P.S. I love you – A colonial relationship for the centuries

 

Puerto Rico in crisis?? Who cares? We love Cuba now!

We have been a commonwealth of the US since 1917. Despite the fact that we had a plebiscite in 2013- where the majority voted for a change of the current status (63% voted for statehood)- Congress and the President of the United States are pushing back to take action on this. I’m sure Puerto Rico is not a priority among all the issues that they are currently dealing with, since we are only a territory of the United States which throughout the years has been neglected.

Oh yes, we have a wonderful passport of the United States, and we can represent the U.S. in battle but we have no right to vote for the President of the United States. How ironic is it that around 100,000 Puerto Ricans serve to protect a country where they can’t even have the basic right of voting for their leader?

That’s the perfect example of neglect. Puerto Rico is the neglected girlfriend of the United States. It’s disturbing how much United States and Puerto’s status options can be assimilated with romantic situations. Consider this your 101 Puerto Rico political parties class…The first lesson is to know the three main parties: the independents, the commonwealthers and the statehooders. Second lesson is to explain the relationship between each of the parties and the U.S.: 1) In the independent relationship, Puerto Rico is the independent girlfriend that wants nothing to do with the guy (U.S.); 2) Then you have the commonwealthers, where Puerto Rico is the type of girlfriend that likes to be spoiled by the U.S., but doesn’t want to commit- Poor guy; 3) And finally, you have the statehooders where Puerto Rico is the type of girlfriend that is ready to commit, just waiting for the U.S. to decide what it wants and propose. So, U.S. we are waiting (we want you to propose), but are you having second thoughts about us?

Here’s the deal. The United States is having second thoughts because of a few things- I’ll try to point them all: 1) First you have the Republican party’s concern of having more Hispanics and potential Democrats in the Ballot; which is not true, since there is a good amount of Republicans in Puerto Rico; 2) Due to our current economic crisis, the U.S. is unsure of our potential for growth; which from an economic standpoint crises are bound to happen (cycle of life), and from them lie much opportunities for growth; 3) Regarding the Hispanic issue, we speak Spanish, and not many Puerto Ricans speak English; which brings fear to the ignorant conservatives that think we are not currently U.S. Citizens and don’t deserve to be; 4) Puerto Rico has its own Constitution based on the U.S. Constitution, and as well has other state powers that are regulated by the state and not the federal government; which they will have to deal and modify if we were to become a state, and «Ain’t nobody got time for that»; 5) If we become a state, that will mean more representation in Congress, or should I say actual representation?.. Since currently, we have only one non-voting member in Congress to represent around 4 million Puerto Ricans; and the list goes on. I apologize if I missed some important key points, but that’s enough to have our boyfriend (the United States) doubting our potential in this relationship.

As well, the girlfriend has its doubts but they are mostly superficial, like; 1) We won’t have a Miss Puerto Rico Universe, or an Olympic team! 2) We will have to pay federal taxes! (Umm…we already pay some federal taxes and actually considering the incomes and quality of living you won’t even notice the difference); 3) we will lose our culture and our language; and so on… Most of these concerns were resolved during the plebiscite in November 2013, when a 63% of the girlfriends’ brain voted in favor of committing. So, what’s it gonna be U.S.?

While Puerto Rico continues to sink, the U.S has taken no action regarding our status- which is the root of all our problems. You want to set up a Fiscal Oversight Board in Puerto Rico, then give us a clear statement of what this will look like instead of all the ambiguity we always get. If our relationship would have started with more clarity we would not be facing many of the issues we face today.

So how do I get the federal government involved? Do I need to have people sign a petition in order to get the federal government to intervene and investigate? But again we are not a priority to the U.S… Other countries that are not even a part of the United States are a bigger priority than that of a territory of the United States. Then why be a territory? The United States is the hegemon of the international community but it can’t even sustain its own territories. Puerto Rico’s government agencies are filing bankruptcy but that’s a whole other issue, that’s also not important.

So consider this a cry for help from the girlfriend (Puerto Rico) to the boyfriend (U.S.).

«United States,

You are too busy flirting with other countries that you are missing out on so many opportunities right around your corner. If you took advantage of my potential to develop we could be the Dubai of the Atlantic Ocean. I know you want to maintain relationships with everybody but the sense of abandonment I am feeling, because of you, is hurtful. It is hurting so much that the heart of my existence (the economy) is weakening quickly. I know you might not want to have to deal with my issues, but as Albert Einstein once said: «In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity». I am waiting for you, but I won’t wait forever.»

Sincerely,

Puerto Rico

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