Puerto Rico be an Independent Nation, Rather than Being a Territory of the US - Term Paper Example

Puerto Rico be an Independent Nation, Rather than Being a Territory of the US Introduction Puerto Rico has been a United States territory for over a hundred years, subject to congress sovereignty under the constitutional “territorial clause” but denied federal government representation. The Jones act of 1917 extended United States citizenship to Puerto Ricans. Puerto Rico Island became a commonwealth in 1952, adopting full self governance and a local constitution. However, the island’s non representation at federal level was not addressed. Puerto Ricans are subjected to federal laws and yet they are not allowed to vote in congress. For this and many other reasons, the status of Puerto Rico is sometimes viewed as colonial. There are social, political, and economic factors which are vital in the transition out of the current status, and to a status of equality and dignity (ucdp.uu.se 1). Social, Political, and Economic Reasons The people of Puerto Rico are the ones to make this ultimate choice. However, voters cannot make wise decisions with regard to the status unless they know what options they have as well as their consequences. All Puerto Rican plebiscites are enacted locally not federally with the legislature or local political parties providing definitions. Only the congress provides answers to the crucial matters. There are impending questions on whether the congress would impose the English only requirement if Puerto Ricans chose statehood instead of sovereignty? Would federal taxes on income be gradually phased in or apply immediately? What if it chose independence? Would the U.S citizens born in Puerto Rico no longer be citizens? Would the future generations of Puerto Ricans acquire U.S citizenship by birth? It is only the congress which can be able to provide these answers. Many Puerto Ricans feel that the congress should pass legislation on decolonization and clearly define the options (letpuertoricodecide.com 1). Puerto Rico’s future has three possibilities: Either the status quo remains (Commonwealth), statehood, or independence. Each of the options has its own drawbacks for both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Many questions arise concerning the degree of cultural and linguistic accommodation that the Puerto Ricans have made. An island with over ¾ of the population having difficulties with English will never fit in a country whose 97% of its population speaks fluent English. It would be easier for Puerto Rico be a sovereign country due to the cultural and linguistic concessions. A Spanish speaking island would not want to see its culture erode gradually the way Quebec has been torn from Canada (usefoundation.org 1). Being an overseas territory of the U.S, Puerto Rico has been exposed to penetration of American commodities, capital, customs, and laws. This is unequaled to any other Latin American state. Paradoxically, Puerto Ricans show strong cultural identity compared to other Caribbean people. There has been a widening rift between asserting a separate culture for the Islanders and the pushing for sovereignty. This has been manifested in music, beauty contests, sports among other areas. Puerto Rico is a representation of apparent paradox. It is stateless and has refused to assimilate into mainstream America. After over a hundred years of American occupation PuertoRico is Afro-Hispanic. Puerto Ricans consider it a postcolonial colony. They are people without a nation of their own since they live in a U.S territory that is not part of the U.S (Jorge Duany 425). Puerto Rico’s juridical definition is neither a sovereign republic nor a state. This creates contested, problematic, and ambiguous political status. It is a Paradox how this kind of in-between status strengthens rather instead of weakening Puerto Rican national identity. In opinion polls which have been conducted in Puerto Rico, over 60 percent of the population chooses Puerto Rico to be their nation, whereas about 17 percent choose both the U.S and Puerto Rico as their nations. Higher proportion, over 93 percent, of a sample of Puerto Rican population identify themselves to be Puerto Rican, in some combination or alone (like white, black, Caribbean, mulatto or members other ethnicities, such as Dominican and Cuban). Other studies conducted on both the Island and the mainland (U.S) confirm that majority of Puerto Ricans view themselves as a distinct nation sharing a specialty which is Puerto Rican and not Latino or American. Even in the mainland U.S, very few Puerto Ricans tend to align themselves with pan-Latino identity. This is a sign that Puerto Rico has always been ready to govern itself (Jorge Duany 434-435). The United States imposed government is unresponsive to the population’s cultural demands. It has allowed