Decolonization Models for America’s Last Colony: Puerto Rico

Introduction to the Third Edition (2010)

xix Introduction to the Third Edition (2010) So far as Porto Rico was concerned, that was to belong to us, and it was, therefore, competent to do with respect to franchises there whatever we might deem best. . . . With respect to Porto Rico, we had no specific pledge to redeem, but we had a general duty to govern that people in accordance with the spirit of our institutions, although outside constitutional restrictions and limitations, that it was deemed unwise if not impossible to apply there. . . . Porto Rico belongs to the United States, but it is not the United States, nor a part of the United States. —Senator Joseph B. Foraker, Notes of a Busy Life The United States does not suffer from the inexperience of Porto Rico in self-government, but Porto Rico suffers from the inexperience of the United States in governing others. —Félix Córdova-Dávila, Resident Commissioner, Puerto Rico, 1928 [T]hree decades after the establishment of the new status of “association ” with the United States, there is a widespread consensus that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in its present form, has reached a dead end, that a radical restructuring of this relationship with the United States is imperative if the island is to solve the difficult economic and social challenges that it faces in the 1980s. —Jorge Heine, Time for Decision: The United States and Puerto Rico [US provisions for independence] . . . are enacted in recognition of the unique relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, to affect a smooth and fair transition for the new Republic of Puerto Rico with a minimum of economic disruption, and to promote the development of a viable economy in the new Republic of Puerto Rico. xx  2010 Edition Introduction The definition of the independence option in The Puerto Rico Referendum Act, S. 244, Sec. 313, January 23, 1991, [is] endorsed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernández-Colón, all the political parties of Puerto Rico and President George H. W. Bush. The unceasing debate about the island’s political status and the uncertainty about its future is [sic] sapping Puerto Rico’s strength to stand on its own feet and deal with its severe economic problems. Keeping Puerto Rico in a state of subjection does not serve any perceivable United States interest and is seriously out of line with developments in the rest of the world. —José Trías Monge, Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World These quotations dramatize how perspectives on Puerto Rico’s colonial status have evolved over the past 112 years: from a classic colony to one with limited powers of self-government and finally to acceptance that there is a colonial problem and that a sovereign Puerto Rico is possible. The first two editions of Soberanías exitosas achieved unprecedented sales among books on the topic at hand, which reaffirms that the people of Puerto Rico want to explore other options, given the deterioration of the economic and social model with which they are burdened today and given the lack of real options. Following the publication of the first two editions of this book in 2008 and 2009, the world economy has suffered its worst crisis since the Great Depression. All of the world’s countries have been affected by that crisis in one way or another. [See the interview “Successful Sovereignties,” which took place in 2009 and was added to the third edition.] However, while sovereign countries are reinventing themselves, taking advantage of the economic crisis, and investing in the future, as Singapore has done by opening three new universities, Puerto Rico has reduced the budget of the University of Puerto Rico to the detriment of that island’s future. Spanish banker Emilio Botín recently said: 2010 Edition Introduction  xxi Investment in education is the most effective medium-term bet to advance toward more open, more socially balanced, and more economically dynamic societies. . . . In economic times as complex as the ones we are experiencing, we need to state clearly that society . . . will not be able to face the challenges posed by growing globalization of the society of knowledge if our universities and their researchers do not assume a greater role. . . . Higher education is one of the main forward-looking investments in any country.1 Just before the turn of the new century, Puerto Rico lost its tax advantages when the federal exemptions...