The Spanish American War ended in 1898, but one aspect of the conflict remains unresolved: the status of Puerto Rico. Despite the importance of the issue, it is rarely an agenda priority in the continental United States. Christopher Columbus landed in Puerto Rico in 1493, and the native inhabitants of the island were soon enough replaced—by conquest, disease, and violence—with Spaniards and imported African slaves. The island remained a Spanish colonial possession, making small but significant progress towards independence until the Spanish American War. In July 1898, the United States invaded the island; Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam, were ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris, signed by the U.S. and Spain at the conclusion of the war in December of that year. As Pedro Albizu Campos, a leading figure in Puerto Rico’s independence movement, explained, the U.S. was “interested in the cage, not the birds.” The U.S. wanted control of the land, but had little interest in the inhabitants of the island. The United States was already invested in the idea of constructing a canal through Panama, and securing the Caribbean was a key component of the U.S.’ plan. As almost any nation in Latin America can attest, Washington’s foreign policy priorities often take precedence over the interests of the region’s inhabitants. In the case of Puerto Rico, U.S. interests motivated the invasion of the island and played a determining role in influencing the outcome of the island’s independence movement. Prior to the United States’ invasion during the Spanish American War, Puerto Rico was on the path to autonomy. The Autonomic Charter, approved by Spain in 1897, represented a step towards independence and local government. Given that Puerto Rico experienced partial autonomy for the first time since Columbus’s arrival and then had it revoked in less than two years as a result of the American invasion, the independence movement was quite popular in the early twentieth century. The Union Party, Puerto Rico’s majority party in the early 1900s, cited autonomy and independence as its major goals. Since the 1950s, a number of plebiscites held in Puerto Rico have raised the question of the island’s status. The first, held in 1967, showed that 60% of Puerto Ricans favored commonwealth status, compared to 39% who preferred statehood and 1% independence. The results of a 1993 plebiscite were similar, with 48.5% preferring the commonwealth, 46% statehood, and 4.5% independence. In the most recent plebiscite, held in 1998, 46.5% voted for statehood. Leaders of the PDP, who favor commonwealth status, encouraged their voters to vote “none of the above,” which received 50.3% of the vote, to protest the wording of the commonwealth option. The independence option, which the majority of Puerto Ricans supported up until the 1940s, when the island’s status as a “commonwealth” was proclaimed, received only 2.5% of the vote in 1998. Unfortunately, H.R. 2499, whether it passes the Senate or not, is unlikely to fundamentally change the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In an interview, Pildes summarized H.R. 2499 as containing some “unfortunately vague” language; in his view, “the last thing the people in Puerto Rico need is confusion over what they’re voting for when the current status of Puerto Rico is already so complicated.” Critics, including Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), who is from Puerto Rico, assert that the legislation is biased towards statehood and “has no business being on the floor today.” During the bill’s hearing in the House in May, Congresswoman Velázquez stated:
While the administration remains tight-lipped pending the release of the Task Force Report, unrest in Puerto Rico may speed up the tempo as to when the international community will take an interest in the island. This spring’s student strikes at the Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR) threaten to shut down the public university system, and the strife has become multi-generational as unions and students’ relatives join the ranks of the protestors. The scale of the UPR strike and the goals it advocates are effectively bringing light to very serious economic problems that must be addressed. The strike began as a protest against government plans to cut the university’s funding by more than $100 million, a devastating budget reduction that would considerably reduce the scope of financial aid available to students. The announced budget cut follows a number of other unpopular austerity measures implemented by Governor Luis Fortuño since he began his term in January 2009.
Although the strike began as a movement against the UPR administration, the demonstration, which has been carried out by thousands of students and sympathetic Puerto Rican workers, highlights tensions in Puerto Rico that will not be easily resolved. As Congress and the Presidential Task Force individually work to resolve Puerto Rico’s future status, they must take into account the economic problems and political issues facing the island. An honest assessment of the island’s status must take into account its historical, contemporary situation. Any change in the island’s status—be it a move towards statehood, independence, or an expanded commonwealth relationship—will come with its share of difficulties and conundrums. However, the price of inaction is a continued and intolerable neo-colonial relationship that benefits neither Puerto Rico nor the mainland United States.
