Here’s the latest chapter in the ongoing staus debate: The Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007. Yep. Finally, a psudeo answer to the perpetual question concerning La Isla Del Encanto. Why do I refer to it as psuedo? I’ll tell you why. If Puerto Rico becomes a state, it will have more representation in the house than any other state in the union. What? Si. If granted statehood, we would have 2 senators and 7 representatives in the House. But perhaps even better is the rhetoric they are employing to get us to swallow this new deal (and for the record, the first deal didn’t deliver either), and I quote:
“A bill backed by the White House would establish a two-stage process. Islanders first would choose between maintaining their current status as a US territory or opting for a permanent government, the Miami Herald reported”.
Here’s my question-what about all of the previous plebiscites? Answer- each plebiscite conducted in the past yielded different results based on the most popular political stand of the moment. Translation-who ever was calling the shots made sure the agenda of their choice won.
To me this new deal signals a very dangerous ambiguity about where we want to be in the future. The U.S. is aware of the results of each plebiscite, so why this new tactic? It’s deceptively simple, really. If it appears that the status question is being addressed, than they accomplish two goals: the first is that the accusations of the U.S. as colonizers becomes less tangible, and the other is that they give the illusion of promoting democracy. And here’s the interesting part: the choice Puerto Ricans have (if statehood can not be agreed upon) is independence. Now for some, this is good news. It means a return to the global economy, and less exporting of indigenous goods, and many other perks that naturally accompany independence. But my concern is that statehood will never be granted, and like many other nations in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico will become a victim of the World Bank, who are the benefactors of poverty in every other Caribbean island that is forced to deal with them. And then there’s this:
“Opponents of the bill say it is constructed to eliminate an enhancement of the current territorial arrangement.”
What I want to know is who/what is getting enhanced? In a colonial relationship, no one benefits more than the colonizer. And don’t get me started on the 22.000 acres that have been *appropriated* from the island of Vieques, because that is another conversation. I’ll be very interested to see what appens next. Stay tuned…
