The scented candles sent by First Lady Beatriz Rosselló to the mayors of the island were considered 'a tasteless gift' by Rafel Surillo, the mayor of Yabucoa.

According to Ramón Rosario, Secretary of Public Affairs of Fortaleza, the candles were a gift sent by the First Lady and crafted by Puerto Rican artisans. However, this gift was not well received by the mayors of those municipalities that have remained without electric power for more than four months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

This was precisely the case for Mayor Surillo: in spite of his claims before Fortaleza to deal with the situation in his municipality, it is currently the one that has recovered the least in terms of electricity and it has seen an increase in related deaths. The mayor has only received a candle in return.

'So far, we have been working with a generator of one megawatt, which was brought by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). I don't know about the intention behind the gift, but we received a candle... It arrived at the least appropriate time, considering the situation we're living in Yabucoa,' the mayor remarked during his appearance in the program 'Jugando Pelota Dura', which is broadcast on Univision Puerto Rico.

Surillo added that, although he considers this an unwanted gift, Fortaleza should make the effort to explain what it means.

'The gift-giver should be the one to give it meaning... Families have lost loved ones. I don't think this is the best gift for the times we are living in,' he concluded.

You can see the candles below:

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