Politics in the Rich Port
Independence, Statehood, or Commonwealth?
July 28, 2008
By Joshua Anderson
photo: The Yokahu Tower in El Yunque National Rain Forest, a remnant of old colonialism
Apparently, a vast majority of mainland living Americans have no idea that Puerto Rico is not, in fact, a whole other country (is that Texas?), but a commonwealth of the United States of America - a part of our winner's package following the Spanish - American War. In fact, 110 years ago last Friday (the day of our McNair Research Symposium) the United States actually invaded Puerto Rico at Guanica.
In the 21st century - that is, in the "post-colonial" global era - Puerto Rico's existence amounts to a certain type of political limbo, wherein the economic benefits place P.R. somewhere above most Caribbean countries, but below any U.S. state. I learned before I left that the topic of statehood, commonwealth, and/or independence was a hot one in Puerto Rico, and so wasted no time in getting down to the nitty gritty over dinner Monday night. Luckily, Eric, one of the Puerto Rico McNair Scholars, was as eager (if not more so) to discuss it as I was.
Eric, who is a member of the Popular Democratic Party, believes basically that the best option for Puerto Rico is to remain a commonwealth, but gain higher levels of autonomy.
The New Progressive Party, seeks statehood. Of the four Puerto Rican citizens I spent time with, 50% of them thought that this was the way to go.
Finally, there is the Puerto Rican Independence Party, those brave few (25% of our sample population) who would establish for the Puerto Rican people a nation of their own. If you see a green flag with a white cross on it, that's what this means. As an aside, while visiting El Morro - the fort at Old San Juan - on our last day, I took some time to check out the graveyard just south of there. Many of the old graves had flags flying above them, most of them the flag of Puerto Rico except one, that was a white on green Independence flag.
The dialog there is vibrant, with many people stating their many opinions. The presence of all three parties was felt everywhere we went on the island, from balconies to billboards.
Eric, who was the most outspoken member of our Puerto Rican comrades, is adamant that retaining their commonwealth status with a greater degree of autonomy in terms of trade is the way to go.
My two cents?
Personally, I don't see this being an option in the long run. The commonwealth status (and the relationship it represents) is archaic and almost unprecedented. Puerto Rico has limited representation in Congress, though every Puerto Rican is a citizen of the United States, and they can't vote in the Presidential election (though the primaries are fair game). But beyond this, the real danger is cultural. The sort of money that Puerto Rico has come to rely on from the U.S. involves a certain amount of Burger Kings and McDonalds in historic Old San Juan, marketing mainland American fashion and music, to the detriment of Puerto Rican cultural in general.
When the Spanish Crown ruled the island, they prohibited poets from writing and publishing. This was part of their campaign to limit the emergence of a Puerto Rican culture: they knew that once a culture began to solidify, colonial control was threatened. Unfortunately, as my friend Eric explained, the economic influx from the States has made folks reluctant (or as he says, lazy), and created a sort of welfare state.
Whenever the decision is made, I have a sneaking suspicion that neither statehood nor the status quo will even be an option; the mainland isn't and won't easily be convinced to make P.R. a state, and the commonwealth relationship will someday soon cease to be economically viable, especially if enough voices in Puerto Rico speak out against it, which they do and will continue to do.
Maybe I'm a bit of a radical, but I just like the idea of Independence - no, I'm not a radical, I'm an American.
Viva Puerto Rico!
More on Day Two tomorrow,
The Black Rabbit
Discussion
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Dear Readers, The following is an email I received this morning from Kenneth D. McClintlock, President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, posted here with his permission:
I read with interest your most recent blog post regarding your trip to Puerto Rico. I'd like to make a couple of points.
As you correctly point out, under Spanish rule, the rulers tried to prevent Puerto Rico's culture from flourishing. May I add that today, on the contrary, the Federal government helps finance a lot of our cultural activity.
Second, if you're concerned that Whoppers and BigMac's in Old San Juan affect our culture, please don't fly to Paris, or Madrid, or Moscow or Beijing. The presence of American culture has little to do with our political status and a lot to do with the fact that our nation's (the US-remember we're all Americans in PR!) culture is the prevalent culture today throughout the world.
Not even living decades in Kansas can do away with our culture! Just take a look at Paul Feleciano, a former Kansas state senator, current Parole Board member, former U.S, Senate Democratic nominee from Kansas, and still a Puerto Rican!
