To Be or Not to Be?

Picture Courtesy of mentalfloss.com

In regards to Puerto Rican statehood, my opinion is that if Puerto Ricans are going to be governed by our laws and regulations, they should have the right to vote. Sound familiar?


The Washington Times on the other hand seems to disagree. According to them, "Past elections have shown that commonwealth status is favored directly over statehood, directly against independence and directly against some sort of hybrid arrangement." Apparently those favoring statehood, 46.3% in 1993 and 46.5% in 1998, is an obviously example of the previous statement.

However, even if Congress passes the proposed upcoming referendum, it is not obligated to grant statehood if Puerto Ricans approve by a small margin. So what is the harm of letting the voices of the Puerto Rican people be heard, at the very least.



Here is what one such individual had to say in response to The Washington Times article:


"Oh, the distinctive voice of privilege speaks. Us islanders should not even think about being so bold! Unfortunately for many, the imperialist era is over. Puerto Rico is a real place with real people. This isn't the 19th century; we can't live like this anymore. There are only two real options: Statehood or Independence. What other options are there? We have been living under a wretched non-status for 60 years (commonwealth is nothing more than a euphemism for colony). But sure, there are choices, just like eating is also a choice. You could *not* eat and die, or you could eat and live. But hey, at least you have the option! I would argue right now for our soldiers to stop enlisting, stop dying for nothing. Just comeback home already; the country you're fighting doesn't even think you have the right to vote for the man that sends you to your death. Give us our independence if you don't think we deserve the right to be a state (because that would be stealing an election, right?). We've been living in this horrid political, social and economic limbo for too long, and the time has come to decide, once and for all, what are we going to do. "There's nothing wrong with letting a free people occasionally reanalyze their governing status. " ...Just not when what they apparently want to change to contradicts with your idea of where they belong. But hey, I'm glad you cleared that up. I was wondering."
-treelifefun


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Picture Courtesy of Latin American Herald Tribune


Pedro Pierluisi, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress, is asking for more federal funding for Puerto Rican schools in an effort to make the younger generations bilingual. Spanish and English are the official languages of Puerto Rico but only 85 percent of the population says they only have basic knowledge of English.

The hope is that with this measure, students will be able to preform proficiently in both Spanish and English upon graduation. In addition, public school students will be afforded the same opportunities of private school students.

Yolanda Rivera, director of the Linguistics Program at the University of Puerto Rico, believes that there should be the opportunity of free choice language learning, not dictated by political interests.

Click here to read the full article at the Latin American Herald Tribune

Puerto Rico to Determine Their Own Fate?

Picture Courtesy The Washington Post

The House Natural Resources Committee approved the Puerto Rico Democracy Act last July. This would create at least one plebiscite in the Caribbean territory to survey the population about what they want their status to be. The bill will come up to the floor for a vote this year.



Both the Democratic and Republican parties are trying to charm Hispanics in this election year.


"Every Republican president in the last 50 years has supported this process," Fortuno said in an interview. "President Reagan was a strong supporter of this process, and actually of statehood as well."


The pending legislation will not be finite. It will simply allow Congress to conduct an official suvey of Puerto Rico citizans to discover their desires for statehood or not. Congress would then proceed how it sees fit.

Click here to read the entire article at Hotline On Call