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The other thing that characterized this past year is also the scandals. In Puerto Rico that was clearly an important part of the politics of this race, but here we're also beginning to see increasingly problems. There was the case of Miriam Santos of Chicago who was the treasurer -- and was the first Puerto Rican to be elected to a citywide office in Chicago -- who was put in jail then she was found, on a technicality, not guilty. But this was a major figure and when an up-and-coming woman -- a young woman who -- just started -- I guess she was doing politics the way they do it in Chicago -- la cojieron porque era Puertorriqueña -- verdad? -- which is generally the way people in the community saw it. These guys have been doing it for years pero, bendito, la cojieron a esta -- you know, she should have known better. But yet a problem. The other one was Milton Millan who became the first Puerto Rican mayor of Camden, New Jersey, who right now is on trial for all sorts of stuff -- drugs, I mean this guy looks like, man, he went to party. I don't know if he's guilty, but he went bananas over there as the mayor and had to resign recently.
And those are interesting because those are two pathbreaking positions. We don't have that many people in these types of positions and I think this is a disportionate -- I don't know --there may be more stories like this. Maybe some people have horror stories about other Puerto Ricans who got elected and went to jail. But the irony is that here in New York City where the Puerto Rican politicians really deserve to go to jail -- I don't know -- they keep getting off. I don't know, I don't understand -- that's another -- that's something else.
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in partnership with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College 
