La Tejedora
La Tejedora ("the weaver") is a Puerto Rican led initiative which is building an infrastructure for movement leaders on the archipelago to fight alongside allies in the diaspora and globally for Puerto Rican self-determination, decolonization and climate justice. La Tejedora is being incubated and amplified at the Action Lab.
Puerto Rico has been a testing ground for shock doctrines, disaster capitalism and extractive practices that have displaced millions of Boricuas inside and outside the archipelago. In Puerto Rico, the working class and poor people bear the brunt of the irresponsible debt and climate destruction wrought by a combination of federal and local policies that promote austerity and gentrification. Meanwhile, in the cities and communities that are home to the largest numbers of Puerto Ricans in the diaspora, we see many of the same dynamics.
La Tejedora emerges at a time where those in power in Puerto Rico are betting on the displacement of Puerto Ricans, the dismantling of our educational system and the apathy and political demobilization of young people.
La Tejedora connects young social justice leaders working towards self-determination in Puerto Rico; creates the conditions to allow young diaspora Puerto Ricans to participate in these de-colonization processes and connects activists in Puerto Rico to a global movement against colonization.
La Tejedora also works with young people to create the conditions for self determination that are tied to climate justice, including access to land, food sovereignty and the right to remain and the right to return to the archipelago.
Programming Pillars
Sewing Needles
Focused on leadership and campaign development, our Sewing Needles program is building a youth leadership pipeline to energize the archipelago and diaspora’s community leaders, by way of fellowships, retreats, workshops, trainings and the creation of healing justice spaces. La Tejedora is providing local youth activists, organizers, and social justice workers with tools to think creatively about their campaigns and broader social change strategies.
Diasporic Stitches
Our program that centers transatlantic movement collaboration, La Tejedora’s Diasporic Stitches program creates opportunities for meaningful alliances between youth-led organizations on the archipelago and in the diaspora to connect common visions and goals.
Global Stitches
La Tejedora’s program for building and strengthening global anti-colonial connections, Global Stitches offers young social justice leaders in Puerto Rico opportunities to connect with global anti-colonial and climate justice movements across the Caribbean, Latin America and other parts of the world.
Highlights
Kickoff Event
La Tejedora Initiative launched during The Action Lab's Liberation Summer Series in 2023. The concert, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, brought thousands out to the Río Piedras landmark El Boricua, flooding the streets in all directions. The Action Lab’s Belafonte Fellow Ana Tijoux thrilled the crowd, along with Hijo de Borikén, Ana Macho, DJ Velcro, DJ Toca Lale, and surprise guests Talib Kweli and PJ Sin Suela. In addition to the stellar performances, the event served as a powerful recruiting and mobilizing event for new participants and allies of La Tejedora.
Economic Justice Advocacy
La Tejedora is playing a key role in efforts of the Puerto Rico No Se Vende campaign, a multisectoral campaign that seeks to end Act 22 tax exemptions in Puerto Rico and combat the displacement of Puerto Ricans across the archipelago. As part of our efforts to educate policymakers and community members about these issues, La Tejedora has participated in several conferences and direct actions calling attention to the issue. La Tejedora has also participated in panels in Puerto Rico and in Washington, DC, about how Act 22 beneficiaries continue to live tax free in Puerto Rico, while a U.S.-imposed Fiscal Oversight Board pushes extreme austerity measures that have resulted in the closure of over 300 schools, the slashing of the University of Puerto Rico's budget by more than half, and the closure of hospitals and privatization of essential services like electricity throughout the archipelago.
Youth Gathering
In December of 2023 La Tejedora held its first National Youth gathering, where over a dozen young people from across the archipelago came together for a weekend that included leadership development and strategic thinking about youth-led campaigns that can have a major impact on the island’s residents. The priorities identified by these young people included the need to change policies in the local Department of Agriculture to support small farmers and fishermen in their quest to produce local food, sustain their families and keep hold of their land and fisheries. The young people also prioritized the need to prevent gentrification happening across Puerto Rico by repealing Act 22 and denouncing the rapid displacement of Puerto Ricans by Act 22 tax evaders. Both campaigns will launch next year and will spark youth engagement across the archipelago to take action on these issues, inserting these important issues in the context of Puerto Rico’s 2024 elections.
Related Events and Updates
Our Other La Tejedora Programming
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