State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Address

State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Address

Honorable Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá

Governor

Before the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly

January 30, 2006

 

Mr. Speaker of the House of Representatives and Mr. President of the Senate of Puerto Rico,

Members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico,

Mr. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and Associate Justices,

Mr. Secretary of State and members of the Constitutional Cabinet,

Directors of Agencies and Public Corporations,

Mayors,

Members of the Consular Body,

Distinguished Special Guests,

My dear fellow citizens,

 

Good evening to all and a special welcome to every Puerto Rican who hears me at home. 

 

Today, with a great sense of responsibility and commitment to the future, I come to you to speak about the state of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

 

A year ago, I swore an oath to uphold the responsibilities of office, to execute my position as Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to give it my all, with all my strength and energy.  That is what I have done.  Upon taking office, I extended an invitation for all to join in an “Alliance for Puerto Rico” (Alianza por Puerto Rico). I extended an invitation not to allow party colors to have more weight in our hearts than the colors of the flag that unite us.

 

To my fellow Puerto Ricans, who see me in your homes and hear me on your radios — I know how you feel! I know that 2005 was a very hard year, full of momentous decisions.   I know of your dissatisfaction at seeing the partisan fighting, the deadlocks and the partisan attacks in which, I admit, we have all taken part. But today, facing you, I reaffirm my commitment that your government works for you! I say this, not only because I believe it, but because it is what you desire, because it is what you clamor for.  Most importantly, because it is what Puerto Rico deserves.

 

To all those Puerto Ricans who hear me today, you must know that everything I say comes from a simple, but fundamental, decision; a decision that has completely convinced me since my oath of office.  We must take a step forward and ready ourselves to work together for the success of all Puerto Ricans. Everything else must be put aside.

 

During this first year, establishing new methods and new approaches, I have seen—as you have—the immense generosity and heart of thousands of Puerto Ricans. Together, we have seen the vast capacity that we have to help, and do for others, and our power to share responsibility, and respond to the call.  As one, we have seen ourselves and others answer the call and form an “Alliance for Puerto Rico,” an alliance to take that crucial step forward.

 

An alliance so strong—that guided by it—you and only you were able to ensure that not a single child lost a life to the senseless practice of discharging firearms into the air to ring in the New Year.

 

We have to recognize how strong we are when we work together, when we take that crucial step forward, when we strive together, with purpose.

 

Thousands of our people are responding to this call by making efforts to contribute ideas and energy to solve the problems that our Island presents us: community organizations, rappers, salseros, artists, professionals, community leaders, our residential communities, our special communities and people from the private sector.

 

Do you know what?

 

This new style of government provides the pathway to results; it is the route toward the success to which we aspire.

 

I refer not only to Government, but to all of us.

 

We are all working toward success.

 

What we saw and experienced this New Year’s Eve is the best demonstration that we can put our differences aside and come together with respect, with tolerance, in one single body.

 

One single heart beating in unison.

 

One single person.

 

One single person, whose name is Puerto Rico.

 

It is a paradigm shift.  It is a change in the way we govern.  Now instead of creating governmental bureaucracy, we are establishing public policy and we are asking the help of those who know how to stretch the value of a dollar, those who have a history of excellence, to come and work together with government.

 

Tonight, I come to talk with you of how this change has come to stay.

 

I come to tell you how we are working together with the municipalities, how we are adopting regional models and utilizing mechanisms to match funding to maximize the value of public funds available and to better serve you.

 

Tonight, I come to speak with you of how we are working together to achieve success.

 

I come to you to explain how we are dismantling, sometimes with difficulty, those obstacles and barriers which even divide our own government.

 

“But wait, that pertains to Housing…”

 

“No, no…, that is an Educational issue…”

 

“That’s a matter of Tax Collections…no, no…its OMB…”

 

Look my fellow Puerto Ricans, everything is everybody’s issue!

 

In my Government we have seen and will see the Sewer and Aqueducts Authority, Electric Energy Authority, and the Department of Recreation and Sports working together in our schools; the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Children taking books to our newborns; the Commonwealth’s security agencies working hand-in-hand with their Federal counterparts to fight crime.

 

Tonight, I come to you to speak of how this transformation has come to stay, of how thousands of Puerto Ricans have stepped forward.

 

The Triangle of Success

 

Last year we spoke of how the new plan of action to reclaim Puerto Rico must be based on an integrated vision of society, a vision founded in what I called the Triangle of Success: a society of peace and security, a society of quality education, a society based on a new economy.

 

This Triangle of Success, enriched with our cultural reaffirmation and fortified by our health, will yield the first-class Puerto Rico to which we aspire.

 

Today, as I reaffirm my commitment to the Triangle of Success, with great ambition and optimism, I propose that we step up yet again and work with clear goals.  Let us together adopt the Goals of Excellence.

 

Goal #1: Crime

 

I would like to begin by speaking with you about Crime, an issue that has overwhelmed Puerto Ricans for many years now.

 

During 2005 in Puerto Rico, 5,373 Type I felonies were committed, reducing the rate by 7.6% from 2004.

 

We stopped the trend in murders with a reduction of 31 murders or 3.4%, as compared to 2004.

 

I would like to recognize the leadership and effective work of Police Superintendent Pedro Toledo, who, during this first year, has stepped up to the challenges and put in motion the most modern and effective anti-crime campaign in recent history.

 

The Superintendent and I are an example of an alliance between two individuals of distinct ideologies who have chosen to overcome our differences to work together for the benefit of our nation.

