In a video message delivered during the 2019 Inclusiv Conference in Los Angeles this September, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto discussed the critical role credit unions and cooperativas play in promoting resiliency and financial inclusion, both in Puerto Rico and on the mainland.
"In San Juan, we're focused on truly becoming a resilient city and after Maria, we are motivated more than ever to revitalizing our city and being prepared for any future negative effects of climate change.
Once again, we use the principle close to your heart: inclusion. We refuse to leave anyone behind and we will strive to make sure we all have a level playing field so that we may not only survive, but truly thrive. I personally believe in credit unions, or cooperativas, as we call them in Spanish. I see them as the backbone of a progressive economic development model where they are the tool to ensure integration and inclusion in the economy that works for all."
She went on to welcome credit union and community development leaders who share a commitment to financial inclusion to San Juan for the 2020 Inclusiv Conference on May 4-6:
"I look forward to welcoming you in Puerto Rico next year and to share with you some of the examples of resiliency and financial inclusion initiatives we have championed here in San Juan, as well of the role that cooperativas are playing in the construction of a financially inclusive city.
Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do to ensure that we build a progressive path where underserved communities are no longer an asterisk in a paragraph, but a bold and integral part of the overall conversation. Nos vemos el año que viene en San Juan -- See you in San Juan next year!"
Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto.