Puerto Rico’s Dilemma: To Be Or Not to Be a U.S. State

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a place most Americans rarely consider unless they are going on vacation in mid-winter. But according to this article from Spain’s La Vanguardia, the recent Democratic primary in the territory exposed an uncomfortable vein of seperatism there.

For La Vanguardia of Spain, Eusebio Val sums up the current state of Puerto Rican sovereignty:

“Put back on the map by the U.S. Democratic primary, Puerto Rico is a peculiar country that enjoys sovereignty only over sporting competitions and beauty pageants. So the devotion of puertorriqueños to their excellent boxing champions and beauty queens (the result of racial mixing that produces very beautiful women) is not at all surprising. …”

On the day of the Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton, one resident relates to Val:

“Ninety five percent of Puerto Ricans in their daily lives feel no inconsistency about valuing U.S. government institutions, being American citizens and defending United States democracy on the other hand, and expressing cultural nationalism on the other.”

Later, Val speaks to Fernando Marin, President of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, who tells him what he thinks of the Democratic primary:

“The primary has become a carnival of assimilation and annexation, with Puerto Rican politicians running like puppy dogs with rabies after North American candidates who come to tell us what we want to hear only to turn their backs on us, which is what has happened historically.”

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election

By Eusebio Val

Translated By Barbara Howe

June 3, 2008

Spain – La Vanguardia – Original Article (Spanish)

San Juan, Puerto Rico: Put back on the map by the U.S. Democratic primary, Puerto Rico is a peculiar country that enjoys sovereignty only over sporting competitions and beauty pageants. So the devotion of puertorriqueños to their excellent boxing champions and beauty queens (the result of racial mixing that produces very beautiful women) is not at all surprising.

Since World War I, Puerto Ricans have generously given their blood in every war that the U.S. has taken part in. However the inhabitants of the island, although they are U.S. citizens, can’t vote in presidential elections. Its status as a Commonwealth masks a situation of semi-colonial dependency. Satisfying to no one, the state of affairs is maintained for practical reasons and because it seems better than the alternatives. In a recent article in The New York Times, historian Michael Janeway put it graphically. He described Puerto Rico as a “special place, which landed in our lap as a stepchild of imperialism in 1898, and which we have never seen clearly.

[Editor's Note: Janeway refers to the Spanish-American War. The war with Spain lasted four months and marked the serious entry of the United States into global affairs. It also effectively brought to an end the Spanish Empire. The United States gained almost all of Spain's colonies, including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Cuba, which had already been occupied, received its independence in 1902, except of course for the now infamous, Guantanamo Bay ].

Walking through the old section of San Juan, the capital, or through the center of Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second city, its Spanish heritage is evident. Spain’s was a four hundred year presence. Catalan surnames are widespread: Rosselló, Prats, Pou, Pons, Mercader, Fábregas, Albors, Comas and many more. Among Puerto Ricans of a certain upbringing, the knowledge of Spanish current affairs is astounding. A married couple of a certain age, both Puerto Ricans going back several generations and who attended a rally for Hillary Clinton at the port of San Juan, surprised me with their understanding of the most recent difficulties Mariano Rajoy has had asserting his authority over the Partido Popular [Spain's ruling Party].

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election