A History of Colonialism
The U.S. military ruled the island until the Foraker Act (also known as the Organic Act) was passed in 1900, which established Puerto Rico’s civilian government. The Foraker Act and subsequent Jones-Shafroth Act (1917) established separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches to handle Puerto Rican local affairs, while the island continued to follow U.S. federal laws. Notably, Puerto Rico received a non-voting representative in Congress (the Resident Commissioner) and a Governor to head the executive branch. The Jones-Shafroth Act also granted legal American citizenship to Puerto Ricans. In the 1950s, Puerto Rico’s status as a “commonwealth” was officially established. According to Richard Pildes, professor of Constitutional Law at NYU, the commonwealth status initiated in the 1950s represented a “creative intermediate structure” between independence and statehood that was designed to give self-governing autonomy to Puerto Rico and move it away from a colonial status. Public Law 600, passed in 1950, empowered Puerto Rico to directly elect their Governor as well as to draft a constitution (based on the United States’), which was ratified in 1952. Because of its status as a commonwealth, the island receives transfer payments from the U.S. government—including welfare and federal grants. Puerto Ricans also routinely serve in the U.S. military.
United States’ Vision for Puerto Rican Status
Regrettably, a number of factors jeopardized Puerto Rico’s early independence movement. The United States’ involvement in World War I increased the importance of the Caribbean as a U.S. regional stronghold, making Puerto Rico strategically significant. During the same time period, the Union Party divided into the Nationalist Party and the Socialist Party, while the Great Depression was an additional curse on the Puerto Rican economy. U.S. policies made small-scale farming unprofitable and promoted a resurgence of the sugarcane industry, an industry that benefited large landholders and a plantation-style economy while further crippling small-scale farmers. In the 1940s, the Nationalist Party grew increasingly violent in advancing its demands for independence, with huge numbers of independentistas (as the Nationalists were known) taking part in anti-U.S. protests.
The 1940s and early 1950s would prove to be an important turning point for U.S.-Puerto Rico policy. U.S. authorities were doing everything in their power to diffuse the independence movement. Prominent Nationalist leaders were imprisoned in 1936, and police engaged in violence-suppressing techniques against the Nationalists that came to a bloody climax in the Massacre of Ponce, in which twenty peaceful demonstrators were killed and hundreds were injured. The Ley de Mordaza (“Gag Law”) of 1948 provided legal justification for imprisoning Nationalist leaders. This pattern of violence reached its apex on November 1, 1950, when two independentistas attempted to assassinate President Truman on the streets outside of Washington’s Blair House in protest of the United States’ policy towards Puerto Rico. One security guard and one activist were killed. Increased violence helped to justify a severe crackdown on the independence movement.
In addition to resorting to repression, the United States worked to associate the Nationalist Party—and the entire independence movement—with Puerto Rico’s economic problems. Although U.S. policy was the underlying cause of Puerto Rico’s booming sugarcane industry (one that singularly benefited large land holders but devastated small-scale farmers), the U.S. implemented new programs to diversify the economy of the island. Programs similar to FDR’s New Deal made their way to the island in the form of the Puerto Rican Reconstruction Administration (PRRA). “Operation Bootstrap” was another economic reform project that aimed to bring industrialization to Puerto Rico in the 1950s: the project encouraged the growth of industry and provided U.S. companies with incentives to invest on the island. Washington emphasized its role in promoting Puerto Rican prosperity while discrediting independentistas. The onslaught of a Cold War ideology also played an important role in diminishing support for independence.