 

Coming from two distinct parties has not impeded our willingness and ability to work together against crime.

 

How are we achieving this?

 

During the past year we reorganized the Police and created the Auxiliary Superintendent of Drugs, Narcotics and Firearms. We are providing new technology to the police and we are retraining thousands of agents in criminal investigation.

 

However, the principal reason we are making progress towards success is that we are in the process of making sure that there is a guaranteed punishment for criminal offenders.

 

I have always said that the greatest deterrent against committing a crime is for delinquents in Puerto Rico to know that they will pay the price.  Vital to this is the strengthening of criminal investigation to increase the number of cases solved.

 

During the past year, the number of murder cases solved increased from 46% to 60%, and the total number of convicted Type I felonies increased from 52% to 62%.  As a result, you see on the news more criminals and murderers being arrested today.

 

For this reason, today, we accept a new challenge.  We will work with clear goals in the fight against crime, so that you will feel more secure. We are ready to impose these Goals of Excellence:

1.  Reduce Type I felonies by an additional 5%.

2.  Increase the number of murder cases solved from 68% to reach the goal of 75% this year.

How are we going to accomplish this?

When we arrived nearly a year ago, the central government did not have even one program for surveillance cameras.  This has changed.  During this year, at the Central Police Headquarters, we will have a new control center for the network of surveillance cameras, and we will provide matching funds to municipalities for the installation of surveillance cameras.   Dozens of Mayors, from both parties, have submitted proposals to participate in this program.

 

This year, between both the Mayors and the Police, we will install about 1,000 surveillance cameras in different sectors and we will be installing 70 cameras in public housing complexes.

 

Throughout the metropolitan area, the Highway Authority will be installing surveillance cameras on primary highways.  Tomorrow, we will inaugurate the Ports Authority’s new surveillance network, with cameras designed to secure the perimeter of the bay of San Juan, and later this year, with the participation of federal agencies, we will install a new and modern camera system at the Luis Muñoz Marin Airport.

 

But I not only talking about security cameras; during this year, all the command centers will have CompStat installed, a system for gathering data, and Crime View, a digitized map of each street and sector.  With the investment in this technology, this year, Puerto Rico will have one of the most efficient instruments in the fight against crime, one that has been successfully used in cities such as New York.  I am referring to “crime mapping,” or the crime geographic information system that displays statistics and the frequency of incidents of crime by sector and by zone.

 

What this means, for example, is that if a gang of car thieves begins to act up in one neighborhood, the system will alert the area’s chief that a significant change in the amount of car robberies has occurred in this sector.  This alert will trigger the rapid reinforcement of the area.

 

For the first time, the entire Police communications network will be integrated and will have the ability to exchange data, voice and video, fundamental tools in the fight against crime.

 

In addition, under the leadership of the Secretary of Justice, we will be offering legislation to strengthen the Arms Law, to revise the new Penal Code, revise and make the Confiscations Law more effective, strengthen the Law Against Organized Crime (RICO) and improve the effectiveness of the Law for Minors. 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to seriously consider the proposal that I sent you last year, which prohibits our youth of 14 years of age or younger from being alone on the streets after midnight.  Just a few days ago a youth of 13 was killed at midnight in Santa Isabel.   There is no reason for us to remain idle and without tools to avoid tragedies such as this.  Let us take this step so that Puerto Rico’s parents can have peace of mind.  

 

The fight against crime must be accompanied by rehabilitation.  During the past year, we took a revolutionary step by putting inmates to work in maintaining schools and roads and picking coffee.

 

This year, the plan contemplates increasing the number of inmates working with agencies and municipalities, including construction work in the special communities.  They too are stepping forward and working for progress. 

Education

The base of the Triangle of Success is, and has to be, a first-class education. Schools are what will give us the tools to sow the seeds of peace and transform the Island.

 

For me the change in education—true progress—signifies that our public schools are equal to, or better than, our private schools. Some may think that this is impossible, but I am convinced that we can achieve this if we have clear goals.  Therefore, we have imposed Goals of Excellence for education as well.

 

First:  Increase the level of academic achievement by 20% during the current term.

 

Second: Strengthen our quest for greater school retention by reducing drop-outs by half over an eight year period.  

 

Third: Improve the physical plan and security of schools by resolving problems with electrical infrastructure and architectural barriers and by installing alarm systems in 600 schools this year to prevent vandalism.

 

Fourth: Connect all schools to the internet and make effective use of world-class education technology that is already within reach of Puerto Rican students.

 

Last year when I appeared before you, I said that improving academic achievement was one of my main goals of the year and we are achieving just that!   I would like to highlight a story that came out on Saturday about the increase in scores during the last academic achievement exams in our public schools.  Yes, as the newspaper indicated this was a great feat.  It was not my feat, nor that of any politician.   It is a feat that belongs to all those who work for and are a part of our schools!  It is a feat of Secretary Aragunde, who is focused on academic achievement, the more than 40,000 teachers in the education system and more than anything, the 600,000 students, fathers and mothers who are stepping forward and demonstrating that public schools have the talent and desire to progress.

 

This year, to ensure that this trend is irrevocable we will begin to implement the program “Your Ideal School” (Tu Escuela Ideal).

 

This initiative groups 344 schools together that now have specialized curricular programs hosted by institutions of higher learning, foundations and non-profit organizations.   For example, the program “AlaCima” is an alliance between science and math that now operates in various schools with funds from the National Science Foundation and has been recognized as one of the best programs in the United States.

