In recent days, we’ve been saturated with media appearances by Puerto Rico’s Governor Jenniffer González. Her extensive media tour, marking the first 100 days of her administration, has swamped us with optimistic messages about her performance. All we see are kisses, hugs, handshakes, and smiles. Puerto Rico is doing well, or so the official narrative goes, which is essentially about promoting something to gain followers.
The Governor has made no fewer than 30 media appearances in recent days. I know because I counted them, and although I asked La Fortaleza — the Governor’s executive mansion — to verify the number in case I missed any, they never responded. What a surprise! The Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) has sent numerous unanswered emails to the Governor’s press team since January.
These appearances, mostly on entertainment and opinion programs where she has faced little questioning, have been marked by jokes, superficiality, and self-promotion. They have lacked data and substance, despite the critical issues Puerto Rico faces today.
I won’t delve into her Marilyn Monroe moment — when a gust of wind lifted her skirt during a public appearance — though it’s tempting. Instead, I’ll note some facts that provide context to what’s happening.
While the Governor was making videos highlighting her reception of young people from a program called Lead at La Fortaleza and proudly posting them on Facebook because she comes from a public school, the public school system was facing $400 million in cuts in areas such as special education therapies, staff salaries, school maintenance, and infrastructure. La Fortaleza has yet to issue a single statement or press conference about these cuts. What they did do this Monday was hold a roundtable with some media, excluding the CPI, the only outlet with two journalists dedicated to overseeing public education in Puerto Rico.
While the Governor laughed on television watching her husband play the güicharo, FEMA announced cuts of at least $4 million, but the affected agencies have gone over 50 hours without providing the CPI with a reaction to the impact of Donald Trump’s policies. The clock keeps ticking.
While this week the Governor hosted commentators, influencers, journalists, and public relations professionals to broadcast live programs from La Fortaleza, she has gone three months without granting an interview to the CPI to discuss the University of Puerto Rico that has seen almost a 50% reduction on its budget.
While the Governor hosted a group of young people to record a podcast and make a show of it on social media, her Department of Education and Department of Health had pending information requests from young people in the CPI’s media literacy project, Medioscopio, asking questions like:
- What are the statistics of people who have received mental health services from the government in clinics or hospitals from 2020 to the present?
- What are the most common mental health issues addressed in clinics from 2020 to the present?
- How much money is allocated for special education students in the 2024-2025 academic year? How much money has been disbursed to date?
- Who is responsible for developing the Department of Education’s current curriculum? What process is followed?
The Governor’s media tour must have cost several thousand dollars in public funds, given the multiple videos her team has produced at every step, the coordination of interviews, the entourage accompanying her to each appearance, and the $100 to $120 per hour earned by the public relations person, Carlos Bermúdez.
The administration’s propaganda is in full swing. It’s like a steamroller. And it features only the Governor and her husband, José “Yovín” Vargas.
It’s curious that Bermúdez, who controls the press strategy for the entire González Colón administration, isn’t officially hired for that role. He has contracts with the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF in Spanish), which is notable because he lacks experience in handling economic and fiscal issues, and with the Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development of Puerto Rico (ODSEC in Spanish), one of the agencies that has become a focus of partisan clientelism by handing out backpacks, Thanksgiving turkeys, and trinkets to get people from poor communities to cheer at photo-op events and vote for them in elections.
It’s worth remembering that Bermúdez, who has done this same work for previous administrations like that of the ousted governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, and the former mayor of San Juan and current secretary of the New Progressive Party, Jorge Santini, is also the publicist for artists and fashion shows, an expert in turning public affairs into a spectacle akin to a reality show. He was also a prominent member of the infamous Telegram chat that cost Rosselló Nevares the governorship, where he boasted about how he manipulated the media.
As citizens, we must scrutinize information from the media that doesn’t push back against government propaganda. And question whether the information consumed directly on social media is true or reliable. The contrast and corroboration of data, context, and continuous oversight are indispensable for those who aspire to a democratic country where power is held accountable, even if today that seems like a chimera, living in a disgraced state of exception.
