Island-Wide Union-Led Protests In Puerto Rico Shuts Down Plaza Las Americas

We recently mentioned that several thousand workers are being laid off throughout Puerto Rico due to the crumbling economy, and that Gloria Estefan attempted to offer them some brief reprieve from the stress of losing their jobs by giving away complimentary tickets to her concert on the island. 

Over 20,000 public workers have been let go in an attempt to close Puerto Rico’s $3.2 billion deficit and pull the island out of a three year recession.

Well, those same workers have now banded together to organize an island-wide strike today. About 100,000 people are expected to participate in a march in San Juan and protest at the giant Plaza las Americas shopping mall. The shopping center, the largest in all the Caribbean, is closing for the day in anticipation of the protests. Many Puerto Rican businesses are advising their employees to work from home and are fortifying the ground floor windows of their office buildings because PEOPLE BE PISSED.

 You can follow a livestream of the island’s own coverage of the protests below:

We’ll keep you posted as the protests and march go on throughout the day.

Puerto Rico unions plan strike to protest layoffs [AP]