 

The concept of “Your Ideal School” is to multiply the successes of these programs. Each one of these 344 schools will adopt another school to replicate what they are doing and what is working.

 

Another effort we will launch this year to improve academic achievement is the “Ideal Libraries Program (Bibliotecas Ideales).”

 

This is an innovative curricular program nourished by a multimillion dollar injection of federal funds to improve the resources and educational programs in the more-than 1,000 libraries in our public school system.  On the elementary level, we will establish 583 Reading Corners in elementary school libraries.

 

We want our children to enter kindergarten with a healthy love of reading, a love that will be promoted and grow at home from the moment of birth.  A mother and father that read to their newborn babies—as Piti and I did with Gabriela and Juan Carlos—create the strongest connection with their baby and help their child develop language skills.

 

“Read and Dream” (Lee y Sueña), one of the First Lady’s “babies,” kicks off this Wednesday in the regions of Carolina and Humacao.  The program provides books and workshops for mothers and fathers with newborns, so that they read to their children and absorb this healthy habit.  As an effort by the Departments of Education, Family and Health to avoid creating more bureaucracy, ASPIRA, another non-profit organization taking strides toward the future, will be in charge of implementing this program.

 

We have another example of the new styles we have established as demonstrated in the crusade against school drop-outs.  As a new public policy, we established Help and Student Services Centers (CASA for its Spanish acronym) last year with great determination, as a way to attend to the needs of students who have dropped out of school.

 

The traditional way to establish initiatives like this one would be to create a program at the Department, with a director, designating personal, creating bureaucracy.

 

That way is a failure.

 

During a visit to Caguas and another to Humacao, I met two young people and directors of two programs offering services to student drop-outs:  Nuestra Escuela in Caguas and PECES in Humacao.  Talking to them inspired the idea to change the paradigm.  That the Department of Education establish the centers’ policy, but that their administration be transferred to non-profit entities with a community base.

 

Today, I say with satisfaction, that we are working together successfully.  We have established CASA centers in Loíza and Caguas, administered by Nuestra Escuela; in Humacao, administered by PECES; and in Ponce by the Sor Isolina Ferré Center, and all of this was done with the support of these cities’ mayors.

 

And now no one is going to hold us back.  This year we will open CASA centers in Caimito, also as an alliance with the Sor Isolina Ferré Center, in Vieques, administered by Nuestra Escuela; in Arecibo, by the Iniciative Comunitaria de la Montaña; a CASA dedicated to driving education in agriculture and technology in Lajas Valley; in Mayagüez by Puerto Rico Youth at Risk; in Bayamon by Juan Domingo en Acción and in Comerío by the Association for the Well-being of Comerío.  Many great people are taking giant steps forward!

 

In addition to this effort, we are using sports to make schools more attractive.  The Department of Recreation and Sports, under the dynamic leadership of Secretary David Bernier, is breaking ground and collaborating with the Department of Education like never before to establish “Deporteescolar” (School Sports), a inter-school league that, although hard to believe, did not exist before.  Next school year we are bringing “Deporteescolar” to the middle school level.

 

We must provide incentives for school retention from every angle.  I would like to take advantage of this opportunity, before moving on to the next point, to call upon this Legislature to pass the legislation that I introduced last year that would tie the privilege our youth have to obtain a drivers license at the age of 16 to their enrollment in school.

 

For many years, there has been a sector of our population that we have failed: the students in special education.  To this day, the relationship has been adversarial, but this is changing and for the good.  For me, the greatest step of hope since the passing of the Special Education Law—and another demonstration of the shift in the paradigm that we are implementing—was at the end of last year signing an agreement with an entity with a history and a extraordinary sensitivity on our Island: SER of Puerto Rico.  We left the confrontation behind us and we put ourselves to work together for success.

 

The establishment of the Special Education Services Centers will be under the direction of SER to improve the delivery of services to this population.  And in a demonstration of how they are going to tear down bureaucracy, SER hopes to begin inaugurating the six scheduled regional centers before summer.

 

This past summer, the Educational Brigades were able to incorporate more than a dozen governmental agencies with institutions like Hogares CREA in an unprecedented integrated effort to maintain our schools.  We will not leave this rich experience there.  In another effort of greater scope, the Infrastructure Finance Authority will invest $100 million dollars in the construction of new classrooms, potable water tanks and improved water usage, the elimination of architectural barriers, improve electrical systems and the acquisition and installation of fire prevention equipment, among other projects.

 

We all know—unfortunately—that one of the negative aspects of our school system is vandalism, which normally happens when the schools are closed.  This year, as a step to resolve this problem, they will install security alarms in more than 600 schools and in some schools they will have security cameras that will only be activated when the school is closed. 

 

Vigilance alone will not resolve vandalism.  Along with the fight against school drop-outs, it requires a change in attitude.

 

From this podium, I call upon the private sector, including the media, to join in this fight.

 

Now, I would like to talk to you about the Technological Revolution that is occurring in the Department of Education.

 

Today, 98% of the schools are connected to the internet and the Federal government has released their hold on E-rate funds for internet connection.  Last week, we inaugurated the new information system that allows each school director to complete daily reports and communicate directly with the Department’s management body, the regions and local school districts.  

 

By August 2006, we will start the operation of the Student Information System, a network through which parents and teachers can access information from any computer to review their child’s attendance, grades, and academic development. 

