RSSNear the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba lies another, smaller island, the inhabitants of which have never experienced sovereignty. The arrival of Christopher Columbus [Colón] to its shores in 1493 heralded an era of enslavement and destruction of the native Taíno population at the hands [...]
Archive for the ‘Puerto Rico’ Category
Sonia Sotomayor About to Win the Laurel Crown
- If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Latina to serve on the nation’s highest court - How does the U.S. Supreme Court affect the rest of the world? - What is the status of Sotomayor’s Puerto Rico and what should it be? - If voted on favorably, how would Sotomayor impact future judgmen[...]
Puerto Rico, Another Lone Star State?
(H.R. 900, The Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007 proposes that the island decides between statehood or independence in a plebiscite that must take place no later than December 31, 2009) In April 1991, Governor Rafael Hernández Colón made Spanish the sole official language of Puerto Rico. Despite [...]
Time for Clarification: Puerto Ricans Need to End their Indecision
On June 9, 2008, the UN Special Committee on Decolonization considered yet again the status of the world’s oldest remaining colony, Puerto Rico. The Committee called on the United States to accelerate the process of self-determination for the island, an action that many Puerto Ricans regard as a c[...]
The Caribbean’s Troubled Ties to Washington
The process to obtain a passport entails waiting at least 12 weeks and paying a fee of $97 for each adult and $87 for each child. With the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) pass stipulation going into effect on January 23, 2007, many vacationers were hindered by these expensive add-ons an[...]
Mind over Heart: Puerto Rico’s Neo-Colonial Relationship with Washington
The unequal relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico is perceived by some as an anachronistic remnant of the colonial era. The current status of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S., allows the federal government to unilaterally impose a range of measures on the island without e[...]
Mejía vs. Fernández in Sunday’s Dominican Republic Election: Mr. Almost Clean Dominican President (All of a Sudden it’s a Very Tight Race)
President Hipolito Mejía, by luck or design, has avoided the kind of major corruption scandal that has plagued previous Dominican administrations, but his administration hasn’t been squeaky clean either. Unlike former President Leonel Fernández, whose administration had a near 100 percent rati[...]