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The Front Burner

What future for Puerto Rico?
Independence is the answer: COMMENTARY
Statehood if thats what
Break corporate, colonial ties voters on the island want
By Phillip Arroyo | Guest columnist By Tony Suarez | Guest columnist

Every minute of debate about whether or not Puerto Rico Let me be clear: Puerto Ricans on the island should have the
should become a state serves only to perpetuate the islands cur- final say as to whether Puerto Rico should be a state or have an
rent colonial status with the United States. Michael Joe independent-nation status. That said, however, I will make the
I lived in Puerto Rico for more than 18 years, where I worked Murphy case why Puerto Rico should be a state, with full participation in
for the islands Senate president and secretary of state. After that I Conversation Starter the Union.
interned in the U.S. Congress and at the White House. With this Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898. In 1917, Con-
experience, I have been able to learn a great deal about the corpo- Puerto Ricans marked 100 gress granted the islands residents U.S. citizenship. Starting with
rate-colonial scheme in Puerto Rico. years of U.S. citizenship on World War I, Puerto Ricans have shed blood for the Stars and
The century-old debate about Puerto Ricos political status is Thursday. Stripes. They have fought and died in World War II, Korea and
nothing but a smokescreen to keep the people on the island di- On March 2, 1917, on the eve of Vietnam, and in every U.S. military conflict since. Nine Puerto
vided so members of the U.S. Congress can World War I, President Woodrow Ricans have been awarded the Medal of Honor,
say, Puerto Rico is divided. That allows Con- the nation's highest military decoration. Tens
Wilson declared Puerto Ricans
gress to declare that the island is not able to of thousands of Puerto Ricans have served in
decide its future. U.S. citizens and about 20,000 every branch of the U.S. military, and scores
But thats not true. In 2012, more than 61 of them suddenly became eligible have attained the rank of general.
percent of Puerto Ricans on the island voted in for the draft. Nineteen years In 1903, the U.S. Supreme court determined
a referendum for statehood. Yet the U.S. Con- earlier, the island had been ceded in a series known as the Insular Cases that
gress has done nothing in response. to the United States from Spain Puerto Rico was an unincorporated territory.
This should not be surprising, given the after the Spanish-American War. As such, even though Puerto Ricans are U.S.
corporate sway over both political parties in On the 100th anniversary of citizens, the court determined that not all the
the U.S. Congress. The island has been ex- citizenship, theres still vigorous constitutional rights apply on the island. That
ploited by corporate America for decades
through exotic tax loopholes. These loopholes
There is debate over Puerto Ricos rela- As a has not stopped generations of Puerto Ricans
who number in the millions from being proud
tionship with the United States:
allow corporations and millionaires to pay zero nothing Should the island keep its current fully in- to call themselves Americans.
taxes while both the people of Puerto Rico American ideals have influenced the terri-
and American taxpayers continue to bear a more commonwealth status, should it corpo- tory. For instance, Puerto Ricans have a bicam-
continuously increasing tax obligation every continue a push for statehood, or eral legislature, an elected governor and an
year. Ameri- should it seek independence? rated ter- independent judiciary, closely mimicking the
Many U.S. corporations, notably pharmaceu- Under its commonwealth U.S. constitutional scheme.
ticals and software companies, are big donors can status, Puerto Ricans travel freely
ritory, it It can be considered a bit ironic that more
to both Democratic and Republican candidates,
thus wielding great influence in Congress. That
than to the mainland. Florida, for is a state Puerto Ricans live one the U.S. mainland
where were 5 million strong than on the
example, counts more than 1
power was increased exponentially after the support- million Puerto Ricans as resi- as in island, with a population of 3.5 million. The
Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commis- U.S. and Puerto Rican economies are closely
sion ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ing the dents, with the largest concentra-
tion in Central Florida. Yet resi-
the intertwined, so much so that separation of the
established that freedom of speech prohibited two would be nearly impossible: The U.S. cur-
the government from restricting independent inde- dents of the island have no voting United rency is the currency of the island, and all
political expenditures by corporations. Its representation in Congress; they federal governmental agencies operate there.
practical effect was to permit unlimited cam- pendence also cant vote for president. States Puerto Ricans serve proudly with distinction
paign spending in elections. Many corporations