 

Additionally, in the area of technology, the Department of Education signed an agreement with Oracle to launch their first Oracle Academy for Latin America and the Caribbean from our public schools.

 

This is where our educational public policy must marry economic development, the third pillar of the Triangle of Success.

 

The new policy of economic development “Operation Put Your Mind to Work” (Operación Mentes a la Obra) is the logical evolution of “Operation Put Your Hands to Work” (Operación Manos a la Obra).

 

This is based in the undeniable understanding that the greatest resource of our people is our capacity—and more specifically—our intellectual development.

 

The Department of Economic Development and Industrial Development Company, with a futuristic vision and with the changes of a great innovator—Secretary Jorge Silva—are  breaking the existing paradigms and are going to join in the fight to strengthen our educational system, specifically, in the relative use of technology and the teaching of science and math.

 

The joint initiatives of Development and Education include:

1.  Financial assistance through matching funds for the program “Operation Success” that was launched last year and is the creative product of Puerto Rican film maker, Noel Quiñones and his wife, Soraya.  It is a unique program, which has generated an enthusiasm for science in our high schools that has never been seen before.

2.  The amplification of Development Grant Funds to designate a third for Public School teachers so they can obtain post-graduate teaching degrees in Sciences and Mathematics. 

Economic Development

 

The role that the Department of Economic Development is ready to play in the education of our children is a clear reflection of the internal change and leadership that Jorge Silva is giving the economic development agencies.

 

Last year was marked by great challenges for our economy and the global economy.  The unexpected increase of petroleum prices on a global level, the increase of taxes on a federal level—along with the uncertainty surrounding our local budget—created a pessimistic environment, which we confronted head-on and aggressively.  By the end of last year, our balanced economy was recognized by every economist and was covered favorably by the press.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to respectfully ask the Presidents of the House and Senate to meet again in March so I can present next year’s budget.  In the spirit of settling our differences on the matter I have given instructions to my finance team that they hold every working meeting necessary for the legislature’s leadership to reach consensus on fundamental areas such as tax and fiscal reform, the mechanisms to balance this year’s budget and a framework marked by action for next year’s budget.  My position is clear:  I want to come before you in March to present a budget that is the result of this dialogue and with all the necessary decisions to resolve the structural deficit of our government, which is the principle threat surrounding our economic future.  I know that together we will do it.

 

In regard to tax reform, I would like to reaffirm the values and goals that accompany this cutting-edge reform, as elaborated by our Secretary of Treasury, Juan Carlos Méndez.  They are simple yet profound:  justice for all, because we cannot move forward if only a few pay and thousands evade their responsibility; the common good over the individual; and thirdly, the value of work.  We have to put Puerto Rico to work.

 

Guided by these three values, we must obtain our four principal goals:  lower the tax burden on the salaried middle class; attack tax-evasion; drive the economy’s development; and provide the necessary resources to the government and municipalities to improve public services and working conditions for public employees.

 

These goals give us focus and purpose.  As a result of these goals, sales taxes will not apply to those participating in the Nutritional Assistance Program and I propose sales tax reimbursement for those who file for income taxes.  These two goals eliminate the regressive impact of the sales tax on the poor and create justice for those receiving a good salary, the middle class who do not have an interest group or an expensive lobbyist to defend them. 

 

They depend on our good-will and firmness to defend them.  What I propose is to take advantage of the only sales tax benefit, which is making the underground economy pay.  And then we can take a big part of this new money and use it to lower the sales tax and give reimbursements to all those who file for income taxes.

 

If we want to do justice to the middle-class and attack tax evaders, we should concentrate on increasing the reimbursement and lowering income tax rates even more, instead of ceding to pressures from lobbyists.

 

We all know that our tax system is unjust, ineffective and in need of major surgery.  If we allow ourselves to be guided by the values I outlined and reach the correct balance of the four goals, we will give our country a just sales tax system and the real progress that Puerto Ricans deserve and expect.

 

We will fix the government’s finances and give great impulse to our economy. 

 

The economic statistics show that during the past year 38,000 net jobs were created, despite the government having reduced its work force by 5,000.  In other words, last year, from January to December, the private sector created 43,000 net jobs.  Money flowed strongly through the economy, breaking automotive and retail records.

 

The banking and finance system has been in constant growth in lending as much as earnings.  By last September, when the latest statistics available were released, the total loan portfolio increased by 18.1% in comparison with September of 2004, the commercial capital increased by 6.6% and asset values increased by 5.5% during the same period.

 

Last year we added 29 flights to our airports and the number of passengers increased, with spectacular increases in Aguadilla and Ponce, and a 2.3% increase was made in hotel room reservations during the year.

 

And everything indicates that this tourist season will be a success. One only has to take a spin through Old San Juan to verify this.

 

This is an economy on the move.

 

And these are the Goals of Economic Success that we are going to implement:

There is a lot of work to be done.  We are going to work hard for success.

 

The “Key to Your Business” has been an all-round success because it has awakened the creative energy and the yearning for progress of hundreds of Puerto Ricans.

 

This year, as I said, we are going to reach the figure of 400 keys granted and surpass the promise of creating 1,000 new businesses during this administration.

 

Headaches for a small business owner wanting to open a computer store or a restaurant are a thing of the past.  Last year we opened four Express Procedures Centers and this year we will open another three in compliance with the overall programmatic promise.  And we are going to achieve a 30-day maximum for granting permits from the Department of Health, Fire Department and the Regulation and Permits Administration.