Recent public and private polls indicate there's been a recent surge in support for statehood, now pegged at 57% and growing.
If our nation still believes in majority rule, it will not deny us the preference of 60 percent-plus, much less impose us the preference of less than 5% of our voters-independence.
There are 4 million "Paul Feleciano" Puerto Ricans living in the States; only 3.9 million living in Puerto Rico. Should independence be imposed, I have no doubts that at least a couple of million more U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico will buy, as Paul did decades ago, a one-way ticket to statehood.
If in 1980 our nation could barely absorb the influx of 100,000 Cubans from Mariel settling in one county of one state, Dade County, Florida, is it ready to absorb two or three million Puerto Ricans settling all over the nation? Food for thought.
Kenneth D. McClintock
President of the Senate of Puerto Rico
I will give u may 2 cents soon enough ...
I'm a University of Puerto Rico student. I enjoyed the entry very much, but I must agree with Mr. McClintock. Our Puerto Rican culture is rich and extenseive. The mainland culture is a part of it, but it's hardly the sole or dominating element. Like every other state, Puerto Rico is a mix of local and national folklore.
Day by day pro statehood support grows in Puerto Rico surpassing the dying "Commonwealth" movement, while the Independence base is still at the same 5% it's been for decades.
The Commonwealth status is a joke. It must be ended, be it by Statehood or Independence. While I have no idea how all this will end, I have a feeling the mainland will have to accept the only viable option in Statehood or settle for Independence bypassing very important democratic values.
Atrocities Crimes and chaos 1898/ 99 killings and the deployment of USPolice tothecrime.http://www.trincoll.edu/classes/hist378/archivo/prpics1.htm
The accounts of the 'commevecas y tiznaos'insurgentcy,nationalism sprung its head in San Sabastian de los pepinos y many of the spanish-puerto ricans found themselves unwanted and in some cases disinfranchised from the land of their fathers and grandfathers liken to the times of el grito de lares 1868,when the american Liberator Mathias bruckman was assassibated and his property la hacienda BuenaVista conficated by the spanish clergy,distribuited amoung themselves.
1898,1899http://es.geocities.com/baudelaire1998/partidassediciosas4.html
The deployment of 65th Puerto Rican infrantry a long way from Marx.lenin Bakunin y el nationalism de seville.
El truco[trick] de los puerto ricans dress under the color of nationalism or libre or guise under hooders from san sabastian edging out an existance in the USpen@TerraHaute or USPleavenworth kansas or USPLewisburg or meeting@the graveyard@JayuyaGriselio Torresola (1925 - November 1, 1950) born in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, was one of two Puerto Rican Nationalists who attempted to assassinate United States President Harry Truman. During the attack on the president, Torresola mortally wounded White House policeman Private Leslie Coffelt and wounded two other law enforcement officers. However, Torresola was killed by a shot to the head from the mortally wounded Coffelt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griselio_Torresola on November1,from 1950 to 1987 to 2009 to renouncing violencea long way from reparations.
ecoavila go your own way.
The Puerto Rican Constitution the best from the UnitedStates Constitution.
The second draft const., better and upgraded by the American Citizens on the Island of the United states of america Puerto Rico
UnitedWeStand!
InGODWeTrust!
pass the Muskets
United States of America El Yunque National Rain Forest home of first born Eleutherodactylus near a pond en el charco de Dona Juana near the high elevation in las americas El Yunque y Ciales,Puerto Rico.From the pond on down to the deltas to the oceans and the seas,Mapping Genes of nearly 300 kinds of el coqui de Puerto Rico Blair Hedges, after putting the genetic codes of each species found the genes of the Caribbean frogs matched and could be traced to a single common ancestor.(AP Photo/S. Blair Hedges/Pennsylvania State University) The Puerto Rican Coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui Thomas 1966) Todd S. Campbell/ecoavila/The Institute for BiologicalInvasions<http://www.topix.com/forum/pr/san-juan/TOLFS3QNC67H5SRK5>
the portoricensis americani coqui frog killer of the pre-african mosquito with wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and long legs the face[http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Mosquito,]image of the pray.
