On July 25, 1898, U.S. troops led by General Nelson A. Miles disembarked their ships in the southern coast of Puerto Rico. As the invasion of the island unfolded, and as the Americans marched along the inner towns of Puerto Rico, The New York Times victoriously trumpeted “Our Flag Raised in Puerto Rico.” The newspaper noted the island’s commercial value and “the wisdom of taking… and keeping it for all time.” With little disregard of the island’s people, the United States designated the island as its own playground, sentenced to a long-lasting period of colonialism and deprived of legitimate self-governance.
This state of colonialism and deprivation of self-governance was recently exacerbated by the U.S. Congress. Last week, House Republicans presented a plan aimed at alleviating the current economic pressures on the island. The plan, which does not grant the island permission to restructure its entire $72 billion debt, called for close federal oversight by a five-member voting board appointed by the president of the United States.
The problem with this type of proposal is straightforward: by implementing the federal board, the United States is not only highlighting Puerto Rico’s inability to achieve self-governance, but also perpetuating it. The patronizing manner in which the United States has addressed the fiscal and debt crisis of the island brings to light the true nature of American foreign policy: let us, the big guys, take over your resources, because you don’t know what you’re doing.
Not only would the implementation of a non-elected board be undemocratic, it would also endanger the Puerto Rican people’s interests. I am not claiming a board will be definitevely appointed by financial advisors with bad intentions. But I am claiming that the creation of a board of such nature would make this possible threat a reality. Besides enjoying a relatively high degree of authority, the federal board will also have no check on it by the people who are being directly affected by its measures.
Now, I have heard arguments in favor of this proposal. Some claim Puerto Rico’s inability to solve this crisis on its own shows the inability of the Puerto Rican people to effectively govern themselves. Yet the Puerto Rican government’s inability to solve the crisis is based on more complicated factors. First of all, as a territory, the island does not enjoy the same benefits a U.S. state or city would have available in a similar situation. In fact, in 1984, Congress denied the island bankruptcy protection.
Second, Puerto Rico has been subject to exploitation by vulture funds in Wall Street. When the island is unable to pay back these loans, vulture funds pressure the government for austerity measures in order to get repaid. With this type of pressure, the government has been tightly limited in its options when it comes to cutting expenditures or raising revenues. In sum, the Puerto Rican government’s inability to solve the debt and economic crisis doesn’t reflect that Puerto Ricans are incapable of self-governance, but rather that the Puerto Rican people are incapable of self-governance under their current quasi-colonial status.
With all of this taken into consideration, I find it perplexing that the United States government is unwilling to provide Puerto Rico its ultimate remedy. Instead, it is pursuing an undemocratic and forceful solution that is sure to further the American elite’s political and economic interests. A simple bill allowing Puerto Rico to restructure its debt would ease the island’s economic pressures and set Puerto Rico in a definitive path towards improvement.
American values should call for the protection of the 3.5 million fellow American citizens living on the island. When a humanitarian crisis is imminent among such a large amount of American citizens, politics should be set aside and address the situation as effectively as possible. The United States should do away with the same attitude it has had toward Puerto Rico since 1898. We should embrace the island and its people as autonomous.
Carlos Lopez is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at c.lopez@cavalierdaily.com.
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