 

“Support to Our People” (Apoyo al de Aquí) is also support for our farmers, which can be seen this year through Pollo Picú’s return to the market with its Coamo plant opening. We will fortify the brand Del País by promoting the sale of our agricultural products in small hostels, paradors and taverns with the Tourism Company.

 

To ensure the future of this important sector we will establish the program “Agriculture 100,000” that will have a perpetual inventory to rent 100,000 acres of agricultural land.

 

Last year in manufacturing we achieved important expansions of pharmaceutical and medical device factories. Even more importantly, Amgen opened a new biotechnology plant last year and in November, the firm Becton Dickinson announced that it would establish its biotechnology operations in Cayey.

 

This year Abbott and Lilly’s biotechnology plants will open and soon we will announce new expansions and more investment.

 

We will also open Microsoft’s new plant in Humacao this year.

 

Those with an understanding of our people’s capacity, listen to the following.  In this new Humacao plant, Microsoft will manufacture the entire global production of its new software, Windows Vista.

 

The success of “Operation Put Your Minds to Work” is already taking place thanks to the transformations we are seeing in Economic Development.

 

This transformation includes a new way to develop modern industrial areas that the country needs, establishing public-private societies that combine funds and efforts.

 

This year we will begin work on three of these parks, which are part of the six total we will develop over these four years.

 

2006 will be key in advancing our four-year objective to add 5,000 hotel rooms and diversify what our tourism sector has to offer.  To reach this goal, we are going to give Puerto Rico something it does not have.

 

We have five-star beaches, five-star weather, five-star natural beauty and five-star people.  Nonetheless, we do not have even one five-star hotel, of highest class and prestige.  That is going to change this year.   The St. Regis in Río Grande will be rebuilt. Martineau Bay in Vieques will be rehabilitated, elevating it to five-stars.  Other hotels- small and large- will be added and construction or rehabilitation will begin this year.

 

This year Baños de Coamo Parador will begin its remodeling. We hope to lay the first brick of Jayuya’s Cable Car as a new tourist attraction atop a mountain, and we will establish the Caribbean Port to market our southern region.

 

We are working toward progress with the successful opening of the Convention Center, the investment in the infrastructure of ports and airports, the institutionalization of the regional brand Porta del Sol and the Tourism Company’s exciting campaign.

 

Now I am going to give you the most recent information on some of the strategic projects we are developing:

This year, we hope to receive from the federal government an airport, port, a hospital with emergency and delivery rooms that will be run by a not-for-profit entity, a public beach, and a mangrove area that will be a natural reserve. 

2.  Port of the Americas Rafael Cordero Santiago

This year we will finish dredging and begin the physical development of the new port.  And in recognition of the entire Southern region, today I will sign an executive order to clean and redevelop the CORCO lands in Guayanilla and Peñuelas.

3.  Mayagüez 2010

The swimming pool and Coastal Park are being designed; proposals have been solicited for Central American Villa (Villa Centroamericana); design consultants are in the process of being chosen for the Central American Stadium (Estadio Centroamericano).

Changes are already being seen after making the right decisions to put the Roads Authority back on its feet.  The Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, Gabriel Alcaraz, has met all the deadlines we gave him to complete various projects that were taking too much time and causing traffic jams and we are going to keep moving forward with this work.  Next month we will open the bridge on the 65 de Infantería Avenue on Trujillo Alto Expressway.  We will open the Corridor of the East on Friday, March 31^st and on Sunday, April 2^nd the Corridor 10K race will take place, using it for the first time.  This year the bidding process for the second stretch of the Corridor of the East will take place; before 2006 is over we will be able to walk through the tunnels of Maunabo and we will inaugurate four projects between San German and Peñuelas as part of the process to convert the stretch between Ponce and Mayaguez into an expressway; among other projects we are accelerating around the whole Island.

 

In addition, 2006 will see the largest investment in the repaving and maintenance of highways.  So that you have an idea, during the past three years the promised investment was $55 million.  This year, the investment will be increased to $137 million to repave, conduct maintenance and yes, fill the holes on our streets.

 

Safe Water and More Affordable Energy

 

The change in the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) is also here to stay.  This Authority, which did not even have money for its operations, now has the funds and the administrative leadership of Jorge Rodríguez—who has stepped forward—to do the job that for years our country was denied and to provide safe water to Puerto Ricans.  Just as an example, last year the AAA invested $44.2 million in infrastructure projects.  This year it will invest $232 million and next year $632 million.  That is real progress for thousands of families that for decades have suffered the scarcity of this precious resource.  Now we have the resources and we are working towards success.

 

And I am not going to rest in my goal of reducing energy costs.  The plan to reduce the dependency on oil and reduce costs is underway; its results should begin to be seen soon—this very year—until we reach a reduction of approximately 14% in 2008.  In addition to the projects underway, the Authority is analyzing other alternatives to reduce energy costs even more, and all of this without the need to privatize.

 

Special Communities and Public Housing Projects

 

A fundamental aspect of our economic development has to be achieving the self-sufficiency of the thousands of families who live in the special communities and in public housing.  Our administration will help these families to move from the culture of dependency to the culture of work, with a greater emphasis on the development of social and economic capital, and during this year, we will expand the special communities program to 25 new communities.  We will establish alliances to provide incentives to micro-businesses and community businesses.

