This article was published on The Masses before it was a part of the People’s Defense Committee. The editorial board of The Masses will occasionally republish articles from that period based on their practical, theoretical and historical significance.
By the Borikén Liberation Front
CHICAGO, IL – This past September 23, 2024, the Borikén Liberation Front (BLF) hosted a speak-out and rally in Humboldt Park to commemorate the anniversary of El Grito de Lares and the martyrdom of revolutionary Filiberto Ojeda Ríos. Members, allies, friends, and neighbors gathered in the heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community to honor the spirit of the rebellion, and to condemn the american imperialist exploitation of the island.
This event is the most recent in a series of mobilizations that the Boriken Liberation Front has done as part of the Fuera LUMA campaign, which seeks to focus particular attention on the ongoing privatization of Puerto Rico’s power grid. The rally opened on a series of chants in English and Spanish, with slogans such as “Que viva Puerto Rico libre! Fuera yanki del Caribe!”, “Revolcaron el hormiguero, todo Boricua Macheteros!” and, “From Puerto Rico to Palestine, occupation is a crime!”
After a brief period of chanting and distributing flyers among attendees and passers-by, members of the Boriken Liberation Front were the first to speak on the significance of the Lares uprising, the devastation wrought by natural disaster and foreign exploitation, and the necessity of resistance and armed struggle into the present day. Comrades Lubangala and Ophelia each spoke in turn about the brutality and repression faced by the Puerto Rican people at the hands of the american imperialists, the connection between the international struggles in many other parts of the world, the history of struggle in Puerto Rico and all across the Caribbean, and the meaning and importance of dedicating oneself to the revolutionary cause and how Filiberto embodied the spirit of the revolutionary.
Following this, representatives of various allied organizations were brought forward to speak in solidarity with the Puerto Rican struggle. Leading off this round of speeches was Coco from Juventud Unida por la Independencia (JUPI), followed by speakers from the Re-Build Collective, Behind Enemy Lines, and the Revolutionary Maoist Coalition. Each group gave their organization’s perspective on the significance of the holiday and the connections between the Puerto Rican struggle and the student movements, the struggles for New Afrikan and Palestinian liberation, and the struggle for communist revolution in North America.
Drawing the rally to a close, Comrade Urraca of the Boriken Liberation Front delivered one last remark honoring the martyrdom of Filiberto, and the righeousness of the armed struggle for the liberation of Puerto Rico, and announcing BLF’s intention to reconvene the masses for next year’s Grito de Lares.
All of these speeches have been recorded and collected and can be read in full at the following link: https://the-masses.org/2024/10/17/speeches-from-the-boriken-liberation-fronts-grito-de-lares-rally/
The commencement of this rally marks the first of hopefully many more like it, and the strengthening of bonds between the Borikén Liberation Front and both its revolutionary allies, and the Chicago Puerto Rican community as a whole. As of the time of writing, this event will be followed up by a public screening of the movie Filiberto on October 28, which briefly covers the life, work, and death of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, co-founder and leader of FALN and later the Macheteros. All those interested in attending or getting in touch with the Boriken Liberation Front are encouraged to contact the organization on Instagram @BLFChicago or via email at blfchicago@proton.me.
LIBERTAD O MUERTE!
LUCHAR POR PUERTO RICO!
The Masses 