with operations n Puerto Rico again, notably
of ones Puerto Rico has some degree of
self-governance, but not like the
in all but throughout the United States.
Sonia Sotomayor, a justice of the U.S.
pharmaceuticals and software companies own 50 states. Many Puerto Ricans name. Supreme Court, is of Puerto Rican descent. So
donate millions of dollars to members of Con- find this vexing especially now, two are six members of Congress two Repub-
gress through corporate political action com- country as Congress exercises federal licans and four Democrats. And there are hun-
mittees. dreds of judges, state legislators and heads of
oversight to deal with the islands
I would argue the reason Puerto Ricos re- governmental agencies throughout the country who were born
quest for statehood in 2012 has been ignored is fiscal crisis. in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent.
because if the island became a state, many American corporations In June, a new referendum on Although Puerto Rico is a fully incorporated territory, it is a
might lose these tax breaks that they now have through their Puerto Ricos status has been state as in the United States in all but name.
operations in Puerto Rico. scheduled by Gov. Ricardo Culturally, mainland and the island are intimately joined by
In essence, if Puerto Rico were to become a state, corporations Rossell, whose party favors history and people. From baseball players in the Hall of Fame to
and millionaires might have to pay a fair share of taxes. How statehood. Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning singers and dancers and
likely is that? As we all know, the game in corporate America is to Whats best for Puerto Rico: actors not to mention reality TV Puerto Rico is the USA.
reduce taxes and increase profit. continued commonwealth status, And I have to boast of Lin Manuel Miranda, who broke all Broad-
I hope our newly elected member of Congress, Darren Soto, statehood or independence? way records with his musical Hamilton, an ode to an American
who is of Puerto Rican descent, will step up and stop the corpo- Founding Father.
To help sort out the islands
rate exploitation of Puerto Rico. He should partner with U.S. Rep. Puerto Rico is the perfect bridge to markets in South and
Luis Vicente Gutirrez of Illinois, who has introduced legislation future for the Front Burner, we Central America. For the English-speaking mainland, the island
that would make the island an independent country. turned to two prominent Central is a bilingual haven with four medical schools, a world renowned
However, the underlying cause of Puerto Ricos economic Floridians. Tony Suarez, presi- engineering school (where NASA does direct recruiting), a talent
downward spiral must be revealed. The people of Puerto Rico dent of the Puerto Rican Bar pool of bilingual teachers, and an active ROTC program that
and American taxpayers deserve to know details about the tax Association of Florida, lays out turns out high-caliber bilingual officers for the U.S. Army.
haven created by U.S. Congress in Puerto Rico. It affects everyone. the benefits of statehood. Phillip Puerto Rico is strategically placed in the Caribbean for trade
Under the pro-big business administration of Trump, state- Arroyo, a graduating student at which is one of the original justifications for U.S. to keep Puerto
hood is further away than ever. If the United States isnt willing to the Florida A&M University Rico as a spoil of the Spanish-American War while releasing the
grant statehood to Puerto Rico, the federal government should College of Law who is active in other possessions.
grant the island independence, instead of holding it as a colony. When American foreign policy is in question in Latin America,
the Puerto Rican community,
More than being just another option for political status, inde- it could be the U.S. state of Puerto Rico that could lead the charge
pendence is an inalienable human right as defined in the the makes the case for independence. for American values and institutions.
United Nations Charter and international law. If the U.S. isnt Again, I offer a disclaimer: It is not for us to dictate that Puerto
willing to make Puerto Rico a state, it should grant independence
instead of holding the island as a colony.
To learn more: Rico should be a state. However, if that is the choice of Puerto
Ricans on the island, they have earned that right.
Ironically, there is nothing more American than supporting Puerto Ricos future and U.S. It would be a great injustice to deny such a petition.
the independence of ones own country. This is why I support citizenship: goo.gl/yq3rXl
independence for my homeland of Puerto Rico. Tony Suarez is a former state legislator and the current president
Does Puerto Rico really want to of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Florida. He is an adjunct
Phillip Arroyo is a 2012 White House intern and a graduating be the 51st state? goo.gl/NTvGfA professor at the Barry University of Law and a former captain of
student at the Florida A&M University College of Law. U.S. military intelligence.

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