Here is Part 1 of my discussion of United States-Puerto Rico Political Relations. Rather than provide a chronological history, I 've decided to start with a "Where Are We Now" Entry, to provide an Overview. I'll augment this with subsequent entries on how we got here.
First, some caveats. I don't have a particular position on Puerto Rico status - I'm not pro-Statehood or pro-Commonwealth per se, but I do believe Independence is not in the short term interest of Puerto Rico - and, in the words of Keynes, in the long run we'll all be dead. In addition, I am not a native of Puerto Rico - but a Cuban-American who has enjoyed the hospitality of Puerto Rico for the past 7 years - I live and work here most of the time, with New York as my other locale. So, my words are not those of a Puerto Rican who may have special insights or concerns particular to that experience.
With that stated, let me begin -
It is the common understanding of all the players that U.S.-Puerto Rico relations have basically three alternatives for the future -
(1) Commonwealth - the status quo - created in 1952 upon the adoption of the Puerto Rico Constitution and its approval by the U.S. Under Commonwealth, Puerto Rico has autonomy as to its internal affairs, subject to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Thus, Puerto Rico is "like a state" (a phrase adopted by the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals) in that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution applies. Some argue that the Territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution applies to Puerto Rico because its is an "unincorporated" territory, following the thinking in the Insular Cases, decided by the Supreme Court in the first decade of the last Century (1900s). I think this assertion is possible to defend in formalistic legal terms, but really not true in practical terms - Congress does not control the internal affairs of Puerto Rico, though, in theory, I suppose it could.
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, by Congressional statute. Puerto Rico enjoys an exemption from federal INCOME tax, though FICA fully applies. Puerto Rico is provided federal funding by Congress as part of the budgeting process. The U.S. Courts are present here, and often a bone of contention - most recently regarding the sentencing of Vieques protesters.
Internally, Puerto Rico's democracy is robust and vigorous - with a tradition of high electoral participation and hard fought campaigns. There is no history of significant violence in the electoral process, though there was violence prior to the formation of the Commonwealth. (this does not refer to certsain violent acts perpetrated against the U.S. by certain Nationalist sects, again, this will be treated in a subsequent diary.)
Commonwealth garnered 48% of the vote in the most recent refeerendum on status, in 1993 and 1998. (In 1952 and 1967, Commonwealth garnered 2/3 or better.) The consensus position of Commonwealth supporters is that Commonwealth needs tobe "improved." Specifics on improvement are sorely lacking or unrealistic.
Ok, so what's the beef? No federal income taxes, U.S. citizenship, home rule, federal funds, who's complaining? Well, alot of people.
I'll explore in Extended.
What's Wrong With the Status Quo?
(2) The Independence Postion.
Here's what Ruben Berrios Martinez, the leader of the Independence Party, wrote in Foreign Affairs in 1997 -
PUERTO RICO's heart is not American. It is Puerto Rican. The national sentiment of Puerto Ricans is entirely devoted to our patria, as we call our homeland in Spanish, our language. We are Puerto Ricans in the same way that Mexicans are Mexicans and Japanese are Japanese. For us, "we the people" means we Puerto Ricans. Only through the distorted prism of Coca-colonization would any observer confuse U.S. cultural influence in Puerto Rico with inclusion in the melting pot that has kept the United States e pluribus unum. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they are not Americans. Although Puerto Rico is not a politically independent nation, it is no less distinguishable from the United States than the non-independent Palestinian nation is from Israel.
The present commonwealth arrangement is an outmoded remnant of the Cold War. According to Sections 1 and 9 of the Federal Relations Act, which provided the legal framework for commonwealth in 1952, all U.S. laws enacted by Congress apply to "Puerto Rico and adjacent islands [offshore Puerto Rican municipalities] belonging to the United States," except when deemed locally inapplicable. But territory under the U.S. Constitution was never intended to be permanent, and a growing majority of Puerto Ricans repudiates the present status. In a 1952 yes-or-no referendum, 81 percent of voters backed common wealth and 19 percent opposed it. In a 1993 plebiscite sponsored by the Puerto Rican government, by contrast, the percentage for common wealth had decreased to 49 percent, while statehood had increased to 46 percent, and independence, in spite of decades of discrimination and persecution, garnered 4 percent.
The issue of Puerto Rico's status can no longer be shunted aside. Unless it addresses it directly, the United States may, at the very least, risk international embarrassment by retaining a colony that lacks even the appearance of majority support while denying a statehood petition that would weaken the unitary nature of the federation.
http://www.independencia.net/ingles/frgAffairs.html
Independence supporters make up roughly 5% of the electorate.
(3) Statehood. For Statehooders, the rhetoric is one of full democracy and participation in the federal government, which makes the Supreme Law of the Land. They want to be Americans, in full measure. The view represents around 46% of the electorate, based on the most recent status votes, in 1993, and in 1998. In addition, some Statehooders, most famously, former Statehood Party Governor Carlos Romero Barcelo, in his book "Statehood is for the Poor," argue that Commonwealth deprives Puerto Rico of its fair share of federal funding, which hurts poor Puerto Ricans (Puerto Rico receives around 60% of the federal funding received by comparable states.
A good overview of the Statehood position is reported at this site -
http://www.puertorico-herald.org/index.shtml
One last alternative to throw in, but it really is sort of an Independence option - free association. The idea is rather formless, though many will describe it in great detail. This seeming contradiction results from the fact that, in my view, most of the proposals are simply not possible - for example, the formal striucture of dual citizenship that most free asociation proposals include - U.S. citizenship is desired by 90-95% of ALL Puerto Ricans. I don't lend much credence to this approach, and leave it there.
Ok, those are the alternatives that are discussed in the main. Are they realistic? Yes and no. Obviously the status quo, Commonwealth, is the reality. Independence can and would be granted, I believe, should a majority of Puerto Ricans favor it. And statehood, in theory, is also possible.
But there's the rub - it takes 2 to tango. The U.S. must agree. The status quo, again, is obviously the reality. The U.S. would agree to Independence, particularly after the closing of the Vieques as a bombing range, the closure of the big naval station, Roosevelt Roads and other events.
Statehood? Well, that is another story. And one I will explore in my next diary.