Florida Boricuas are calling for a moratorium on power outages and housing evictions

Washington dc – At a time when tens of thousands of families are losing access to electricity in Florida, Puerto Rican residents of Orlando have called for coronavirus pandemic the government decrees a moratorium on disconnections from the electricity system and the eviction of homes.

“It’s not that you don’t want to pay, it’s that you can’t. It is a terrible situation”Said Marta Orbe, a Puerto Rican who has lived in Orlando since Hurricane Maria hit her on vacation in Florida and her own family, in the face of the emergency she was living on the Island, advised her to stay in that state.

In October alone more than 100,000 families were disconnected from Florida from the electricity service. More than 60,000 were then three months behind in their payments, according to the ‘Connected in Crisis’ coalition.

“This is a matter of life and death, and the working class, black Floridians, and immigrant communities are disproportionately at risk.”, the coalition said, in a letter sent to the chairpersons of the Florida Legislature’s Budget Committees calling for immediate action.

Among the claims of the Connected in Crisis are approving a moratorium on electricity disconnections until June 1, 2021, eliminating the obligation to pay a connection fee and offering financial assistance to citizens.

A similar call has been made to Florida Gov. Republican Ron DeSantis to take executive action pending the state Legislature meeting in March.

Deaths in Florida from the coronavirus – which has disproportionately impacted blacks and Latinos – total more than 20,000.

The Puerto Rican Orbe – who has not been able to return to the island for two years – said she has faced a debt of $ 573, which has been reduced to $ 161 after two disconnections of several hours and the payment of $ 95 in fines.

In your case, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a reduction in working hours in a department store where you work 40 hours a week, you may have symptoms that may be associated with the virus, such as fever, which causes him to be unable to return to work for 10 to 12 days.

“The money is not given to me to pay for the apartment or to pay the utilities”, said Orbe, who has also worked in restaurants, washing cars and cleaning houses.

Betzaida Vázquez, another Puerto Rican living in Orlando, said the possibility of having food in the house where she lives with her son and fulfilling her financial obligations is becoming more and more complicated.

Vázquez said that surviving on $ 733 from Social Security is just over $ 100 in food assistance, each time, due to precautionary measures against COVID-19, he has fewer customers to clean houses or to make alterations to clothes.

A daughter of Vázquez had to make a loan, which she cannot pay now, to prevent her from having her electricity cut off. “Getting food for the house (and paying off debts) is not easy. There is no work “, said Vázquez, who is a native of Gurabo.

The ‘Connected in Crisis’ coalition brings together grassroots groups Chispa Florida, Florida Conservations Voters, Florida Housing Justice Alliance, Earth Justice, Organize Florida, New Florida Majority, The CLEO Institute, Sierra Club, For Our Future, Catalyst Miami, Solar Vote , Rethink Energy Florida, Cleanenergy.org and Solar United Neighbors.

“Turning off the lights on people can be deadly,” warned Maria Revelles, also of Puerto Rico’s Chispa Florida organization.

Zac Cosner, of the Florida Conservation Voters group, said that not only has the Florida government failed to enact a moratorium on power outages, but in other states it has not offered assistance to citizens “to alleviate their debts.” .

In Virginia, for example, the government allocated $ 100 million. In Illinois, $ 48 million was allocated, and Cosner remained.

Regarding housing evictions, Ida Eskamani, of the Florida Housing Justice Alliance group, He stated that in the midst of the growing economic and health crisis, a “moratorium on the duration of the emergency” was needed.