Puerto Rico, the island of Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee and piña coladas is also
known for its unusual political status: because you see, Visual Politik viewers, this island
is not a state, but part an unincorporated territory of the United States of America.
However, this could change very soon: Will Puerto Rico become the 51st state of the United
States?
In this video we tell you all the details.
Its status is as unusual as it is controversial, because Puerto Rico, despite being under US
sovereignty, does not participate in the vote for president, nor does it vote for senators
or congressmen with voting rights.
Despite this, Puerto Ricans have time and again ratified their desire to remain within
this scheme.
However, in recent years something has been changing.
The question arises: Are Puerto Ricans ready to take the next step?
Where is the island of enchantment headed?
Well, in this video we are going to tell you all the details.
Let's get started.
Puerto Rico has become the largest economy in the Caribbean and the standard of living
on this island is reasonably high.
Obviously being closely connected to the North American giant has certain benefits.
And perhaps that is why both the government and the islanders themselves have practically
never embarked on any independence venture.
They have always been very attached to their Commonwealth regime.
However, the last few years have not been easy and the model seems increasingly out
of date and is losing support: in the end, Puerto Ricans are US citizens, yes, but they
have no real representation in Congress, they do not vote for federal authorities and their
justice system is not entirely autonomous.
So in a way Puerto Rico is still a colony.
Perhaps that is why Puerto Ricans themselves have said ENOUGH is enough, it is time to
move forward...
Not to move away from the United States, but rather to fully integrate with the North American
giant.
And the question is, is this really possible, and will we soon see Puerto Rico become the
51st state of the union?
What could such a change mean for the island?
Today, in this video we are going to answer these questions, but before we do that, let’s
take a look at a little history to understand where it all began.
Let's get into it.
FROM MADRID TO FORAKER AND JONES)
During his second voyage to the American continent, Christopher Columbus came across the island
we all know today as Puerto Rico.
Its capital, San Juan, was so named, precisely, in honor of Prince John, then Prince of Asturias
and heir to the throne of Castile and Aragon in what is now Spain.
From that moment on and for more than 400 years, the Spanish crown maintained control
of the island until eventually a confrontation between Spain and the United States changed
this relationship forever in the 19th century.
In 1895 the Cuban War broke out.
In this conflict, pro-independence revolutionary rebels confronted the Spanish royalists.
The pressure for the Crown was increasing and its position was more and more compromised.
To try to alleviate the situation and the increasingly strong pro-independence sentiment,
Madrid recognized both Cuba and Puerto Rico as autonomous regions in 1897.
However, it was not enough and, what’s more, Uncle Sam's help ended up backing the rebels.
Finally, in 1898, a political-military clash between Spain and the United States ended
with the resounding defeat of the old empire.
The peace agreement that was reached established that Cuba would remain under American guardianship
while Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines became direct colonial dependencies of the
United States.
For the first time the United States demonstrated not only its strength, but above all its status
as a power and its ability to intervene abroad to limit the influence of other foreign powers.
However, despite this, it was not entirely clear what its relationship would be with
these new territories that it now had under his control.
Let's just say that in Washington they didn't want to emulate the old colonial scheme of
the Spanish or the British Empires.
[Which makes sense.
After all this country emerged as a reaction against the very concept of colony].
Well, it was in 1900, when the then senator from Ohio, Joseph B. Foraker, led the drafting
and approval of a law that bore his own surname, the Foraker Act; a law that established the
new political scheme that would be applied from that moment on in Puerto Rico.
For instance, this law determined that the President of the United States himself would
appoint a governor for four years, who would govern alongside an Executive Council in which
at least 5 of its 11 members would have to be Puerto Ricans.
Simultaneously, a small local House of Delegates, consisting of 35 members chosen by the local
population, began to function on the island.
For its part, the United States District Court for Puerto Rico was created to manage the
island's judicial system, and an appeals process to the US Supreme Court was established.
Also, despite not being a state, Puerto Ricans would be able to elect a "Resident Commissioner,"
who would have a voice but no vote in the US House of Representatives.
The stakes would be raised just 17 years later.
In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act, signed by then-President Woodrow Wilson, struck a blow
with its Article 5.
Just take a look at it.
("All citizens of Puerto Rico [...] and all natives of Puerto Rico who were temporarily
absent from the Island on 11 April 1899, and have thereafter returned to and are permanently
residing in said island, and are not citizens of any foreign country, are hereby declared
to be citizens of the United States, and shall be considered and held as such.”
Jones-Shafroth Act (1917))
Suddenly, something very unusual for the time was done: Puerto Ricans were recognized as
citizens of the United States.
An unprecedented privilege: Puerto Ricans were not born in a formal US state, but nevertheless
enjoyed the same rights.
[By the way, have you noticed what year this law was passed?
