The controversy surrounding the tribute to former political prisoner Oscar López Rivera in the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York is product of an intense campaign of phone calls and social media pressuring, in which local politicians have participated and which is led in the United States by the Latino division of a conservative organization now run by an associate of former Governor Luis Fortuño.

MRC Latino, a Hispanic media watchdog program in the United States, praised in their official website the withdrawal of Univision and other traditional corporate sponsors of the Puerto Rican Day Parade for listening to the outcry against supporting or celebrating 'terrorism'.

MRC Latino director, Ken Oliver Méndez, was a special assistant to former Governor Luis Fortuño and was in charge of writing speeches in La Fortaleza. He had previously supervised the press efforts of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) during the first years of Fortuño's term.

Oliver Méndez said in MRC Latino that the effort included a massive campaign of phone calls made to the offices of Univision executives in New York and Miami, during which several hundred calls jammed the network's phone lines for two consecutive days until causing it to withdraw as a sponsor of the event.

'The campaign to get all the parade's media sponsors to withdraw their support hasn't ended yet. While the parade continues to honor Oscar López Rivera, no organization or individual who respects the peaceful and democratic system of government of the United States should have anything to do with the event,' according to Oliver Méndez.

The concerted effort has caused the withdrawal of important commercial firms such as Goya, Coca-Cola, JetBlue, and the New York Daily News, among others who, for years, supported the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Even the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced he will not participate in the event.

For the first time, thousands of followers in the US and Puerto Rico have used social media to put pressure on corporations, which have gradually withdrawn their participation from the Puerto Rican Day Parade. It has previously paid tribute to other former political prisoners like Lolita Lebrón, without sparking a controversy similar to this year's.

Former Senator Miriam Ramírez de Ferrer, who resides in Orlando, has also participated in the campaign through social media. Her active participation led David Martin, executive vice-president of MRC, to send her a letter last week thanking her for her efforts.

Ramírez de Ferrer said her individual effort was due to the indignation caused by the decision to honor López Rivera at a time when Americans are repudiating terrorism and might make generalizations against the Puerto Rican community in that country. According to social media statistics, the messages sent by the ex-senator have generated close to 40,000 responses, which have reached the official accounts of several brands.

'Yes, I got the letter. It looks like they were watching the tweets. I'm not in contact with them (MRC), so it surprised me. I was very glad that I was able to converge the financial sector and bring them the message that we're not going to sponsor that kind of event,' explained Ramírez de Ferrer to NotiCel.

'This situation could have been avoided if Oscar López Rivera had refused the tribute to avoid causing a controversy or if the board of directors had withdrawn it,' insisted Ramírez de Ferrer.

After causing the withdrawal of several firms, the effort is now aimed at forcing the withdrawal of the other figures that will be honored or who will participate in the parade, NotiCel was able to confirm.

On the Twitter and Facebook social networks, followers make an appeal to artists and athletes to not participate in the event. A petition has also been created through the GoPetition website to demand that the board of directors of the Parade cancel the tribute to López Rivera.

Since 1987, the Media Research Center (MRC) has been the main media watchdog organization in the United States, according to its official website.

'We don't endorse politicians and we don't lobby for legislation. MRC's sole mission is to expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the Left: the national news media. This makes the MRC's work unique within the conservative movement,' reads its official website.

MRC integrates news-monitoring tools through a marketing operation, which reaches around 203.6 million Americans every week to educate them on left-wing bias in the media.

In partnership with CNSNews.com and its blog called NewsBusters, MRC's mission is to 'report the news the liberal media refuse to cover' and 'expose and combat liberal media bias'.