throwing a little plant in the ground, and
it’ll grow. That's what people seem to believe, but working in agriculture is
extremely hard, and we need help not only from the community but also from the
government.  .

Through this quote, we can understand the frustration that Ique experienced because of

the lack of value in agriculture by society. The misunderstanding of agriculture as

something easy and less than demonstrates the colonial impact on society.  Similarly,

Carly Graf (2019) mentions:

We were taught that growing food in your backyard was uncivilized,” said
Rodríguez Besosa, an architect-turned activist at the center of this agricultural
revival. “And we were told that having canned food made us first-class citizens. 

The term “uncivilized” was a word that was used to deflect people from growing their

own food and entering into the agriculture sector. Many of the farmers that I interviewed

stated that they experienced discrimination because they were farmers. They stated that

many people called them dirty and saw them as “uncivilized.” For example, Jorge Cora

states:

But certainly, agriculture or farmers, mainly in Puerto Rico, are not respected,
they don't have the place that farmers really deserve for being the most important
part of a society. But farmers, in general, are branded with little intellectual
knowledge and people think that farming only consists of sowing a small plant or
finding a machete, but it goes much further than that. We have to be aware that
the earth really is very important, and agriculture is the fundamental basis of
humanity.  However, society wants to relegate it as if it was the least important
part of society. If there is food being made, they mention the chef, they mention
the hosts, they mention everyone except those who cultivated it. The chef is
important yes, because he is going to cook it, but if I do not harvest it, then what
does the chef cook? There needs to be an acknowledgement of our work. 

57
 Jorge Cora describes the negative perspective that people have towards land

workers. Working in the land is not a job that people find as “good.” Those who work in

the land have been considered to be less than or not equitable to other workers. Similarly,

during a conversation with Ana Elisa and Victor, they spoke about the negative stares

they would receive for walking around with clothes full of dirt. The negative perspective

of working in the land can be transformed by going directly to the land and growing

food. 

The rejection of agriculture work is a direct method that colonial power has used

to stop younger generations from learning how to produce their own food. Growing food

has a direct connection to our liberation; therefore, it is one step closer to decolonizing

our minds. Hilda Bonilla believes that being able to grow your own food is one of the

first steps to being able to decolonize yourself. For instance, Hilda Bonilla states:

Colonialism has led us to stop producing food, and depend completely on the
United States. Since the beginning of industrialization, human resources have
been distancing themselves from agriculture, and started industrializing. But, of
course, sustainable agriculture decolonizes us, because if we had food security,
we do not have to depend on any other country, and we must do it in a sustainable
way. So my philosophy within the institution to first produce what we are going
to eat, and then export. But first, we must be responsible here locally and in the
community of goods.

There is power in being able to feed yourself, and agriculture is a tool that can save you

during times of crisis. The rejection to focus on the economic benefit of growing food

already demonstrates the rejection of what is colonial. The goal of growing food is to stop

hunger not to have economic gain. Hilda Bonilla mentions that folks need to be

responsible to one another in order to move forward in the community. Holding one

another accountable to grow food is the only way to change the current food system that

is in place. 

58
 Importance of Agriculture/ Benefits for Survival 

To understand why agriculture is so important to these folks, I asked the question

“what has agriculture done for you?” I ask this question to put in perspective the positive

outcomes of rejecting what the government is giving. I have understood that agriculture

produced by these folks is resilient and a direct form of survival for those who refuse to

depend on the violent colonial food system that is hurting people. During conversations

about growing food, Viequenses spoke about the importance and the benefits of growing

their own food. For instance, Ique states:

From Agriculture, I have learned a lot. Agriculture is healing, it is mental healing

just like it is healing for the products that are being used. It is the nourishment that
everyone receives, without a plant no one can survive, not the animals, no one.
Everything is based off a plant, life is based on what is planted. What agriculture
has mostly done, is give us a lot of food, especially to me and to the community. I
have the satisfaction of saying “ here's a bag of gandules or here have these
plantains. 