Well...
I say this because it is said that this initiative had a lot to do with increasing the recruiting
base in the midst of World War One.
Of course, we can't know for sure if that was the deciding factor.]
However, the Jones-Shafroth Act also created a locally elected and much more representative
bicameral legislature, a chamber that became competent to legislate on island affairs.
Of course, both the governor of the island and even, if necessary, the President of the
United States had the right of veto.
The point is that, in only 17 years, Puerto Ricans became US citizens and set in motion
the prototype of their civil government.
But what exactly is this island?
A colony?
A territory subordinate to the United States?
While it’s true that Puerto Ricans are US citizens, the relationship of their land to
the rest of the country is quite different.
Listen up.
By the way, before we continue, if you are someone who likes the world of economics,
don't forget to take a look at our new sister channel: VisualEconomik.
We leave you the link in the description and up here
COMMONW...
AH NO, UNINCORPORATED TERRITORY)
The government of Puerto Rico continued to be elected from the Oval Office until 1947,
when Act 447 of the US Congress established the possibility that the island's Governor
would finally be elected by the people themselves.
Thus Luis Muñoz Marín became the first governor elected by Puerto Ricans.
His administration lasted no less than 16 years, and was absolutely key to the island's
status.
For example, in 1950, Muñoz Marín managed to reach an agreement with Washington for
the approval of Act 600, which gave Puerto Rico the possibility of having its own "state
constitution", as the rest of the states of the Union already had.
It was a kind of fundamental law that established the organization of the territory.
Well, in this text, which finally came into force in 1952, it establishes that Puerto
Rico is itself a "Commonwealth" attached to the United States, but since the text is also
written in Spanish, the translation speaks of a "Freely Associated State", which is the
status that the island still holds officially today...
This marked a turning point.
From that moment on, Muñoz Marín's own idea was that Puerto Rico should have more and
more autonomy.
As you are about to see, this is essentially the idea that modern Puerto Rico is founded
on and it defines its particular relationship with the United States.
Take a look.
There will always be some areas of authority that we will delegate which will be defense,
legislation inherent in common citizenship, legislation inherent in common currency and
a few other things like that.
But the progress is that every day, as the commonwealth grows, the votes that you and
all Puerto Ricans cast at the ballot box will have greater authority over our lives.")
However, not everything was so harmonious.
In 1950 the Jayuya Uprising took place, a revolt led by armed pro-independence sectors
that was quickly put down by the security forces.
Let's just say that the whole free associated State thing was not really apparent.
Be that as it may, in 1952, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the go-ahead but demanded
that a referendum be held to ascertain the true will of Puerto Ricans.
The elections were held on 4 November of that same year.
And, do you want to know the result?
Well...
No less than 87.8% of the islanders voted in favor of the new constitutional framework
establishing the commonwealth.
The support was, as you can see, overwhelming, an absolute majority.
This would be one of the many referendums in which Puerto Ricans have expressed their
support for maintaining ties with Washington:
We could almost say that the second half of the 20th century was a kind of honeymoon period
between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.
Look at this.
SANCHEZ VALLE, THE ARMS DEALER WHO CHANGED HISTORY)
The second half of the 20th century was a bed of roses for the Puerto Rican economy.
Around 1950, the US federal government introduced a package of tax incentives for U.S. companies
to settle on the island, generating a huge economic boom.
Look at the difference with the rest of Latin America.Construction, hotels, businesses,
new highways...
Puerto Rico's economy began to flourish.
And of course this had significant social implications: poverty was reduced and practically
all parameters improved.
For years Puerto Rico was considered a success story.
And take note, because since the first referendum was held in 1952, Puerto Ricans have been
called to the polls six times to express their opinion on the sovereignty status of the island.
They did so in 1967, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017 and 2020.
Well, in all these public surveys, the link with Washington won...
But in different ways.
While the commonwealth concept won until 2012, as of that year, the option in favor of becoming
another state, a formal state of the United States, gained a clear majority.
And the question is, what caused such a leap?
Why did Puerto Ricans cease to be satisfied with their current status?
Well, in order to answer that question we have to go back to September 2008, when Luis
Sanchez del Valle was captured on the island for illegal arms trafficking.
He was simultaneously indicted on that charge by both the US and Puerto Rican courts.
The defendant then sued the State of the island by declaring that a person could not be charged
twice for the same crime in the same jurisdiction, thus framing the renowned case Puerto Rico
v. Sanchez Valle, which was resolved in 2015 with a controversial ruling:
C1("Puerto Rico's authority to prosecute persons derives from delegation by the United States
Congress and not by virtue of any sovereignty of its own (...) The adoption of a constitution,
by delegation of Congress, to organize local government in substitution for much of the
organic law then in force, did not represent a cession of sovereignty to Puerto Rico.