 

In the effort to improve the facilities and infrastructure of the special communities, last year we accelerated the project investing $194 million and this year we will invest $200 million more.

 

Similarly, in public housing projects, we started 17 projects for remodeling last year and this year we will do the same in another 28.  All of this is part of our commitment to build or remodel 50,000 public housing units during this four-year term.

 

Legacy 100,000 (Herencia 100,000)

 

Within all this development, we cannot forget the protection of the environment.  The “Legacy 100,000 Project” began in full force.  More than 10,500 acres have already been set aside for conservation and this year 10,000 additional acres will be set aside.

 

I take this opportunity to invite you so that on the next Earth Day, in April, we will celebrate planting the one-millionth tree as part of the Project Green 100 X 35 (Proyecto Verdor 100 x 35), whose objective is to plant 4 million trees during this four-year term.

 

Health

 

The area of health is one in which the Government has to do more, especially for our elderly and for the improvement of mental health and institutional services.

 

Concerning the elderly population who depend on Medicare and on “Reforma” for their health, we have implemented “Medicare Platinum” (Medicare Platino).  This new program integrates all the services they have a right to in one card, and eliminates the problem of running from one place to another in search of access to services and medicines.  The program is also available for our government retirees.  With “Medicare Platinum,” thousands of citizens have more direct access to specialists and to medicines under one system and with more health plans to choose from.  This is real progress.

 

For years mental health has been forgotten and ignored.  That’s over.  Just as recommended by the report of the Health Reform Evaluating Committee, the Administration of Mental Health and Addiction (ASSMCA for its Spanish acronym) has assumed a more proactive and results-oriented focus.  This year we will establish five new community mental health centers in Arecibo, Mayagüez, Moca, Bayamón and Fajardo.

 

Also, ASSMCA will establish a new model of direct service in the regions of Mayagüez and San Juan, integrating the new community mental health centers with a network of providers.

 

In Mayagüez, along with the municipality, we will implement a stabilization room in the Medical Center, a first step towards developing a trauma center there.

 

And let’s talk about the Medical Center in Río Piedras.  That hospital is the only hope for life for many Puerto Ricans.  It’s something that my family and I lived through and for which we will always be grateful.  That is why we have started the most profound transformation of this important medical-hospital complex, so that more families have the blessing of saving a loved one.

 

During this four-year term, we will double the number of beds in the trauma room, including a new Intensive Trauma Unit; we will build two new operating rooms there and we will increase the number of stabilization beds.  There will also be a new Intensive Medical Surgery Unit, the Intermediate Neurosurgery Unit will be expanded, and so will the Maternity Room in the University Hospital.

 

Moreover, we will have new ultra-modern “Gamma Knife” facilities to handle cranial surgery.  And a new Neurology Unit and another for young burn victims in the Pediatric Hospital.  All of these projects are part of the effort to have a first-rate Medical Center.  In the area of health we are working hard because there is a lot to do.

 

Cuidad Mayor:  Metropolis of the Caribbean

 

Up to now I have spoken to you at length about the work being done and that will be done.  Now, my cherished compatriots, I would like to take you to the future, to our future.

 

Let’s speak about planning and structuring the development and quality of life in our Metropolitan Zone, comprised of San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Trujillo Alto, Carolina, and Caguas among others.  This is our entryway to the world and the center where more than one million Puerto Ricans work, live, and spend their free time.

 

This has been a priority for every governor.  We recall the immense labor, driven by Hernández Colón, involved in restoring Old San Juan, and his desire to convert the Baldorioty de Castro into an expressway to connect Carolina and San Juan.  Senator Roselló initiated the Urban Train to link Bayamón, Guaynabo, Río Piedras, and Hato Rey.  We remember Sila’s interest in opening a “Window to the Sea” (Ventana al Mar) in Condado, supporting the rehabilitation of Santurce and realizing the dream of many with the Convention Center District.

 

Today I challenge you with a new goal.

 

The moment has arrived to unite everything that has been done, re-imagine it, and with the support of every mayor, think big and build the Cuidad Mayor (Grand City).

 

That is the Goal for Success.  Turn the metropolitan area into the Cuidad Mayor, the Metropolis of the Caribbean.

 

It is a plan born of a vision that goes beyond traditional urban geography.  The Cuidad Mayor will promote connectivity and mobility among adjacent urban centers because it recognizes that citizens live and move in the Metropolitan Zone without regard to city limits.  The truth is that today we move in a disorganized metropolis.

 

The Cuidad Mayor is an integrated vision that combines state, municipal, private, and mixed projects.  It is a vision that we will begin to implement this year, but requires action in the short, medium, and long terms.

 

I invite you to join me on a trip through this Metropolis.  We begin in our jewel, Old San Juan.  I have offered the honorable mayor my collaboration in seriously evaluating his plans for the ancient and cherished walled city.  The Institute of Culture’s National Gallery in the Dominican Convent will open this year.  In addition, we have to expand our efforts to increase the availability of hotel rooms.

 

To do that, we will begin converting the current Tourism Company offices into a hotel, La Princesa, maintaining this structure as our national heritage.

 

We will now walk toward the Port.  In March we will inaugurate Dock 3.  The dredging of Docks 3 and 4 will be complete by summer.  This will permit the arrival of a new class of ships: the mega-cruise ships.  A new residential complex—Capilolio Plaza—is almost finished.  And, a mixed commercial and residential complex—Harbor Plaza—is under construction.  Both are private projects.

