Early on the morning of January 11th at roughly 2 a.m. in San Juan, Puerto Rico an unusual broadcast aired live from Bad Bunnys Instagram account. Instead of their beloved Benito, fans of the Latin trap singer were greeted by his friend and mentor Ren Prez Joglar, AKA Residente, the rapper of Calle 13 fame. This is Benito, said Prez in the video. But, uh, much older. We want to talk to the governor about crime in Puerto Rico.
Two of the biggest stars in Latin urban music spent the next hour circling La Fortaleza in San Juan, where Governor Ricardo Rossell resides. While Prez and Bad Bunny managed to placate security guards by posing for fan photos, they would not be allowed inside without the governors authorization. Around 5 a.m. I sent Rossell a message on Twitter, Prez tells Rolling Stoneover the phone. I asked if me and Benito [could] go there and drink a coffee with him. Then he answered, I was gonna run, but its okay.' By sunrise, the two had shared a photograph from inside the governors office, littered with miscellaneous documents and folders.
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Ac listos pa Gobernar Sin dormir logramos entrar a fortaleza para hablar sobre opciones de como resolver el crimen en la isla, educacin, la junta de control fiscal, la auditora, la deuda y nos ganamos un caf Gracias @ricardorossello por abrirnos las puertas pa escucharnos. @badbunnypr Without any sleep we managed to get inside the house of the governor of Puerto Rico to talk about options for how to solve crime on the island, education, The Financial Oversight and Management Board, auditing the debt and we won a coffee Thank you @ricardorossello for being accessible and for listening to us @badbunnypr
This was not Prezs first meeting at La Fortaleza; in 2014, he paid avisit to the previous Governor Alejandro Garca Padilla, along with two schoolchildren and their parents, to discuss the needs of working-class families on the island. The rapper returned to the governors mansion in 2019 with a similar objective, but under more dire circumstances. Last week, the New York Times reported that the rate of homicide in Puerto Rico is four times that of the contiguous United States. Multiple videos have emerged of shootings in broad daylight; the murder of Kevin Fret, a 24-year-old trap musician who openly identified as gay, became one of the islands most widely publicized fatalities.
Whats happening with crime in Puerto Rico is bad, and its huge, said Prez. Its been happening for a long time but now theyre doing it in daylight, in the middle of the streets, in front of everyone. The kids dont care, they just shoot people. [Frets murder] adds to the whole situation We were hanging [near] La Fortaleza and I thought it was important to go see the governor that night and have a talk.
I started a conversation like if it was talking to a friend, continues Prez. It was funny. Were around the same age, just talking like human beings. I was like, Cabrn if you want to make huge changes, you have to break the rules and take risks. Thats what I do in music. If you dont take that risk? That change doesnt happen.'
While Governor Rossell sympathized greatly with the artist, this is far from an easy issue to address. When Rossell was sworn into office in 2017, he inherited an island locked down by a controversial federal law called PROMESA the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. Passed by U.S. Congress in 2016 during Governor Garca Padillas time in office, the measure was introduced to manage debt relief for the island which, as of May 2017, owed $74 billion to an assortment of hedge funds, creditors and bond insurers, a situation that worsened following Hurricane Mara that fall. In addition, the island owes over $53 billionin unfunded pensions for government employees. UnderPROMESA, President Obama put in place a fiscal oversight board, locally known as La Junta, comprised of seven unelected appointees. [With] us being a colony,says Prez, Its like asking your dad for money, but he controls what you use it for.
Since its implementation, the fiscal board has issued a strict austerity plan on the U.S. territory, slashing vital funds for healthcare, pensions and education which has contributed to massive school closures, a shrunken police force, and an influx of Puerto Rican youth with idle time on their hands.Prez argues that with fewer schools and educational programs, young people become more liable to turn to crime and violence. The government needs to be more creative, he suggests. Create camps in different barrios so the kids have somewhere safe to go and study.
This has proved difficult, especially in the aftermath of the cataclysmic Hurricane Mara which put additional strains on the islands infrastructure, killed nearly 3,000 people and prompted a mass exodus of an estimated 200,000 Puerto Ricans,greatly reducing the territorysfiscal revenue.President Trump, who had previously floated the idea of clearing Puerto Ricos debt in 2017, has more recently threatened to take disaster relief funds from Puerto Rico and into the border wall between U.S. and Mexico.
Governor Rossell has referred to the debt crisis as a big Ponzi scheme, and filed a lawsuit against the Junta in July 2018. We have focused our cuts not on services, but rather on reducing the size of government, explained Rossell in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone.As soon as I came in, I put in an executive order to reduce 10 percent of the current years budget. I put another executive order to slash political-appointment spending by 20 percent, and weve actually gone above that. The real problem with the Financial Oversight Board is not necessarily the fact that we have to make changes, but rather certain policy measures [such as school closings] that the board doesnt have the power to implement but want to thrust upon us anyway. Thats where the conflict lies.
If we have all this debt from back in the day, why cant we make the audit?counterpoints Prez, referring to a government audit commission quashed by Rossell in 2017 and now in the process of being recouped by citizens.[Rossell told me] the papers are public, anyone can look at them and make an audit. We werent fighting, it was a good conversation. But I said we need to make an audit. I think thats the first step, just to understand whats happening and then to show the country, be transparent with your people.
The art of dissent comes naturally to Prez, who spent his youth attending union rallies with his father, a labor lawyer. As for24-year-old Bad Bunny, this was the first time hed ever stormed La Fortaleza in protest; still, hes managed to remain politically engaged with his island while his music climbs the BillboardLatin and pop charts. Hes taken to social media to criticize Puerto Ricos education system, condemned Trump on live television, and decried violence against women in his own music. It was good for Benito to be at [the governors office], says Prez. Hes connecting with a lot of young people. But hes also a guy who questions things, whos open to new information. Sometimes [artists] have to be like that and say things and they wont lose their crowd. They just have to maintain a balance. Ill say something hardcore, something about violence in the streets, and then Ill do a song with Shakira. Thats the balance.
As for questions of a potential artistic collaboration with Bad Bunny, Prez wouldnt say. He did, however, tease a future solo album: I dont wanna call it hip-hop, but I want to do something more like straight rap, he explains. I think that Ive been doing rap all my career, but people dont understand rap if you dont have the usual beat, and if you dont rap the same way.
Every time that I come to Puerto Rico, I try to do as much as I can, adds Prez. Socially speaking, even though Im with the family. I wanna come back and be a family man and spend more time in Puerto Rico. The thing is when Im on tour, its very difficult to control that. Ive been touring for two years since I did my DNA album. December 1st was my last show, and now Im free.
He mentions another goal: I wanna help out with the feminist movement, he says, referring to theColectiva Feminista en Construccin, who have been holding demonstrations against violent misogyny in Puerto Rico in recent months. Yet after their weekend-long occupation of La Fortaleza last fall, they were beaten and chased out by police. They were trying to talk with the governor and they couldnt, says Prez. So I sent a text to [Rossell] and told him, Bro, I think you have to let these people in and talk to them, its super important whats happening with violence against women around the world and in Puerto Rico. Theres a protest on the 16th. Im gonna check out and see what its about. (Following additional pressure from the group on social media, Rossell did meet with Colectiva Feministaon Tuesday afternoon. The groups protest against taxes imposed by the Junta, held in front ofthe Federal Court,still took place on Wednesday morning.)
Be transparent, says Prez, indirectly addressing Rossell. Make this a U.N. thing. A huge, international thing. If you stand in front of the government of the U.S. and say, Im not gonna pay the debt, Im gonna support you. And a lot of people are gonna support you.