When an Island Became a Powerful Nation

After a surprisingly overwhelming protest following a scandal that has shaken an already-frustrated and impoverished island, Ricky Rossello has decided to step down as Puerto Rico’s governor. It was revealed through leaked conversations that government members running Puerto Rico had stolen funds, had been making fun of hurricane victims, went into sexist and homophobic territory (who goes after Ricky Martin!?!), and worst of all carried this lack of compassion and worry while the island was drowning literally and figuratively throughout the 2017 hurricane season and beyond. Enough was enough, and an island with a very tough history and an even harsher present day situation than anywhere else in the United States roared louder than ever before, reaching a level of resistance so big the island was on the verge of shutting down until Rossello changed his mind about keeping his position. Come early August, he is gone, and for the rest of this year even more politicians might fall under the pressured weight of the Puerto Rican resistance.

Of course, this could be the time to discuss how Latin America is on the verge of exploding in protest and demands for change, as we are fed up with corrupt governments, racist governments, lack of change, lack of respect to those seeking better lives, etc. etc. etc. We could discuss how there have also been public vs. government battles in Guatemala, Haiti, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and especially (especially) Venezuela.

But, for now, Puerto Rico deserves the spotlight, all the spotlight.

It’s time we and especially the current United States government really focus on a disenfranchised island that deserves much better, and has been dealt a hand so rough that there are more Puerto Ricans outside the island than inside, and they continue to leave their homeland in droves. With this amazing protest that emerged from decades of bad decisions, bad luck, bad leadership, and negligence from the host nation, we might be seeing a new Puerto Rico with a new generation of Latinx fighting for a proper change within those 100 beautiful miles in the Caribbean.

Population of Puerto Ricans in Florida increased 40% between 2000 and 2017, and this is before hurricane Maria and the aftermath. Over 400,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island post-Maria so far, with half of them migrating to Florida, participating in the surprising surge in population in Central Florida. This comes in line with the heavy migration patterns of Venezuela (whose migration is the largest in Western Hemisphere history), Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and even Brazil (23% increase of immigrating towards Portugal in 2018)---all of which are countries that are struggling and have seen better days. Puerto Rico is undeniably suffering and undeniably broke. The difference is, Puerto Rico isn’t fully a country and therefore has to rely on the host nation to improve. Sadly, United States has never really had a proper plan for the island.

Puerto Rico was claimed before the existence of the five youngest U.S. states, but was never considered as a viable option for statehood. Built as a Navy base, Puerto Rico would become a cheap paradise for the rich, a tax heaven for businesses, a secretly good cash cow for the United States itself, and because of the plethora of restrictive laws, an island extremely dependent on the country that fought for her back in the late 1800s. One of if not the oldest settlements in the Western Hemisphere has yet to actually experience the freedom nearby islands have been able to get via war or patience. As the Latin cornerstone of the United States, it would always try to build its identity but we have the Jones Act which restricts other countries from doing business with Puerto Rico. Hard to move forward when your legs are restricted. And with this, the mass migrations started.

New York City was the first major city to receive an influx of Puerto Ricans seeking labor and a better life. And this happened in the 1950s. So for over 60 years, we have seen Puerto Rico lose its own people because opportunity was consistently better overseas. During a brief resurgent period, 1970s tax breaks allowed for companies to make their way to Puerto Rico, only to see them close shop and head elsewhere decades later as the tax breaks ended.

Then municipal bonds here, vulture funds there, recession here, constant tax breaks attached to Wall Street investments there, and before you know it the territory was a whopping $70 billion in debt and with no feasible plan to stop the bleeding or start paying back. Let’s be clear here, an island with no abilities to appeal to non-U.S. nations has no shot at clearing this debt.  By the time Obama took over, Puerto Rico was in the double-digits in terms of unemployment and taking the biggest hit from the recession caused by irresponsible Wall Street behavior and a housing market that economically poisoned everything.

Throughout most this millennium, nothing can truly be paid. Hospitals, schools, public services weren’t getting the necessary money because the U.S. government foolishly allowed for the tax incentives of large companies to end and because desperate local government made mistakes trying to entice Wall Street and the fat cats to help pay and help them try to recover from the labor rip tide that tore up Puerto Rico once the recessions hit. Worst of all because Puerto Rico is not a state and because the laws had not allowed the provision, they couldn’t even declare bankruptcy, nor could they receive the necessary statehood funds to help combat the poverty.

Puerto Rico is treated and being operated like a second-class state, one with some incentives for those that live in the island, but has none of the safety nets an actual U.S. state could receive. So if Puerto Rico were to fall, it’s going to fall hard. And during the Great Depression, during the 1950s, during the 2000s, and during the Post-Maria era, Puerto Rico is doing just that---falling, and taking the innocent citizens with them. Under both Republican AND Democratic administrations, Puerto Rico has become a tricky problem that has become relatively avoided, with a couple exceptions (Obama’s Promesa in 2017).

My main point throughout all this is that Puerto Rico is suffering because it has never been treated as an equal but more of a side project, to the expense of the millions of Puerto Ricans and even the governments that run it. United States owns this territory, and has witnessed corrupt politicians make bad situations worse. Before this governor, the one before wasn’t much better, and money was squandered constantly. Nonetheless, Puerto Rico doesn’t have a sense of economic freedom, doesn’t have the ability for growth without American intervention or rulemaking impeding on these attempts. Detroit was saved multiple times. New York City was once bailed out. Even the Midwest nowadays is requiring and receiving help because of the trade war against China. Should be Puerto Rico’s turn.

