Rivera Schatz calls for repeal of Institute of Puerto Rican Culture

The Puerto Rico Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP by its initials in Spanish), established in 1955, will be gone for good if legislation proposed by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz is passed into law.

Critics say Rivera Schatz is trying to end Puerto Rican culture. Rivera Schatz is proposing the transfer of the ICP’s assets to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its acronym in Spanish). The ICP has under its custody more than 40,000 works of art and 20,000 archeological pieces.

“I never imagined that at some point in my life, I would have to explain the purpose of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture (ICP) and why Senate President’s Bill 273, which aims to dismantle this institution and transfer its assets and responsibilities to the Department of Development and Commerce (DDEC), is akin to abolishing the Department of Health to hand it over to the Justice Department, expecting judges and prosecutors to handle vaccinations in court,” said Sen. Ada Álvarez Conde of the Popular Democratic Party.

She emphasized that culture encompasses the elements and characteristics of a particular human community, in this case, the Puerto Rican community. This includes the customs, traditions, norms, and collective identity through which a group communicates and builds its society, the senator said.