Puerto Rico was first a Spanish colony, but then became a US
territory in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. It was first a military
outpost for Spain and then became a US naval outpost and remains such today.
Puerto Rico was largely impoverished and illiterate under Spanish rule. The US
saw Puerto Rico as a strategic naval base to bolster its military supremacy in
the Caribbean. The US kept Puerto Rico under military rule until 1900 when it
transitioned to a civilian government still under the US umbrella of power. It
was titled the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” by US officials. Their foreign
policy is under the control of US foreign policy; however their government is
largely independent of US control and acts more like an independent nation
making its own trade agreements.
Puerto Ricans have automatic US citizenship. They do not pay
federal income taxes, but do pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. They use the US dollar as its currency as well
as the US military for its defense. They cannot vote for President of the USA
nor have congressional representation, but they are subject to US federal laws.
They have a democracy and vote for their own representation. Puerto Rico has long
been comfortable with her Commonwealth status and has in the past voted on
whether to become the 51st state of the USA. It is Constitutional
procedure for a territory to first vote to petition Congress with a majority of
support from its citizens to become a state. It was the last vote in 2012 that
garnered the majority of votes necessary to petition for statehood. Puerto Rico
has had three options: continue the status quo as a Commonwealth, go for statehood
or declare its independence.
What I find most interesting is that the House of Representatives
is a majority republican. They are not interested in admitting Puerto Ricans
who favor democrats into the fold when they are doing their best to gerrymander
states to insure republican seats. They would be opposed to their statehood
because of the likelihood of more democrats in both houses of congress.
The changing dynamics of the Puerto Rican population are at
the roots of why they now favor statehood by a majority of votes. They are
experiencing a decline in population as there are more Puerto Ricans on the US
mainland than there are on the island itself.
Also according to their Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, a weak
economy and lack of jobs are also contributing factor.
Economics and social freedoms are primary drivers in any
reformist movements. Puerto Rico is our poorest child with a population that
places it in the middle of current state members of the USA. Its labor costs
are lower than the mainland US while it falls under US laws, banking and
finance laws and existing trade agreements make the transfer of goods as easy
as from state to state. The kicker for investors is the lack of federal income
tax on personal or corporate incomes. I would suspect that those industries
that are stationed there would be absolutely opposed to statehood simply
because they like the tax advantage and they get cheap labor. The US mainland
receives 80% of Puerto Rican exports according to the article on Current Issues
in Economics and Finance and they note that 4% of the population works for the
pharmaceutical industry.
I never fully understood out relationship with Puerto Rico
and I can understand their desire to become a state to help realize better
representation since they are American citizens and they are compelled to live
by our federal laws. They are acting like a state. Why not become one?
Bram, Jason. Trends and Development in the Economy of Puerto
Rico. Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Current Issues in Economics and
Finance. Vol 14, No 2 Mar 2008. http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci14-2.pdf WEB 1 Jul 2013
Brás,Marisabel Ph.D. The Changing of the Guard: Puerto Rico
in 1898. Library of Congress, Spanish
Division. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/bras.html
WEB 1 Jul 2013
Palen, Marc William. Will Puerto Rico Become the 51st State?
History News Network. 12 Oct 2012. http://hnn.us/articles/will-puerto-rico-become-51st-state WEB 1 Jul 2013
Puerto Rico: The 51st state? The Economist.17 Nov 2012. http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21566697-america-may-not-want-what-its-caribbean-outpost-now-does-51st-state WEB 1 Jul 2013
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