Pro-Dependence

This page is dedicated to discussing various Puerto Rican organizations and opinions that do not support an independent Puerto Rico. The content will focus on the movement for statehood as well as the push for remaining a commonwealth of the United States. Hopefully this will give people a better understanding and feeling for what people are supporting for their respective views, who supports these views and the reasons, economically, sociologically and/or psychologically, why they support them. These are supposed to be sources of information that provide facts and opposing opinions with an equal weight, left completely unbiased by the creators of this website.

Statehood:

The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP) was founded in 1968 by Luis Ferré. They began campaigning for gaining statehood and were doing very well in the last plebiscite in 1998 but were surprised by an opposing counter campaign that brought a 5th option: “None of the Above” to the ballot. The fifth option obtained an overwhelmingly majority of the vote and statehood was shot down again. Now why would Puerto Ricans want to become a state when they have almost all of the same benefits without having to pay taxes? Here are a few commonly found reasons. Currently Puerto Rico residents cannot vote for the President of the United States and do not have a voice or a voting representation in Congress. Nor do they have rights to trial in federal courts. Supporters of such a movement cite the fact that the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico have been loyal to the United States for over 100 years, where over 200,000 Puerto Rican soldiers, sailors and marines have served in the U.S. military service in all wars since the Spanish American War. Over 2,000 have died and four have received the Congressional Medal of Honor. American supporters often cite taxes as their main reason. “Presently, Puerto Rico costs U.S. taxpayers over $10 billion per annum. Puerto Rico participates in most, but not all, federal assistance programs, but does not pay federal income taxes.” 4

Furthering the discussion on Puerto Rico’s lack of voting rights, they only have one delegate in the House of Representatives. One person has a voice but no vote for a 3.8 million-person population. As a state, Puerto Rico would have the 25th highest population of any state and would send six or seven Congressmen to Washington as well as two Senators. The citizens are disenfranchised and completely restrained from equality within the U.S. democratic system, although Federal laws and regulations are still unilaterally applicable to the island. Puerto Ricans are considered to be “second class citizens,” due to their lack of common citizens’ rights, completely hypocritical to the fundamental principles of equality upon which the United States was built. They would also be relieved from the United States Constitutional territory clause, a suppressing amendment for the island. 5

Commonwealth:

The Partido Popular Democratico (PPD), or the Popular Democratic Party, was founded in 1937 by dissidents expelled from the Liberal Party. It was initially led by Luis Munoz Marin and in 1984 helped to establish a crucial law for the well-being of Puerto Rico. They helped to form Law 936, which dictates that American companies can be allowed to operate in Puerto Rico with tax cuts. This is basically a government-enforced subsidy for businesses moving to Puerto Rico, in order to spur and ignite a positive economic flow on the island. The PPD, also known as the “Commonwealth” party, was the original creator and proponent of Puerto Rico’s current status. It came way from the Puerto Rico Constitution, which came into effect on July 25, 1952. The document left the articles of the Jones Act of 1917, the previously enacted regulatory document for the Puerto Rico-United States relationship, completely unchanged and initiated the commonwealth status.
The existing status is simply based on the fact that the Puerto Ricans have American citizenship and that they are proud to be citizens of the greatest nation in the world. The Puerto Rican Constitution’s preamble states, “That we consider a determining factor in our lives the Citizenship of the United States of America and the inspiration to continually enrich our democratic beliefs in the enjoying collectively or individually of its rights and prerogatives; the loyalty to the postulates of the Federal Constitution; the co-existence in Puerto Rico of the two greatest cultures of the American hemisphere.” 6

Currently, amidst the congressional hearings concerning the hot topic of Puerto Rico’s status, the PPD repeatedly defend the United States and the U.S.’s political enforcement and positions. They consistently cite the “permanent” and “undeniable” agreement between the U.S. and the PR with respect to citizenship for territory. They strongly support this as the United States provides them safety and defense against opposing entities, not to mention an extremely strong bartering partner and a provider of vast economic benefits. Within this realm is included numerous local and federal tax incentive programs for economic development that has helped Puerto Rico reach the highest per capita income in Latin America today. 

Why not Independence?

Aside from the aforementioned benefits of the two anti-independent viewpoints, there are some cons to Puerto Rico’s independence. The obvious one is the fact that they would completely cut the ties with the United States of America. That is, they would lose all connections, citizenship, and economic benefits of being a commonwealth of the U.S. Not to mention that they would lose all U.S. protection, safety, and defense in times of war and violence. Concerning their economic well-being independently, who knows if they could withstand the burden of their balance. They have a $6 billion operating budget while running a $20 billion national debt…you can do the math, but it is just food for thought. It is up to you to form and decide your opinion.