Political developments accompanied the unrest that became increasingly evident throughout the 1940s. Luis Muñoz Marín, a former advocate for independence, helped to establish a new political party called the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico (PDP) and framed the issues at stake. Although the party increasingly cited Puerto Rican autonomy as one of its objectives, it advocated doing so through a commonwealth relationship with the United States. By 1948, the island held its first popular election for the governorship. Muñoz Marín won the election with a solid majority. Under his leadership, Puerto Rico’s official status as an “associated free state” was affirmed by the Puerto Rican Commonwealth Act, which was signed by President Truman in October 1950. The Act allowed Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution, which it did in 1952. The Independentistas, purged from the PDP in 1946, formed the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP). Today, the PIP routinely receives support from prominent Latin American political figures, including ex-President of Panama Martín Torrijos and the Cuban government as well as authors Eduardo Galeano and Gabriel García Márquez. However, the PIP receives only a few percentage points of the vote in the elections it has contested.
Recent Plebiscites and Proposed Solutions
Currently, H.R. 2499, sponsored by Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, has proposed another plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s status. Passing the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, as the measure is known, would mark the first time that the U.S. Congress has actively supported a plebiscite on the island’s status. Since Congress must approve any change in the island’s status, a measure originating in Congress represents an important first step in this direction. The proposed legislation calls for two plebiscites: the first would ask Puerto Ricans to choose between “[continuing] to have its present form of political status” or simply “a different political status.” If a majority votes for continuing present status, Puerto Rico would be authorized to hold plebiscites every eight years. If a majority votes for the second option, voters will be presented with four options: “independence”, “sovereignty in association with the United States” (free association), “statehood”, or “commonwealth”. H.R. 2499 was introduced May 2009 and passed the House on April 29, 2010. The measure recently had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Energy on Natural Resources.
Implications of H.R. 2499[The bill] was prepared in a biased manner — with a predetermined outcome in mind. Let us be clear: this legislation is designed to push the statehood agenda, regardless of whether that agenda is the best solution for the island, or even popular among the people… Instead of dealing first with the very real concerns of how the people of Puerto Rico survive day by day, we are telling them our priority is to debate a status bill that will not become law. This is a disgrace.
She points out that statehood has always been an option in plebiscites, but it has failed every time it has been put to a vote. The potential for statehood to “sneak” its way to victory in the election makes many islanders wary of the current legislation.
However, many Puerto Ricans hold a contrasting position and are pleased that Congress has taken up the issue. While plebiscites have been held in the past, they were initiated on the island itself and were unlikely to change U.S. policy towards the island. While the measure currently on the docket does not require the United States to alter its relationship with Puerto Rico in accordance with the results of the plebiscite, it at least acknowledges that Congress must play a role in addressing the status of the island. Although neither H.R. 2499 nor the Task Force Report bind the U.S. Congress to take action, there is potential for “significant movement on the issue starting in the fall” as the issue of Puerto Rico’s status receives more attention, according to Pildes.
Current Issues in Puerto Rico
As Representative Velázquez rightly points out, there are a number of “very real concerns” facing the people of Puerto Rico that must be addressed in conjunction with the upcoming debate on Puerto Rico’s status. As the recent student strikes in Puerto Rico illustrate, the island is facing serious economic problems, and civil unrest is becoming more common. While the UPR strike is very specific in the goals it advocates (more transparency in the University’s budget, no tuition increases, and preserving tuition waivers), the movement has found resonance in the community at large. Pablo Navarro, a professor at Lesley University in Boston, has written extensively about UPR student uprisings. In an interview with the Miami Herald, Navarro explained that “the strike has so many factors converging that reflect the social crisis Puerto Rico is living at this time: a financial crisis that is very deep, an unemployment rate that is very high, and add to that the proposed changes that would affect the scholarships of athletes, artists, chorus and high honor students.” A large number of honors students at UPR receive tuition wavers, while nearly 70% receive some sort of financial aid.
UPR students have long been known for their activism; the university has been the site of protests and strikes since its founding. A former dean and professor from UPR, José Luis Méndez, articulated the difference between the current UPR strike and previous student protests in an interview with the Miami Herald: “in the past, the strikes were almost always ideological… The parents would be telling the kids: ‘You stay home!’ Now this time, you have parents and grandparents climbing fences to bring their kids food.” UPR, which has been described as a “microcosm” of Puerto Rican society , faces the same problems as the Puerto Rican society at large. Governor Fortuño has implemented a number of austerity measures over the course of his administration, which began in January 2009. As Governor, Fortuño has sizeable control over the island’s domestic affairs, but economic and fiscal matters are still generally controlled by the United States. For that reason, he is limited in his ability to make substantial progress in solving the island’s economic problems. Parents and union workers understand the students’ arguments because they too are facing job cuts and economic instability.
