<em>No Se vende</em> (Not for sale). An anti-gentrification grassroots campaign of Puerto Ricans in Chicago

Abstract

No Se Vende (Not for Sale) is a grassroots campaign that claims that Puerto Ricans, even those who are renters, are the legitimate owners of Humboldt Park, Chicago. In this assertion, legitimacy and ownership are one and the same, regardless of the legal status of “homeowner”. No Se Vende then contradicts the original meaning that inspired the legal code, property that can be bought and sold which is not based on “use” values. Legality, to some extent, has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of these activists and, therefore, they have decided to claim their rights thought the symbology of language. In this sense, the idea of Puerto Ricans renting in Humboldt Park or simply deciding to stay has become an instrumental right of resistance to the perceived oppression. The campaign has played a key role in the construction of a new sense of legitimacy in the recent housing struggles after the financial housing crisis. This paper employs a single case study through participant observation, ethnography, and Participatory Action Research (PAR). Keywords: renters; owners; gentrification; Puerto Ricans; Chicago; activism; No Se Vende campaign