American corporations and companies to control and run the Puerto Rican economy. They have exploited the resources and effectively plunged it into dependency seen as long term. Puerto Rican economy needs to be controlled by its own corporations and people. Among the fateful decisions made by the government was promoting sugarcane solely as a crop. Sugarcane production dominance undermined tobacco and coffee economies in the high and mountain areas. This allowed the sugar companies to enjoy monopoly of the land subjecting workers to a cycle of cane growing and pitting them into debts during the dead season. This exacerbated poverty and inequality problems already in the island. Puerto Rico Island is a North American captive market. Early 20th century economic policy was disastrous for Puerto Rico. The island’s accomplishments were constrained to widening the Puerto Rican society gap, intensifying of poverty and creating of dependency conditions on America. To escape from this, Puerto Rico needs to run it own economy as a sovereign state (Arienna Grody 1). There are many pros in Puerto Rican economics. Puerto Rico will be able to tax its own citizens and use the money to build and develop its infrastructure. There will be an open market for trading with the nations currently in alliance with United States. If it becomes a sovereign state, the island will enjoy low unemployment rates and a high per capita income. All the Puerto Ricans working in the U.S and other countries will come back to build their country. The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States is directly responsible for the island having among the highest living standards of Caribbean, Central, and South America. However, Puerto Ricans who are American citizens by birth are still very far away from the same economic prosperity levels as the American citizens in the fifty states. The opportunity of achieving those standards is only if Puerto Ricans will govern themselves and improve the economic situation of their country (Jose E. Serrano 1). There many political disadvantages if Puerto Rico continues being a U.S territory. Puerto Rico does not have a voice in the U.S congress. If it were a state it would have two senators and at least seven U.S congress representatives. Currently, the island is represented by a resident commissioner in the U.S congress. The commissioner has a voice with no vote. It does not have electoral votes during the Presidential elections. By being independent, Puerto Rico will be removed from the U.S territorial claws and its constitution putting the island on the same footing politically as the other Latin American countries. This is among the most compelling facts for Puerto Rican sovereignty (Jose E. Serrano 1). Conclusion Even though Puerto Rico is a United States unincorporated territory and a commonwealth, many Puerto Ricans see it as a country of and in itself. Most Puerto Ricans see themselves as a distinct group and a nation. Even the Puerto Ricans and Americans see each other as two separate cultures and nationalities. Locally, numerous researches have shown that the people of Puerto Rico consider themselves a distinct territorially and a national unit. It is defined by its distinct culture. In recent times Puerto Ricans have sometime expressed themselves favoring a political and economic status with intentions of gaining sovereignty. However, the idea of Puerto Rico being a separate political, cultural and social entity from U.S has expressed itself repeatedly. Works Cited Arienna Grody. “Puerto Rican Nationalism and the Drift Towards Statehood.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < http://www.coha.org/puerto-rican-nationalism-and-the-drift-towards-statehood/ > Jorge Duany. “Nation Migration Identity.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:lMSQVpOqOMQJ: www.havenscenter.org/files/Nation,%2520Migration,%2520Identity.pdf+&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjqPr-tNvg_j29ESfxIkvK7X4BPw- OQxePyG5wOR2JyZxx4i4LnQXlEVk3Iy> Jose E. Serrano. “Referendum on Status of Puerto Rico.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/vol2n12/serranotest-980715.html > Let Puerto Rico Decide. “Island and Status History.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < http://www.letpuertoricodecide.com/status.php > Lewis, Luke. "EMI Owned By A Bank - How Did It Come To This.” 13Dec. 2011. Web. . Recording Industry Association of America. "For students doing reports.” 13Dec. 2011. Web. . U.S English Foundation, Inc. “Avoid an American Quebec: The future of Puerto Rico and the United States.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < http://www.usefoundation.org/view/14 > Uppsala Conflict Data Program. “Puerto Rico.” 26 April 26, 2012. Web < http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=196®ionSelect=4-Central_Americas# > Read More