The Takeover of Puerto Rico
June 22, 2016
The Takeover of Puerto Rico
by José L. Flores
The Island of Puerto Rico is currently in the midst of an economic crisis. It has been reported that Puerto Rico’s government owes over 70 billion dollars in debt, mostly to investors holding state issued bonds, living in the continental United States. Unable to repay such a huge sum of debt Puerto Rico has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court attempting to restructure its financial obligations. This appeal was quickly denied, thereby provoking the U.S. Congress to step in and attempt to resolve this dilemma.
It was the House Natural Resources Committee, which passed a bipartisan bill resulting in a complete takeover of Puerto Rico’s economy. The bill calls for an oversight-committee of seven people to manage the entire financial economy of the island. Only one of the seven is required to be a resident of Puerto Rico. Four of the remaining six will be chosen directly by the Republican congress. The other three can be selected by President Obama; however, his choice will be from a list provided by the House Republicans. Aside from this economic-junta, further austerity measures are required in the proposal. Undoubtingly, austerity in the face of the current Puerto Rican depression will further disparage the working class and poor of the island.
A possible and reasonable response to this news could be; what is the current territorial/state status of Puerto Rico? The United States often refer to the island as a “commonwealth.” Which brings up another interesting question; what does it mean to be a commonwealth? This legal term derives from English common-law, referring to an independent state, which maintains its sovereignty within an association of similar sovereign states. This definition certainly does not apply to Puerto Rico. Seven people making decision for 3.5 million is appalling. The fact that they are unelected and mostly appointed by a foreign body is infuriating. Certainly, this situation does not constitute a free and equal state in a community of free and equal states. This situation constitutes imperialism, which makes Puerto Rico a formal colony in a frightful empire. With that said, perhaps the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico should be reconsidered prior to settling the debt issue.
In the late 19th century a war was concocted by the murderers in the U.S. War Department, in order to conquer the remaining Spanish Colonies in America and Asia. Immediately following the Spanish American War Puerto Rico found itself under direct U.S. Military rule. At the turn of last century is was the Foraker Act, passed by the U.S. Congress, which ended the military rule. The Foraker Act allowed for the U.S. President to appoint a governor for the Island and appoint an eleven-member executive council, in congruence with Congress. Only five of these members were required to be of Puerto Rican heritage. Sound familiar? However, there are some noticeable differences with the Foraker Act. First the Foraker Act allowed for more Puerto Rican representation. The second difference, in the 19th century United States citizens didn’t shy away from the term imperialism and very often embraced the term. It was the polemics of Mark Twain that begun to change the idiom and vernacular, with respect to opinions on imperialism in the United States. Today the term imperialism is thankfully a bad word, but in Puerto Rico it has led to the disingenuous euphemism “commonwealth.”
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/06/22/the-takeover-of-puerto-rico/