The economy of Puerto Rico is overwhelmingly dependent on the United States. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Puerto Rico “raises its own taxes, but these only fund 60% of annual spending. Another 30% is accounted for by U.S. federal grants, and the remainder is financed by borrowing.” The population of the Puerto Rico has expanded dramatically, while employment opportunities are limited. Because of the United States’ political and economic connection to the island, the U.S.’ slide into a recession has had a devastating impact on the Puerto Rican economy. U.S. industry is still a large presence on the island because of vestiges of “Operation Bootstrap.” The Puerto Rican economy’s reliance on exports, particularly to the United States, contributes to its instability.
As the student strike continues into the summer, it would be wise for decision makers in both Puerto Rico and the United States to take students’ concerns seriously. Currently, the police have militarized its response to the students, and student leaders received summons to court for their actions. Response to the strike has stagnated as the university term concludes for summer. Of course, something must be done to re-open all, or at least some, of ten of eleven campuses of UPR that have been shut down since late April. It is essential that the students’ legitimate concerns are not ignored in the process.
The United States’ Obligation
Tom Perelli, co-chair of the President’s Task Force on the Status of Puerto Rico, stated on March 3, “the President strongly believes that the status question is a significant one. He also believes that Puerto Rico’s status must be based on self-determination by the people of Puerto Rico.” Ultimately, the people of Puerto Rico must decide between independence, statehood, or a continued commonwealth option: a decision imposed by the United States will only continue the U.S.’ imperialistic rule of the island. However, the contemporary situation must be understood in the historical context, and critics from the U.S. as well as Puerto Rico must be prepared to acknowledge that the United States has played no small role in suborning the Puerto Rican independence movement and complicating the island’s economy.
Since 1898, the people of Puerto Rico have been denied the opportunity of self-determination. The U.S. government, along with the people of Puerto Rico, must be prepared to work together during this tumultuous time, not only to provide a short-term solution to the social unrest springing from the UPR strike, but also to resolve the fundamental problem of Puerto Rico’s status so that it is adequately prepared for its future.
Why does this article insist that the Puerto Rican people have been "denied the opportunity of self-determination" when with every plebiscite held since the 1950's, the Puerto Rican people have resoundingly voted for either commonwealth status or statehood, with independence never even reaching 5% of the vote? If by "self-determination" is meant independence, then only a left wing view of politics (that sees Puerto Ricans as dupes of the U.S. who don't know what is best for themselves), would see a 5% support for independence as the real wish of the Puerto Rican people.
Excellent point, C. Piar. It should also be noted that those from outside Puerto Rico who advocate the island's separation from the U.S. don't really care about the people of Puerto Rico, their main motivation is hatred for the US. It is telling the author lists the "government of Cuba" and Eduard Galeano as advocates of Puerto Rican "independence." By all means, if the people of Puerto Rico vote to create an a separate country, more power to them. However, all the subsidies and easy access to the US would end, and rightfully so.
The above comments make a good point – many that advocate independence tend to do so for ideological reasons and resentment towards the U.S.; these people often do not take into account the welfare of the Puerto Rican people themselves.
On the other hand, Congress has slacked in its role in forbidding the referendums held in the past (and the potential one to be held) from being self-executing. If Puerto Rico chose to be a state, would Congress ratify such a decision?
The other major issue in my opinion is that the "commonwealth" status has never been well-defined in the past by Congress. An important point not noted here is that the plebiscites held in the past in which the Puerto Rican people chose commonwealth or the status of "estado libre asociado," the option was not simply listed as a status quo, but rather as an "advanced commonwealth status" – that is to say, the maintenance of Puerto Rican autonomy, but increased social spending by the U.S. government (Puerto Ricans have access to social programs, but they are capped at a lower level than they are in the continental states).