To the contrary, Puerto Rico did not cease to be a territory of the United States."
Puerto Rico Supreme Court Doctrine)
And you may be wondering, so what is so controversial about this?
Basically, the courts made it clear that the sovereignty of Puerto Rico does not rest with
Puerto Ricans, but rather remains in the hands of Washington.
Over the years, this concept, along with economic problems that we have already told you about
in past videos, suddenly triggered the ambition to change Puerto Rico's status.
In 2017, for example, the island was practically bankrupt with an external debt in excess of
$70 billion.
In fact it was not until January 2022 that a federally appointed financial oversight
committee managed to restructure the public debt with creditors.
But, of course, there is still a long way to go before the problem can be considered
solved.
But, do you know what is most curious of all?
The funny thing is that many of Puerto Rico's economic problems, if not the vast majority,
have nothing to do with being a Commonwealth or the 51st state.
We're talking about things like the Jones Merchant Marine Act passed in 1920 and still
in effect today.
This is a law that prohibits foreign-flagged ships from transporting goods between two
US ports.
This makes moving things to and from Puerto Rico very expensive... which obviously erodes
a lot of the island's competitiveness.
Why is that?
Well because US flagged and crewed ships are much, much more expensive to operate.
As an example, this law makes it impossible for large international freighters to unload
goods destined for Puerto Rico on their way to or from the US.
Instead those goods have to make a much more convoluted journey to get to the island.
Imagine, Shanghai-Texas, reload goods onto a US-flagged ship, Texas-Puerto Rico.
And then we also need to talk about things like the minimum wage and federal subsidy
plans.
But in order to understand this, look at this chart.
As you can see, Puerto Rico is much, much poorer than the rest of the United States.
However, since it has to apply the same federal minimum wage or an abnormally high level of
social benefits in relation to what the parameters of the island actually are.
And here the problem is evident.
What is acceptable for Texas does not have to be the same for Puerto Rico.
You could say that federal policies and regulations mean that when it comes down to it, very few
people work in Puerto Rico.
That is one of the main problems.
Although, yes it’s true that things are improving thanks to new tax incentives for
companies setting up on the island.
Well, when it comes down to it, the fact is that none of these problems would change if
Puerto Rico ceases to be a commonwealth and becomes just another US state.
In fact, some of its tax benefits for businesses and investors could disappear altogether.
Yes, the island would gain more integration, influence and probably government investment...
But it would leave many other things by the wayside.
Be that as it may, the option of becoming another state is the number one favorite of
Puerto Ricans.
Take a look.
THE STATUS THAT WENT OUT OF FASHION)
In 2020, Puerto Rico held its latest referendum, but this time neither commonwealth nor independence
was an option.
The question was much clearer: "Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union
as a state?"
This is exactly the question that was asked in that referendum.
Well, the yes vote obtained more than 50% of the votes, which gave the island's government
the strength to lobby in Washington.
It was a campaign in which the current governor, Pedro Pierluisi, is involved, but which requires
overcoming a very complicated legislative circuit.
For example, the House of Representatives must pass a law that enables a binding referendum
for the federal government, that is, an election that not only allows citizens to express their
opinion – as has been the case up to now – but also has legal and political consequences
that allow the President of the United States to sign the incorporation of the new state.
Well, in December 2022, with 233 votes in favor and 191 against, the Lower House surprisingly
succeeded in passing House Bill 8393.
The first step was thus completed, but there is still the Senate...
And that, VisualPolitik community, is not exactly a piece of cake.
Why?
Well, basically because Puerto Rico is a very democratic territory politically.
In other words, many Republicans are afraid that what already happened with Hawaii will
happen again, that Puerto Rico will be a Democratic stronghold that will swing the majority in
the chambers, particularly, in the non-proportional Senate, where all states, regardless of their
size or population, have two representatives.
C2("We have to go senator by senator explaining to them why it is fair to give equal rights
to American citizens residing in Puerto Rico.
We also have to explain to them that Puerto Rico is diverse, that neither should Republican
senators think that if Puerto Rico becomes a state automatically that means that there
will be 2 senators and 4 Democratic congressmen."
Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico)
So the whole thing seems complicated.
But who knows.
In any case, the Puerto Rican government has already set 5 November 2023 as the date for
a new referendum, hoping that by then the Senate will have given the green light and
these elections can be the final step to becoming the 51st star on the American flag.
Or at least the 51st state, because it seems that the flag will not be changed.
We will see what impact there will be among Puerto Ricans if the legislature closes the
doors again.
But for now it's your turn:
Do you think Puerto Rico should become a new state?
What benefits would this option have?
What do you think about the commonwealth status?
Leave us your comments here and if you found this video interesting don't forget to like
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Thank you very much for being there.
All the best and see you next time.