Throughs Ique’s experiences in agriculture, we can see the power in feeding the

community. Being accountable to the community demonstrates the commitment to the

humanity and life of the other person. This allows me to think about the Zulu proverb

“Umuntu ngumuntu ngamantu,” in short Ubuntu, which means: “I am a person through

other people. My humanity is tied to yours.” Ubuntu, demonstrates that people depend on

one another to survive; humanity needs each one of us in order to create change and be

okay. Like Oscar states, “we need to understand that at the moment of truth, that we are

in the same boat, and all the things that one does will affect other people, good or bad.

We need to learn how to be with other people.” 

The Solution is to Grow Food with the Community 

59
 Community solidarity can be understood as a philosophy based on the belief that

empowered compassionate communities can heal themselves and in doing so create the

blueprint for greater social change. According to Max Scheler's (1989) notion of

solidarity, solidarity can be defined as the reciprocal relationship between the whole and

its parts. By situating this definition with the current realities of Vieques, we can see the

reciprocal relationships between those in the community in order to ensure that everyone

is receiving equal access to resources and are not hungry. The push to connect all

members of the community together through education, art, food, etc, directly works to

dismantle the colonial dependency with the United States and Puerto Rico. Additionally,

since I was working with Ana Elisa Quintero during my stay in Vieques, I was able to

navigate the island through my connections at La Colmena Cimarrona. 

To understand the solidarity that I experience and recorded, I first look into the

work of La Colmena Cimarrona and then I move on to discuss the conversation that I had

with individual community members. I specifically look into the goals of La Colmena

Cimarrona and their role on the land of Vieques. Based on my US understanding and

assumptions about resilient agriculture and the Island of Vieques, I assumed that La

Colmena Cimarroan was an organization that had already been developed. Through my

work with Ana Elisa, I understood that the organization was a beautiful work in progress

that brought different community members together. During my first meeting, I was so

impressed with the commitment that I saw between these folks. There was a small group

that consisted of lawyers, farmers, educators, community members and more. Each

person was dedicated to the organization and all shared the common goal to decolonize

the current colonial system in place. During this time, massive protest were also

60
occurring and each member that participated had also been involved in that, whether it be

organizing or just speaking about it. Before this meeting, Ana Elisa, others and I had a

long journey from San Juan back to Vieques. The constant work that Ana Elisa produced

while protesting and also planning, demonstrated her full commitment to her people.  Her

dedication and commitment is transcended through her work with La Colmena

Cimarrona. La Colmena Cimarrona can be understood as a community organization that

serves to provide support to the Vieques community by creating sustainable agricultural

markets for the people of Vieques. The organization also works through community-

based resilient agriculture that produces food in a healthy and accessible way for

everyone. The intention is to eliminate existing inequities by germinating food

sovereignty in Puerto Rico.    

La Colmena Cimarrona works to create solidarity between different communities

in Vieques. Their goal as an organization is to sustain the community of Vieques through

the resources that each community member can provide. Their mission statement states: 

The greatest need of the organization is to sustain the income of the jobs that we
want to generate by harmonizing the project of La Sambumbia and Finca
Conciencia. We need to be able to germinate sustainable markets that provide
products at affordable prices to the Viequense community. Also mobilize
products not usually marketed by farmers, fishermen and people who work
medicinal plants in the community. This ensures that nobody is denied access to
foods that heal, due to their economic situation. Additionally, the carpentry and
cabinetmaking workshops at Finca Conciencia would strengthen the apiary and
beekeeping work in Vieques, in turn generating other safer jobs for residents. 

La Colmena Cimarrona works directly to build community. This organization serves as a

collective that connects the community and farmers together in order to ensure that the

people of Vieques are eating. Becoming food sovereign is the only way to ensure that

local agricultural production is being prioritized in order to feed the people. La Colmena

61
Cimarrona has worked to reach the goal of autonomy, Finca Conciencia a farm that is a

part of La Colmena Cimarronas network has worked with the community in order to

create relationships and demonstrate the value in producing food. Jorge Cora, the founder

of Finca Conciencia talks about the work that Finca Conciencia does in order to ensure

food sovereignty. He mentions:

