During a consultation with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) in New York on October 30-31, Bishop Juan A. Vera and Dr. Victor Ortiz of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico provided updates on the critical situation involving the island of Vieques and on the current Puerto Rican political scene. At the same time, they affirmed the vital partnership between the United Methodist mission agency and the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, a relationship with far-reaching implications for mission and ministry in the commonwealth.

Ministering in a mission context that is polarized by political and economic divisions, the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico seeks to be a pastoral agent of reconciliation while providing spiritual and moral leadership. During the two days of discussion, the visiting Methodist leaders presented an overview of the Puerto Rican church's witness for social justice as well as its efforts in evangelization and church growth, leadership development, and theological education.

Bishop Vera reported that all of Puerto Rico's religious bodies, along with its labor and civic groups, were united in seeking a just and peaceful solution for Vieques and its people. Vieques is a small island in the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, lying east of the main island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. Since 1941, the US Navy has occupied two-thirds of Vieques, using one-third of the island for practice bombings and another third for storage of weapons and ammunition. For almost 60 years, the 9000 residents of Vieques have been restricted to an area in the middle of the island. The incessant bombing all around them has seriously compromised their health, while greatly harming the island's ecology and destroying actual and potential opportunities for development.

In April 1999, the killing of one resident and the injury of four others when two bombs were dropped off target resulted in a renewed effort to get the US Navy off Vieques. A majority of Puerto Ricans throughout the commonwealth have demanded that the island be freed from military exercises and practice bombings so that the people of Vieques can live in peace. This struggle for change in Vieques has brought about a level of unity unprecedented in Puerto Rico's history. Bishop Vera emphasized the fact that the struggle for peace with justice on Vieques has become a symbol of the reconciliation needed in Puerto Rico among all political sectors.

Bishop Vera and Dr. Ortiz also commented on the general election in Puerto Rico, which was to take place on November 7, a week after their visit. Of the three political parties involved in the election—the Popular Democratic Party, the New Progressive Party, and the Independence Party—only two were committed to an immediate cessation of the bombing on Vieques, the Methodist leaders said. The New Progressive Party, in control of Puerto Rico's government before the election, opposed an immediate end to the bombing exercises, Vera and Ortiz reported. That party agreed with US President Bill Clinton's proposal for continuing the bombing in anticipation of a referendum in Vieques, to take place within the next two years, to decide whether the US Navy would leave or stay. If the Navy were allowed to stay and to continue using live ammunition, Vieques would receive $90 million, whereas if the Navy left after three years, during which time it used inert ammunition, the island would receive $40 million.

On Tuesday, November 7, almost two million Puerto Ricans went to the polls, with results showing a call for change and for support of the continuing struggle for peace on Vieques. On Election Day, Sila Maria Calderón, 58, became the first woman to be elected governor of Puerto Rico, receiving 48.5 percent of the vote. The Popular Democratic Party, of which she is president, also became the majority party in Puerto Rico's House of Representatives and Senate. The New Progressive Party received 45.7 percent of the vote and the Independence Party, 5.2 percent.

Political analysts reported that Calderón won the election after a positive political campaign with no personal attacks on her opponents. They credited her victory to her support of three issues: the empowerment of women, a solution to the Vieques crisis, and clean government free of corruption. She will have a four-year term to work for her agenda of "change and dignity."

With new leadership in the governor's mansion and in the legislature, Puerto Rico's hopes for positive change, peace for Vieques, and national reconciliation are high. In their meeting with leaders of the GBGM, Bishop Vera and Dr. Ortiz also expressed hope for the future, asking for continued support and solidarity through prayer and for continued partnership in the pursuit of peaceful and fair elections and of peace, justice, and freedom for Vieques.

The peaceful and fair elections have been achieved. The pursuit of peace, justice, and freedom for Vieques remains high on the agenda of the General Board of Global Ministries and its mission partners in the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico.

November 15, 2000