Therefore, Congress has majorly failed Puerto Ricans by not resolving this issue. The reality is that such an "advanced commonwealth" status would never pass Congress. This needs to be made clear to voters of Puerto Rico. Otherwise, we will continue voting for something we can never obtain and will remain stuck in a neo-colonial framework.
The Puerto Rican status problem is simple to solve. The US invaded the country in 1898 as an act of war totally disregarding Puerto Rican public opinion and the fact that the island had achieved some sort of self government. Puerto Rico was not a party at the discussions that ended with approval of the Treaty of Paris, therefore any US presence stems from that unilateral action that today no civilized nation would defend. What the US must do is withdraw unilaterally from Puerto Rico and compensate the island for more than a century of colonial rule. Once the US has withdrawn the people of Puerto Rico may decide, free of any outside interference what sort of political arrangement it wants with the US. Of course, then the US may decide whether it accepts or not any petition for statehood or any sort association.
However, I will not hold my breath waiting for the US to take the simple and democratic solution.
You are absolutely right, the terms of the discourse have to be re-framed, What is the US going to do to enable PR to be free? Pay for reparations for 112 years of exploitation.
I appreciate the intent of this piece, as a specialist in Puerto Rico-US relations, one does not find much coverage about anything related to Puerto Rico. The strike at the university of Puerto Rico is about to end in a victory for the people of Puerto Rico who supported the student's vision of a public university. The Board of Trustees and the National Negotiating Committee, representing students from the 11 universities of the system accepted, almost all the student demands (6/16/2010).
I also appreciate that this piece (despite some factual mistakes) provides a context for the low percentage of votes for independence. Repression, emigration and the stigmatizing effort of federal and colonial authorities by associating being for independence as some thing negative. Repression continues today, despite the fact that Pedro Rossello, former pro-statehood governor of the island apologized to the people of Puerto Rico in 1999 for the repression of independentistas after it was revealed that the police department for decades kept dossiers on more than 75,000 persons, which in an island of 3 million inhabitants then was a significant amount of people. In addition, independentistas have been assassinated, disappeared more intensely since the 1930s. As to the issue of whether Puerto Rico exercised self-determination, the author is right. Self determination is exercised, in international law when the process to determine the will of the people follows certain rules, is monitored by international authorities (just like the US asks other countries when elections occur) and when there is an expressed commitment of the metropolis (the US) to abide by the electoral results. In the three referenda, NONE of this principles were applied. In fact, the vote in favor of the Commonwealth (two of the three) was for an enhanced autonomy, a demand that the US has consistently ignored. Now, after the debacle the pro-statehood Governor Fortuno faces as a result of the negative image his handling of the economy and the student strike has had in Puerto Rico (lowest popularity polls ever) and in the US (Boston Phoenix ranking of Republican presidentials hopefuls saw his place fall from 16 to 21) HR 2499 (also without the support of two of three Puerto Ricans in congress) will go nowhere. If the US is serious, ask the people of Puerto Rico to call a constituting convention and the issue will be resolved. But they will not, Obamas has too many items on his agenda. You should read a good piece by Professor Rodriguez on the issue. http://ethnosboriquen.blogspot.com/
The pro-statehood project that the non-voting delegate of Puerto Rico presented in congress H.R. 2499 (euphemistically called the Puerto Rico Democracy Act) will wither away since it is not the product of any consensus and the U.S. will have to revisit the issue. The reason: while the cold war is no longer around with the Evil Empire breathing fire under the dragons belly, for the first time Latin American countries are exercising a measure of independence that it has never before exercised. One of the ways they express it is by supporting Puerto Ricos right to self-determination and independence. From lonely Cuba to most of LA governments now, either privately or publicly supports these new efforts. The US remains in Puerto Rico because in 2006, $33,300 billion dollars in profits were repatriated to US corporations. The irony is that it paid fewer taxes in 2006 for these repatriated profits $27 million compared to $111 in 2000.
Self-determination has been part of the political agenda on the island before the Spanish French War when the first letter of autonomy was first sent to the Spanish court for consideration. Independence has been a goal during the revolutionary time of the 17 and 1800's because the colonies of Spain all wanted to be free to develope and control their own destiny. The last attempt for these concessions occured right before the Spanish-American where the paper filed for extending the autonomy rule to Puerto Rico were again lost.