 

After leaving the Port, we arrive to the south of the Puerta de Tierra, bordering the bay to the Nautical Club.  Today it looks like a no man’s land.  There, this year, we will begin construction of the new San Juan Waterfront with a marina for mega yachts. The Ports Authority has already opened the bidding process for the Waterfront project.  It will include development of the strip with private funds, and will provide residential, commercial, and hotel space.  We are talking about a waterfront like those in the best cities in the world, that of a Cuidad Mayor.

 

As part of this undertaking, in June 2006 we will begin construction of a new concept in public housing in Puerto de Tierra.

 

In this tour of the future, the San Juan Waterfront will be connected to the new International Convention District.  There, this year, construction will begin on a 500 room hotel from the Sheraton chain and a complex of residential villas.  In addition, this year we will review the proposal for developing a commercial building and offices affiliated with the global network “World Trade Center.”  In this District we will also establish the new headquarters of the Tourism Company.  For the longer term, we are conducting a viability study of a proposal to build an aquarium.

 

Now, to continue along our route, I invite you to board the street car. Yes, the Cuidad Mayor, in its most advanced stage, will have a street car to connect Old San Juan, Santurce, and the Urban Train station in Sagrado Corazón.  On that route we view projects already under construction such as Cuidadela, Alameda del Museo, Portal del Museo, and the new home of the Conservatory of Music, to which we will add other cultural projects such as the new Symphony Hall of the Beaux Arts Center, the construction of the Victoria Espinosa Theater and the restoration of the Paramount.

 

And now that I have mentioned various cultural projects during this tour, as a side note I will speak about culture.  The new Cultural Board, under the leadership of José Luis Vega, has been tasked with developing what we have named the Cultural District of San Juan.  This project will raise the cultural, educational, tourist, and economic value of the Zone that traverses the length of Ponce de León Avenue between Old San Juan and Río Piedras.

 

Let’s return to our tour—to the train stations where the “Network City” (Cuidad Red) is born.  This year, in Sagrado Corazón we will inaugurate the Department of Recreation and Sports’ new home and a beautiful accompanying park.  The new headquarters for the Government Development Bank also will be built, a project currently in the bidding process.

 

The new offices of the State Insurance Fund will be built between Sagrado Corazón and the Piñero Station in the “Network City.” Construction will begin this year, as will construction of various mixed use projects.  At the San Juan Courthouse, we will see the construction of the new offices of the Department of Justice.

 

And so, in our trip through the City Network, we arrive at the new center of the Cuidad Mayor, the epicenter of the Caribbean Metropolis.  I refer to the area from Piñero Station—bordered by the University of Puerto Rico—to the Medical Center.  In that zone, the Knowledge Corridor will be initiated this year.

 

The Corridor will integrate the University of Puerto Rico with the Botanical Gardens, and with the University of Puerto Rico’s new biomolecular sciences building—a complex of research laboratories and offices to be built beginning this year at Cupey Station.  We will put the Department of Education’s new headquarters there.

 

Complimenting this vision, we are beginning to explore alternatives for developing what is now known as the “White Bear” (Oso Blanco) so that it can be part of the Knowledge Corridor.  This will lead to a connection with the Medical Center.  Here, the new Cancer Center will be built, a joint effort among the University of Puerto Rico, the Central Government, the Federal Government, and the prestigious Texas institution MD Anderson, which will provide us with a world class center for the study and treatment of cancer.

 

The Knowledge Corridor reflects my vision of a new Puerto Rico.  A Puerto Rico that is the center of the economy of knowledge and the envy of many countries.  A Puerto Rico that is converting rapidly into a biotechnology center.

 

From that area, the train will depart for Caguas.  We have already begun the process of requesting proposals, and, in conjunction with the municipality, we are exploring the possibility that the municipality of Caguas itself will manage it.

 

But the Cuidad Mayor keeps growing.  From the Río Piedras station the train will depart for Carolina, on a path close to Trujillo Alto.  We will begin the process for requesting proposals this year.  In Carolina, in collaboration with the municipality, we will develop atramway to connect diverse sectors of that city, including the airport, with the Urban Train.

 

Completing the trip through our new Caribbean Metropolis, we return to San Juan where this year, finally, construction will begin on the International Plaza, a new privately funded hotel and commercial complex across the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge.  Near that new complex, this year the development of Finca Berwind as a housing complex will begin at last.

 

But if you think I have finished the tour through our Cuidad Mayor, you are mistaken.  Now I will speak to you about our most ambitious and creative project.  We will take the Baldorioty de Castro Expressway back toward San Juan.  At the height of the Minillas Center we will join, as they once were, Condado and Santurce.  With housing, commercial space, and parks.  Yes, I said join Condado and Santurce as they were in the beginning.  And what do we do with the Baldorioty?  Very simple.  We will build on top of the Baldorioty.  The technology already exists and new federal highway laws allow it.  We will convert the thruway into a great tunnel over which will rise—like a phoenix—a new city.  It will be the Baldorioty Model Zone, or MoBa Zone.  This project is not a Utopia.  Conceptually, the project has already advanced to the point that the Department of Housing– which will be the lead agency– initiated the process for requesting proposals and more than 20 companies have expressed interest.  We will develop the MoBa Zone with private funds.

 

This is a project that will bring new life to the Center of the Cuidad Mayor and will combat the urban sprawl that so damages our natural environment.  