And then came Maria, which claimed thousands of lives.

The breaking point after a century of colonialism, profiting off the island, refusing to fix the outdated rules and laws was starting to form with the Donald Trump administration’s horrific mishandling of hurricane Maria. The island was completely without power, yet Trump didn’t lift the Jones Act before-during-week-after-Maria to make things easier for other nations nearby to help out. The money was not reaching the people it needed to reach. The United States seemed disinterested and pulled out of the island much earlier than expected. There were reports of money being squandered, of FEMA completely failing, and the island itself needed an entire year before it could fully get its power back.

And during that first year of recovery? Rebuilding everything from scratch, battle the rest of the hurricane season with even fewer funds and resources, surviving under candlelight, potentially having to flee your home entirely and move to the U.S. mainland, not knowing where to bury the dead, seeing the administration DENY the number of deceased, not knowing where your relatives might be, and burying people in unmarked graves and somehow having the energy and willpower to continue life with even harsher conditions. Maria was the worst thing to happen to a Puerto Rico already spiraling, and to this day Puerto Rico still has not fully recovered from that hurricane season.

But as Latin Americans, we fight.

Back in 2017 when Maria hit Puerto Rico, there was an event to gather supplies and food to send to the island happening on International Drive. It took me an hour of waiting in the line of cars to drop off my items and go about my day. And it was a great hour, seeing all the support from fellow Central Floridian Puerto Ricans and even Latinx from other countries like Colombia, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic (*raises hand*). Latin America has witnessed a white supremacist administration and mindset take control of the United States, and the consequences were starting immediately after. And even Puerto Rico, a community of Latin AMERICANS, were caught in the racist crossfires. But we were at the very least united, suffering together, recovering together, and ready to battle together.

So why in the hell is the Puerto Rican governor doing talking trash about the very people that have been pushed to the brink all century? Welcome to the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Granted, Puerto Rico has always been a fighter. They have fought in every war United States was involved in since the 20th century. Even the popular track “En Mi Viejo San Juan” which has become an anthem of sorts for Puerto Ricans not living in their home turf, was made because the singer had been deployed overseas during World War II. Puerto Ricans have been vocal towards segregation, independence, gentrification, and other issues plaguing the culture over the years. But it had never become a wave of protest this big, this vicious, this relentless. It was amazing, it was inspiring, and it could be the start of something.

Without going to war, without mass killings, without any of the typical sacrifices that has to be made towards a protest and a political demand of this scale, Puerto Rico got their wish and got it immediately. I’m sure the Venezuelan people have to be happy but slightly jealous at the widespread progress. And it wasn’t just the governor that stepped down, multiple political figures have departed, and even the next governor that takes over won’t be out of the woods. Puerto Rico has risen, and has created a new voice demanding change, demanding improvement, demanding accountability as well as a future that separates itself from the ugly past.

Of course, the question is, now what. I’ll be upfront, I don’t have say in this, this isn’t my fight. I’ll support Puerto Rico until the end of time (except during the World Baseball Classic and the FIBA World Cup) but my time living in Puerto Rico is next to zero and the issue involving statehood/independence is one of extreme complications. Puerto Rico deserves full freedom from the United States, but let’s be honest those first few years are going to be awkward as the U.S. slowly removes their stuff from their military bases. Then there’s the aspect about the island never, ever having been fully independent, how would they be able to thrive on their own? That would take very strong leadership, which is something Puerto Rico hasn’t had the pleasure of experiencing in a very long time.  

To me, Puerto Rico regardless of whether it achieves statehood, independence, or neither, should have its debt bailed out. If are willing to save the upper class billions in tax cuts, if we are willing to save Wall Street despite causing the previous economic crash, then the United States should realize the error of its ways for decades and restart Puerto Rico with a fresh slate. Of course, any politician that promotes this idea will risk their entire career, but this is what the community deserves. Considering the military budgets, the GDP being the best in the planet in spite of the circumstances, and United States’ maintained dominance of the global market in spite of China’s wishes and current administration’s foolishness, they can afford to help the 100-mile island.

And even though there really should be a vote in the island within the next half decade towards what Puerto Rico should do moving forward, my personal choice is the island should finally be free---no more Spanish rule, no more U.S. rule. Puerto Rico deserves the freedom of Jamaica, the freedom of the Dominican Republic, the potential wealth of a free state that can trade with whomever they want and receive tourists from all over the world without American intervention. This freedom is scary, but would benefit the island as a whole for the future. No Jones Act, no military testing on the edges of the island, they can move freely, live freely, develop a culture freely. They can wave their flag without persecution, and can vote for elected officials that can actually represent them (they still can’t vote for president).

Puerto Rico deserves a drastic change. Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans around the world deserves true blue freedom: economic and cultural. And from what we’ve seen this summer I think it’s time the politicians in Washington D.C. explore this issue, even though it hasn’t been much of an explored subject for this upcoming election. Regardless, it’s time for Puerto Rico to move towards the next big change—whether it be statehood, or something even bigger; equality with the other states or full freedom.

For too long this island has endured the worst of Mother Nature, colonialism, political and economic corruption, and mistreatment from the host nation owning it. Enough is enough. The Governor is gone, and it’s time that we start eliminating the shackles preventing Puerto Rico from becoming something more, something even better.

Que viva Puerto Rico, ahora y por siempre.