Finca Conciencia tries to look for food sovereignty, something that is quite
difficult. The  important thing in all, is to take the first step and it is one that we
have taken. There are many things that we need, and there is very little that is
planted in Vieques, there is  also very little the amount of land that is destined for
agriculture in Vieques and in Puerto Rico. If we compare the amount of people
that we have with what we produce, we can see that we produce very little.
However, we have a good climate to produce all year long and that is something
we do not do. We have 12 months of the year to produce and we could have many
types of products if we wanted to innovate. If we really wanted, we could even
conduct our own investigation to see the good and nutritious food that Puerto
Rico can give. If Puerto Rico lends itself to that, the whole food system can
change. Because Puerto Rico has climates and microclimates in the same place
and that gives us the opportunity to produce different things in the same town.
That gives an advantage because certainly with a single product one does not
feed. One feeds on different products that is why we emphasize a lot in
polyculture and strongly criticize monoculture because monocultures destroy the
earth, destroy the biodiversity that exists there and if biodiversity is destroyed we
destroy ourselves. 
 
Jorge demonstrates that with the work of the community, people can be food sovereign.

The push for everyone to be autonomous shows the commitment to one another. La

Colmena Cimarrona and Finca Conciencia are both great examples of the movement that

folks want to create. The dedication to one another is seen through community activities,

in the changes in health that are seen, and in the love that people share. I personally

experienced an immense amount of love and commitment from the Viequenses. These

folks were living proof of the Ubuntu proverb. This takeaway allowed me to understand

that education and community solidarity are both tools in order to ensure autonomy and

62
sovereignty. However, building community can be difficult, for instance, Hilda Bonilla

stated:

Solidarity. That is the perfect community, that we are all supportive. The problem
is that we do not learn until a crisis comes, we do not check on the neighbor until
there is a problem. We are not perfectly supportive, so we have to work on it a lot.
And it is what gives stability to the community, because it is held by solidarity. I
support you, you support me. In every sense of the word. This is how we need to
connect in solidarity. 

“We must be patient and respect each other, and we must work together for the common

good and to protect our common resources. We definitely have to be supportive; we have

to put ourselves in each others shoes” (Ana Composta). Hilda Bonilla demonstrates the

realities of life when it comes to people. Society is definitely not perfectly supportive,

and people can have different strong opinions, therefore Ana Compostas statement

demonstrates the commitment that people need to have with one another. It's important

for folks to see the “human” in each other and be understanding with one another.

Additionally, in order to change the food system, people need to be dedicated in

the work. For instance, Oscar, Ique and Geigel all understand the realities of what it takes

to become sovereign. Oscar states:

Solidarity. Well, like I told you, this has to be done with several people, if you
want to do it in some non-industrial way, because you're going to have to do it
with other people, and to be honest the only way it works is if people get along.
This must be done because we need it. We need people who have the experience
of how to grow in a non-manufacturing way of food production, because that is
my fear in this work, that the knowledge will be forgotten. If we let it lose for one
or two generations, it will be very difficult for us to try to bring it back. This work
was passed generationally and we need to pick it up little by little. 

Generational knowledge is important and needs to be listened to because of the value in

the past lessons. The goal is to be sustainable. For generations, folks have grown food

and have sustained themselves. The government infested trauma of society has tried to

63
diminish the power of growing food in order to hinder the autonomy of Viequenses. That

is why it is important for folks to have relationships with one another in order to build

community and unity. For instance, Ique states:

For me solidarity would be mostly having a union between farmers and people so
that they can become interested in agriculture. Like, for example, I would say
creating a school for farmers. Also, as soon as the child is able he needs to be
motivated and taught how to cultivate the land. 

Additionally, it is immensely essential to educate one another on the importance of

growing food. Generational knowledge is important to the growth and sustainability of

society. The connection between farmers and community members allows for

sustainability between the two because of the common connection in wanting to intake

healthy fresh food. Through education and dialogue about agriculture people can be more

aware of the value in growing food. Similarly, Geigel mentions the importance of

teaching about farming at a young age to the youth in order for them to understand the

responsibility that is required in order to sustain society. He states:

Education from a young age, that's all, fostering a love for the land that starts
from a young age. We need to give them the tools to learn and grow. Also it is
important to like agriculture, because it is not for everyone. Some people will not
be able to handle the sun, not everyone can sow, not everyone has the strength. 

The quote above demonstrates the importance of introducing agriculture to society in

order to move forward. By educating the youth on agriculture at a young age, they can

make a decision on whether they would like to work the land or move on to another field.

Through the education that is passed on folks can understand the realities of farming,

which works to destroy the negative view on agriculture as a successful job. 

