On Friday, just hours before he campaigned in Puerto Rico, Marco Rubio sided with the billionaire Koch brothers in opposing the fair treatment of Puerto Rico under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code.

Now, Rubio is facing criticism from one of Puerto Rico’s most influential political commentators, Jay Fonseca. In a Facebook post, Fonseca blasts Rubio (translated by Bridge Project):

“I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself in my island, and that you had fun with the money you received only so you could later tell us that you don’t believe in lending a hand to your Latino brothers who live here. This senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, came to Puerto Rico as part of his bid for the U.S. presidency as the Republican nominee. The most hilarious part is, the guy came to the island without previously announcing his position on helping PR file for Chapter 9 protections under the federal bankruptcy code. And as soon as he came here and collected his money, he told us that he wouldn’t give Puerto Rico the same tools the rest of the world has available, which are required to pay our debts in an organized manner and is supervised by a federal judge. All of this is to appease the Koch brothers, the most important Republican donors who will screw over Puerto Rico in order to make money.”

See the Jay Fonseca’s Facebook post here: 

Full translation by Bridge Project: 

THE SENATOR WHO SCREWED OVER PUERTO RICO – I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself in my island, and that you had fun with the money you received only so you could later tell us that you don’t believe in lending a hand to your Latino brothers who live here. This senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, came to Puerto Rico as part of his bid for the U.S. presidency as the Republican nominee. The most hilarious part is, the guy came to the island without previously announcing his position on helping PR file for Chapter 9 protections under the federal bankruptcy code. And as soon as he came here and collected his money, he told us that he wouldn’t give Puerto Rico the same tools the rest of the world has available, which are required to pay our debts in an organized manner and is supervised by a federal judge. All of this is to appease the Koch brothers, the most important Republican donors who will screw over Puerto Rico in order to make money.

The senator in question came to the island and said that he does not believe in helping PR by amending the federal bankruptcy law. That is, the senator of Puerto Ricans in Florida comes to PR, in the face of a proposal that the PNP [New Progressive Party] and PPD [Popular Democratic Party] have jointly put before Congress, and the first thing he does when he arrives is spit in our face by saying that he doesn’t believe in a “bailout” for PR. Of course, this is after he buttered up the local dummies who donated to him after he baited them by supporting Puerto Rican statehood. At the same time, he’s screwing us by not offering a project which gives Puerto Rico equal federal funding and denying us the tool that all the states have, something that Puerto Rico lost for racist reasons in 1984.

LOOK Senator, there IS NO “bailout” here. The federal government would never give one penny to approve that proposal. NO, SENATOR, NO. You came to Puerto Rico to please your donors, and to screw Puerto Rico in its face along with all the Puerto Ricans on the island as well as those who have moved to your state, Florida. All Puerto Ricans who respect themselves and their families that live in the island should campaign against this senator. I say this with sadness because this senator is of Caribbean descent, and is the Republican candidate with whom I have identified with the most in a long time. It’s cool if he doesn’t believe in helping us; we don’t need him. But to come here and tell us to our faces that he would NOT give us what we used to have, which we lost in 1984 for racist reasons, is an embarrassment. And to do so for a couple of bucks in donations is even more shameful. The fact that there are Puerto Ricans in his team is yet another symbol of subservience. You insulted our people on our soil. Remember that there are 1 million of us in your state, and because of your inaction there might soon be 200,000 more. Recant. But above all, if you won’t lend us a hand, you shouldn’t expect to come to our island, telling us to pay while saying “screw off” to the rest.  All just to please your donors, telling them that Puerto Ricans are so stupid that they don’t know that you came, screwed us over, left with money from both sides. Puerto Ricans, don’t give this guy what he wants. If you live in Florida, respect your people. Retweet and share this so it will reach his offices, and he’ll have to recant.