 

Ladies and gentlemen, our legacy to future generations is the Cuidad Mayor.  We will integrate planning and think big.  I invite you to view the visual presentation of what the Cuidad Mayor would be so you can appreciate the magnitude of this project.

 

(VIDEO)

 

Compatriots: Let’s take a step forward.  Let’s work together for the success of the Cuidad Mayor.  Let’s convert the metropolitan zone into the Metropolis of the Caribbean.

 

The Truly Shared Government

 

I have spoken much tonight about the need to take a step forward and work together for the success of all Puerto Ricans.  I have mentioned several people and groups who already took that step forward and are working with the Government.

 

Now I would like to share two examples of that same love for Puerto Rico that I am convinced are representative of thousands of Puerto Ricans from two generations of public service who demonstrate what I want us all to see in our Government.

 

Regarding the first example, I delivered the newspaper to his house when I was a teenager.  In his younger days, he served Puerto Rico, interestingly also in times of great difficulty and challenge.

 

Successful in the world of private finance, in and outside Puerto Rico, he never denied or forgot his promise to his homeland.  Now, at a time when according to his plans he should be enjoying his well earned retirement, through a twist of fate, he has been directing the Government Development Bank since the middle of last year.  And he engages in this new mission today with the same energy with which he did it 30 years ago, but now seasoned and tempered by those years of experience.

 

But even more, he does it with the contagious fervor of love for Puerto Rico. To you, ladies and gentlemen legislators, to the private sector, to the unions, today I dare to give you a patriotic piece of advice:  do like I do, listen to Alfredo Salazar.  To you, Alfredo, on behalf of the People of Puerto Rico, thank you.  You represent the best of a generation that has given and continues to give your best to our country.

 

You and I have truly gotten to know the person who is my second example over this past year.  I think he hadn’t been born the first time Alfredo was the President of the Government Development Bank.

 

He represents the new generation, of which there are many in my Administration.  Prepared young people full of opportunity who choose to serve their country.  They are not afraid of anything or anyone and they get up and go to bed with the same thought:  what can I do today and tomorrow for Puerto Rico.

 

He took a languishing agency, that did not appear to exist and with the same budget and the same personnel—and this is important—with the same public servants, has transformed it into a giant that fights in favor of the consumer.  Alejandro García Padilla, thank you.

 

And to all the Alfredo Salazars and Alejandro García Padillas in the government, in the public service, thank you for exalting this honored service.

 

I began my speech tonight remembering the gesture we all made together New Year’s Eve.  That is the true Puerto Rico.  That is the true shared government, that of shared responsibility, of the true “Alliance for Puerto Rico.”

 

Now, tonight there are various representatives of that shared government here, of that mass, of that people who unite in Alliance for Puerto Rico, who gave a step forward last year, began to walk and are unstoppable.

 

I ask that you get on your feet, because they never appear on a ticket, but they are the ones who truly make a homeland.

 

To Sonia Pacheco and the Lions Clubs, who joined the Police in the effective campaign against shooting bullets in the air; to the owners of small businesses like Blanca Santaella and others who are here with us, who received the “Key for Your Business” and who represent what can be achieved if we give Support to Our Own; to Noel Quiñones and his wife Soraya, who dedicated their cinematic creativity to the service of education with Operation Success and today are here with successful students; to Gloricel Cádiz, champion weightlifter of Deporteescolar, Raúl Martínez, champion swimmer and Elvis Figueroa, champion table tennis player, part of the transformation of our school and to  recreation leaders such as Gary Williams, Emmanuel Moreno and Cesar Colomer; to Justo Méndez, of Nuestra Escuela in Caguas, who in a Town Hall Meeting (Cuidadano Gobernador) convinced me that the home for CASA, our project against dropping out of school, should be built outside the Government, and you together with Sister Mildred Vázquez of the Centro Sor Isolina, José Oquendo of PECES, and others, today bring the future and hope to hundreds of students who were abandoned by traditional schools; to Miguel Ralat, of ORACLE, who with a heightened sense of corporate social responsibility is a partner to our children in the effort to provide them access to technology; to Nelson Colón of the Fundación Comunitaria, part of the effort to forge our Ideal School; to Nilda Morales and the good people of SER, who with pleasure and enthusiasm have accepted the challenge to help transform special education services.

 

I ask for applause for Felix Vega Colón, Aida Rivera, Miriam García and Cristóbal Rodríguez, prisoners who with great enthusiasm have also taken a step forward to work maintaining our schools and roads and the prison guards who have taken on the responsibility attendant with their work; to Julia García and the children of Hogares Crea who demonstrated their hard work maintaining our schools; to Vargas Vidot of Iniciativa Comunitaria, who fights every day for the rehabilitation of our addicts and other marginalized individuals; to Don Omar, who donated his talent on Three Kings Day and has expressed his interest in joining other causes; to Samuel González of Fondos Unidos who gave a 211 line to the program Aprendamos Juntos; to Hilda Maldonado and Ronald Blackburn of ASPIRA, who accepted Piti’s invitation and as of this Wednesday will be part of our vision that our children read and dream.

 

To Papo Cristian and our residential leaders, thank you for your clear and strong voice.

 

Thank you all.

 

You are like one single heart beating in unison.

 

One single smile.  One single person.

 

One single person, whose name is Puerto Rico.

 

We have a lot to do, but thanks to all of you and to many more, now we are working together, we are changing paradigms, we are taking a step forward toward a Puerto Rico of success for all.

 

May God bless you and may God bless our beautiful Island.