Hilda, Ique and Geigel all know the urgency of producing food, they understand

the commitment that is needed and work towards building community in order to ensure

64
that people know the immense benefits of growing food. They all individually work with

the youth and the community to disrupt the dependency that the United States has

created. Additionally, Hilda states that the education of agriculture needs to start in the

family as well. She states:

Having a space in your house even if it is a small one is important. Create goals to
buy less things in the supermarket. It is important to minister these changes in the
family nucleus, there can be a set time where those in the family go to work in the
garden. Those how things were before industrialization, so we need to find those
roots again, and above all educate all people in agriculture in order to harmonize
the natural resources.  We need to know how to navigate the resources that are in
this land. We need to learn about the water and the soil so that we do not cause
any damage to the land.  

Hilda recommends families to go back to their growing roots, there is power in feeding

yourself. No one can take the food that you grow because you are growing, that

autonomy works to disrupt the colonial dependency of Vieques. Having respect for the

resources of the world allows for the continuation of life. 

Conclusion 

Living in Vieques, has broadened my perspective on how I understand the world.

At first, I wanted to focus my research on black farmers specifically; however, I realized

that I was thinking about race through the context of the United States- US framework.
65
As I engaged in conversations with Jorge Cora, Geigel, and Nidia, I started understanding

the different perspectives of blackness in Puerto Rico. The discourse of race in Vieques

came with much empowerment but also violence. 

Nonetheless, as I continued living in Vieques, I noticed the division in the land

was usually between foreigners and Viequenses. The Viequenses that I spoke to stated

that they were a mixture of people, the mix of the Indigenous, African, and the Spanish.

People were proud to be black. When I asked the question of how you identify racially,

many asked for an example of what I meant, I would say "would you consider yourself

black, white, indigenous?" and many would stop me midway to talk about their

blackness. For instance, during a conversation with Geigel, an Afro-boricua, he

sarcastically responded, what color are you seeing me?, in which I stated that I did not

feel comfortable racializing him and he replied: "I'm blond with green eyes, no, I'm

black, soy prieto." In the past, the term prieto has been a negative way of derifitinating

from brown and black, as a means of rejection of the African roots. Nonetheless, Geigel

reclaimed the word and used it with the power to describe the beauty of his identity.

Furthermore, during my conversation with Nidia, she mentioned that she did not have

any inferior complexities of being black and that if people had a problem with her skin

color, then they just needed to keep it pushing because she was not going to stop for

them. Similar to Geigel, Nidia, found power in her identity. 

Like mentioned before, the conversation on race allowed for different experiences to be

shown. During my conversation with Jorge Cora about blackness, he states: 

Being black is like a curse in society. People want to humiliate you, and they want
you to do as they say. They look at you is if they were above you, they laugh, they
say homophobic jokes. Society has associate everything terrible with blackness.

66
 For instance, why does dirty water have to be called "black water." why can't
people say it is just murky water? 

Jorge Cora explains how society connects blackness with what is dirty and what is

wrong. He mentions that being black is like being cursed because of the constant pain and

torture that colonization has perpetuated throughout the world. Additionally, I asked

Jorge Cora why there were not many black farmers, and he stated: 

There are not many black farmers because blacks did not have much land to do
agriculture. Agriculture allowed you to be at a different level because when one
has agricultural knowledge, then one has a long list of plants that are edible or that
serve different things. The farmer is very close to natural medicine and natural
food. If he wanted to feed himself, he could do it because he has his food and he
doesn't have to buy it at the supermarket. Black people were not allowed, so there
were not many farmers. 

Hence, growing food allows for the decolonization of our body and mind. It

creates autonomy and works towards resisting the colonial violence that has tortured

people for centuries. Growing food also allows us to heal the past traumas that have

discouraged us from being free. For instance, Nidia states:

Working the land and growing food, heals the mind. I feel that when I work the
land my mind clears up. Food heals the mind. If you have a lot of problems and
you go to work in the soil, you notice that each day that you work, your mind gets
better and better. I’m not sure if in the psychiatry center the patients are put to
work the land but that is something that should be considered, because I have seen
the benefits of growing food. I know that if growing food helped me then the
whole world can be helped.

