Puerto Rican rally slams Trump over Hurricane Maria response

Sept. 23--Florida's Puerto Rican community and their allies converged in West Palm Beach on Saturday to remember the victims of Hurricane Maria and to blast the federal government for what they see as poor treatment of the U.S. territory.

Among the hundreds to attend the event at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach were two high-profile Democrats hoping to secure the Puerto Rican vote in the Nov. 6 midterm election: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor.

Both criticized what they saw as a weak response by the Trump administration to the hurricane, which devastated the island a year ago, as well as the president's recent comments questioning whether the reported death toll of nearly 3,000 was overstated to make him look bad.

"Those comments just add insult to injury," Nelson said.

Gillum called himself a friend of Puerto Rico and said he would remain so in the future.

"We shouldn't have to remind this country to do right by the people of this country," Gillum told the cheering crowd. "A year ago we saw a failure at the federal level of epic proportion when it comes to support for the people of Puerto Rico."

There has been much speculation that the migration of Puerto Ricans to Florida after Maria could be a boon for Democrats. Candidates on both sides of the aisle are courting the Puerto Rican vote.

Marcos Vilar, a Puerto Rico native from Orlando, helped organized the event. He said it was intended to be part remembrance and part protest.

"We're remembering the lives that were lost after the hurricane and to make a statement that there was neglect in the way Puerto Rico received assistance after the hurricane that was directly responsible for the deaths," said Vilar, executive director of the civic engagement group Alianza for Progress.

President Trump enraged many Puerto Ricans when he called the federal government's response an "unsung success" and complained that the death count of 2,975 was greatly exaggerated in an effort by Democrats to make him look bad.

"That was shameful. He doesn't have any respect for the people of Puerto Rico," said Gamaliel Rivera, a Puerto Rican native who lives in Miami.

Rivera said he's been disappointed by both the federal government and the Puerto Rican government.

"I"m here to raise a voice that something has to be done," said Rivera, who had family members suffer devastation on the island.

While the event oftentimes resembled a Democratic campaign event, with attendees wearing shirts supporting Gillum and other candidates, Vilar said he did invite several Republican leaders, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. However, Gov. Rick Scott who is challenging Nelson for the other Senate seat, was not invited. Vilar said Scott didn't do enough to help Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida after Maria.

"He has used the hurricane as a political issue, but he has not lived up to the same standards of governors in other states who took care of people who were displaced," Vilar said.

He said community organizations did most of the work in providing food and shelter for Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida.

Florida's Puerto Rican population has now likely surpassed the state's Cuban-American population and exceeds New York's Puerto Rican population, said Luis Martinez-Fernandez, a professor at the University of Central Florida who specializes in Latin American history.

Most of the more than 1.1 million Puerto Ricans living in Florida are concentrated in the Orlando area along the state's I-4 corridor. But census figures show South Florida is also home to a sizable Puerto Rican population with more than 223,000 Puerto Ricans living in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Staff writer Skyler Swisher contributed to this report.

stravis@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6637 or Twitter @smtravis

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