The accord of 1950 where the word state by free association enter to vocabulary of Congressional law and the word in retrospect became the knowledge of rules the commonwealth of Puerto Rico would be held unto this day.
I believe the dependence created in these formulas of governing placed this island in condition of a step-child-state where the authority is in Congress to grant but the promises still being used as a tool of no win politics on the island. Puerto Rico has actually the best of both worlds though that time is shortly coming to an end. Let us hope the first hispanic state would be confirmed ASAP if the peole get the choice pick their destiny. Don Edwiin
No he podido leer ningún comentario en Castellano.
Eso dice muy poco de Puerto Rico, tierra hispana por excelencia.
Luchemos por nuestra independencia o por la anexión de nuevo a España como una Comunidad Autonoma más, y pasemos a formar parte definitivamente del mundo Hispano.
Los Gringos solo nos quieren para depositar aqui sus residuos y contaminación de la marina. Pueblo Boricua levantate en armas contra el opresor colonial.
Es demasiado fácil decir que los Boricuas deban levantarse en armas, pero todos sabemos que la realidad no funciona así. Hay que tomar en cuenta que muchos boricuas no quieren separarse de EEUU; si se hace, muchos se empobrezcan por su dependencia actual de los programas sociales que les brinda el estado norteamericano. Al separarse de EEUU, Puerto Rico se hará mucho más pobre y no podrá mantenerse el bienestar del estado y del pueblo. Si se va a separar de EEUU, hay que crear un plan integral involucrando las dos partes que permite un camino de años para que Puerto Rico pueda prepararse para la independencia y todas las cosas que suceden cuando una nación toma el control de todos sus asuntos – políticos, económicos, y sociales. La solución revolucionaria, o sea, violenta, no toma tales cosas en cuenta; el resultado sería un pueblo destruido por el caos y la pobreza.
Muy importante la reivindicacion de NINO
Por otro lado, este articulo es en ingles para lectores anglo parlantes. Para buenos analisis en castellano lea Claridad. O mi bloga http://ethnosboriquen.blogspot.
As a USA citizen of Puerto Rico, first you have to understand that more than half wants to change our political status now, and growing towards statehood. We know very well our history, our actual political situation and the fact that we are the last remaining colony in the world. Second, Mrs. Nydia Velazquez nor congressman Luis Gutierrez, represent us in any way. Our representative in congress is Mr. Pedro Puerliuisi, HR 2499 proponent. This bill does not favors towards statehood, as Velazques wrongly stated. How in earth anyone can think like that if commonwealth appears in both consults, makes no sense. Third, in each of past 3 plebiscites DPP and PIP has joined efforts to just win it, why is that? Because PIP knows they have no chance at all with only 3% of voters, so DPD call for their vote just because they alone can not prevail and do not want to address the issue, they neve have after 1952. So it serves to their sole purpose, are those fair local plebiscites ? Remember that all 3 major parties are founded on political STATUS. How do you deal with this issue, with HR 2499, or if it does not pass, get Congress involved by setting guidelines and ordering all 3 parties to show their proposals on a reasonable term of 2 years to agree with it’s definitions, transition process and move on towards a Puertorrican-USA Congress sanctioned direct vote plebiscite.
Does over 4 million unrepresented tax payers deserve this? yes.
Third, Is it a $33 billion dollar a year cabotage law our taxes? Yes they are, so we can get from Federal Gov. only $10 billion in return? imposed Law by non puertorrican elected politicians? All USA tax payers are entitled to equal representation and we want our share, is is only fair. Our over 100,000 dead and active democracy loving puertorricans in the military and relatives serving do, as all of us. If PR is in this socioeconomic numbness is because we have never been treated as we deserve, we want a change to believe in, too.
Respectfully, we deserve statehood.
Adding is better and we can be the gate for a united American Continent.
Disponible en español, bilingüismo es muy saludable.
Este mensaje va dirigido principalmente a Los norteamericanos.