Nidia's quote perfectly demonstrates the changes that I personally felt while I

lived in Vieques. Each day I would engage with the land and with soil, which created a

powerful connection between the earth and I. Like, Nida, I felt my mind clear up when I

grew food. I found myself digging my hands in the dirt whenever I did not farm because

of the powerful connection that I had that allowed me to feel clear in my mind. Each day

67
my anxiety reduced through this work. This experience allowed me to ask other farmers

about the mental health changes that they had experienced, and they all attested that

growing food and eating food directly from the land has improved their mental health. 

The island of Vieques has survived the immense amount of violence that the

United States continues to create as a colonial hegemon. The US Navy spent 60 years

inhibiting the development of Vieques while perpetuating violence and trauma for

Vieques. The historical dependency has allowed for the constant disposability of these

lives through the violence of the Navy, the current food system, and more. 

The resilience of Vieques comes from its people who revolutionized for the

removal of the Navy and for the autonomy of their lives. The current agricultural

movement in Vieques works to decolonize the island through education and the unity of

the community. Resilient agriculture serves the purpose of survival and works to

deconstruct the colonial food system at hand actively. The community solidarity in

Vieques has pushed the message of autonomy for folks to feed themselves. 

Growing food is a practice that has been passed down for generations; it is

imperative to continue that practice to ensure the survival of the generations to come.

Through community solidarity, folks can ensure that the knowledge of growing food does

not become extinct. Our ancestor's knowledge are essential, and they have guided us for

centuries. Coloniality does not allow us to see each other as humans; therefore, we must

work harder to remember our ancestors and their stories. Nonetheless, education is a vital

tool that allows for the continuation of generational knowledge- ancestral knowledge.

68
 The resilience of Vieques is credited to the work of the people and their

knowledge of survival, which is passed through the ancestors. Like our ancestors told us

before, it is vital to growing food. Nonetheless, like Ana Composta states: 

Sowing our food is our duty. We are all farmers, we all eat three times a day, we
all have an obligation to agriculture, even if you can't sow every day and dedicate
yourself to it, you are connected to a farmer because you have to eat.

We all engage with food in different ways; each person's understanding allows for

dialogue about what people want to do with the current food system. The power is within

the community, and we have seen that throughout the years in the Viequenses resilience.

This knowledge is powerful, and it allows for the autonomy of the community since folks

are growing their own food, they are providing for themselves, which means that the

government cannot control what is being produced or intake. Nonetheless, through

community solidarity and resilient agriculture, folks can disrupt the damages that the

government has perpetuated. 

The only way to continue to get through is by educating one another, continuing

to resist, and by holding one another accountable. By being responsible and in solidarity

with one another, folks can work together to ensure that they are providing for one

another, and as a result, this will slowly start to decrease governmental dependency.

Becoming autonomous ensures that the power of coloniality slowly gets destroyed

because the government will no longer have a say in people's beliefs. However, this can

only be done if folks are committed and able to respect one another's choices and beliefs.

The common experiences and understanding of how violent the United States is

reminding people of why the goal is to be food sovereign. The United States created

barriers that Viequenses always face demonstrates the lack of commitment that the

69
United States has with Puerto Ricans. The disposability of these lives can be seen through

the abandonment that the US continually participates in. 

It is also immensely important to understand that the violence that our current

society perpetuates comes from colonization. The colonial settler concept of blaming the

victim works to create divisions amongst the people since it is easier to blame someone

near you rather than the government. 

Working through individualism for communal upheaval allows for the exchange

of knowledge and labor. We must build intentional communities around sharing and

taking care of each other to heal our past traumas and slowly work towards improving

each other. As Marz Saffore states, caretaking can be done in multiple ways – turning

toward each other, taking care of each other. We cannot expect vertical power to do that

work for us; therefore, we need to move away from the idea that all we have to offer is

monetary resources. We need to start growing food together so we can distribute food to

food-insecure people in our community. 

We must ensure being in service to the land, Viequnese demonstrates how vital it

is. We need to continually think about how we can serve the land, nature, the universe.

We must think about what our purpose is and how we can live through the embodiment

of what we believe in. This fight is for everyone, it does not only continue in Vieques, but

it must also continue all over the world. We must recognize the situation, identify the

urgency, deconstruct capitalism, and work towards our healing.

70