When Will Independence Come for Puerto Rico?

 Puerto Rico needs independence. Puerto Ricans have been living as prisoners of America’s oppression for over 100 years and it is about time they were given an opportunity to control their own prosperity and destiny.

Puerto Rico’s current status as “commonwealth” is undemocratic. In a democracy, power is held by citizens. Puerto Ricans are called citizens but they lack representatives in Congress and lack electoral votes. Even though they have no input in U.S. government, they are under the jurisdiction of U.S. laws. Residents of Puerto Rico even pay some U.S. federal taxes (Social Security and Medicare). This brings to mind James Otis’ philosophy, “taxation without representation is tyranny.” Early Americans fought for their independence based on the idea that those who knew nothing about their needs and conditions weren’t fit to represent them. Without representatives in U.S. Congress, how could the needs of Puerto Ricans be addressed adequately? It is unjust that Puerto Rico is forced to abide by laws they never got to vote on. This isn’t a democracy; it’s oppression.

Puerto Ricans aren’t new to the idea of oppression. Independistas have been labeled “terrorists” by the United States for years. The Boricua Popular Army campaigns for independence in Puerto Rico but they are described by the FBI as a terrorist organization due to the methods they have used to further their agenda. Who determines the line between terrorism and patriotism? If terrorism is policy intended to intimidate or cause terror then that is not what Puerto Rican nationalists are about. They are fighting against political repression and the tyranny of America’s colonialism.

Lolita Lebrón was a pioneering figure when she and a group of Puerto Rican nationalists, including Irving Flores and Rafael Cancel Miranda, opened fire at the United States Capitol with automatic pistols on March 1, 1954. Five lawmakers and one representative were wounded. As Lebrón was being arrested, she shouted, “I did not come to kill anyone. I came to die for Puerto Rico!” President Jimmy Cater pardoned the independistas in 1979 but they were considered terrorists (and treated as such while in prison) for 25 years.

Independistas like Lolita Lebrón, Irving Flores, and Rafael Cancel Miranda are not terrorists. They are prisoners of war. From the international viewpoint, a prisoner of war is any combatant that in any phase or circumstance of war, either by surrender, or by being captured, falls into the enemy’s hands. Puerto Rican nationalists are at war against the invaders who hold military, economical, and political power over them. The United States has abused the island and its people since taking control of it. The island of Vieques was bombarded with U.S. military forces that simultaneously bomb, shell and stage amphibious landings. Civilians were killed during these war games and many were forced off the island.

The United States’ presence in Vieques also brought up the issue of dependent capitalism. The land used by the U.S. was bought from owners of large sugar cane farms and plantations. The purchase of this land prompted the end of the sugar industry.The desperation independistas feel to have the foreign invasion by the United States over is completely reasonable especially when independence is a plausible idea for Puerto Rico.

Over the past few generations, there has been an increasing fear of independence for Puerto Rico. Cuba and Dominican Republic are frequently cited when describing how Puerto Rico’s independence will transpire. These are not the nations that can most accurately be compared to a sovereign Puerto Rico. They don’t share common economic characteristics like size, population density, level of industrialization, access to financial resources, and education. Many small independent countries, such as Ireland and South Korea, are able to sustain their people and they didn’t have the “head start” that Puerto Rico would have. The economic market is immensely different now than it was when other Latin American nations gained independence.

A new nation’s success depends on its economic condition when and shortly after it becomes independent, on its trade agreements with other nations, its level of technology, its infrastructure, and its level of education. As long as a nation keeps up to date on the constantly-changing international market and can attract industry, it will be successful.

When discussing Puerto Rico’s independence, the issue of citizenship is often a concern. Congress should allow dual citizenship for those who want it. Everyone born in Puerto Rico after independence is gained would become citizens of the Republic of Puerto Rico and the new Republic would secure the same or similar rights as those of the U.S. Constitution to prevent a sudden exodus from the island.

Not only does Puerto Rico need independence, but all Latin American nations need to form a union to move away from dependent capitalism. When Puerto Rico gains its independence, it shouldn’t fall victim to the injustice of economic repression by the United States. Latin American nations need to create a new policy that ensures the free movement of goods, the free movement of persons, the free movement of services, the free movement of capital and the free movement of knowledge. Only through unity can the countries of Latin America thrive and that begins with all of them being free. Puerto Rico deserves its freedom.