El Coqui,killer of the mosquito-borne diseases, Miconia@Jumpstreet.ojo/should be allowed to live in peace and tranquility in the pacific islands of the UnitedStates.El Coqui eradicates miconia on the Island of San Juan Batista,known as Puerto Rico.
Miconia stand no chance with el coqui frog.
Miconia has already smothered most of the pacific island Hawaii@ Tahiti’s native rain forest.<http://www.topix.com/fo rum/pr/san-juan/T...>
Eradicating miconia easy for the coqui frog,instead of thinking to minimize their spread in Hawai'i,thinking of leaving them alone so they can do the work on deadliness the mosquito brings.
Ecoavila go your own way!
The declaration of war against Germany by the United States was quickly followed by a request from the Insular Government for army and navy recruiting on the same basis as in the mainland. Actual evidence of war had come early in August 1914, with the appearance of the German cruiser Karlsruhe in San Juan, where it took on fuel and food supplies and hastily departed. War fever ran high in the Island following the torpedoing, on June 2, 1917, of the passenger steamer Carolina of the Porto Rico Line, on its way from San Juan to New York, by a German submarine off Atlantic city, with a loss of 16 lives. Many of the passengers escaped in life boats, and the schooner Eva B. Douglas rescued 252 persons, taking them to New York City. In July 1917, 104,986 men of military age were registered, from whom 12,852 were calledforservicethefollowingNovember.The Puerto Rican regiment was the first United States Army troop to be moved during the War, being transferredtotheCanalZone
http://newdeal.feri.org/pr/pr06.htm
ecoavila go your own way
Losactosconmemorativosdel140aniversario del Grito de Lares servirán también para demostrar la solidaridad [del pueblo movimiento de minoria] puertorriqueño con Cuba y Haití, informó el Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano (MINH).
El pueblo de hostos en 1868 no existia,en el rio prieto de yauco only Mathias Bruckman the american liberator,on his own,assassinated september30,1868 by his lone self.The spanish police shot him to death.
Actually the 140 aniversary of El grito de Lares serve el pueblo puertorriqueño as the example for the united states and territories of North Americam.
Mathiasbruckman was the actual author, motivation and actual manifestation of give me liberty or death on the island of john the bapstist september 23,1868.
El grito de lares was a call to the promise of abraham Lincoln 1865.the promise of Lincoln was minted with a two sided promise of(1) the united states of america and 2 reparation and equal distribution of the land,say 40acres and a mule to boot the economy in 1865 war to african-americans can claim the mason-dixon bloodline..
Haiti can never ever be an example for the United States Only Rain Forrest el Younque Puerto Rico!
La izquierda puertorriqueña conmemoró hoy en el montañoso pueblo de Lares, en el centro del país, el 140 aniversario del Grito de Lares, cuando se proclamó la República de Puerto Rico contra el dominio colonial español y la esparanza de bruckman a la union con Estado Unidos de las Americas.
The liberators call in 1868 was highjacked in 1898 by los commevacas y tiznaos ricans Nationalist,a long way from havana cuba,and in la plaza de lares a few of them with nothing to do hang and should walk to the town of yauco near the rio pietro where the american liberator was assassisinated september30,1868,erect a monument@UNMARK Grave of bruckman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Yauco2C_Puerto_Rico
On the island of Hispanola the haiti and Dominican nationalist got there turn@republic or united or better yet,the line of demarcation was language.On one side Santo Domingo-spanish on the other Haiti-french,they should have use Puerto rico for an example@Phil;adelhisliberty.com/for the American Puerto Rican the liberation from the stste of mind of the hispanics and latin a better cause to prosperity and liberty to fly out of the sanJuan airport to New York City empire state of mind@will!
Cuba,SantoDomingo/Haiti and Jamaica Unit with the United States of america.
Ame'rican from the Island of JonhThe Baptist turn into the only rain forrest in the United States of America the beutiful@liberty tojumpstart biligualism.
Speck Spanish but we are not!
Speck english but english We R not.
Latin forgetabout it for the clergy in cuba lay in wait.
as for franch well ...
we SpeckAmericanSlang como moncho y moncha por su casa@Arecibo the electromagneticCapital de las Americas!
Not a spider crawl we see it and hear IT 4evrlasting.
ecoavila go your own way papi.
perro o dog nevrhappened.
this cat upgraded to dog to Congress2....
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