Commonwealth Status of Puerto Rico

¶ … Commonwealth Status of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico occupies a unique political position within the United States, because it is a commonwealth. Generally, the political structure of the United States is one of shared powers, wherein the state and federal governments have independent privileges and responsibilities. However, in the state-federal government structure, the federal government retains ultimate power, even over a state's internal affairs. In return for this ultimate power, the citizens of the state receive a guaranteed level of protection from the federal government. A commonwealth works in a slightly different manner, giving the residents in a commonwealth greater freedom from federal government intrusion, but also less representation in the federal government structure. Therefore, to understand the governmental structure of Puerto Rico, it is essential to understand the concept of the commonwealth.

According to Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary, a commonwealth is, "The people of a state or nation. 2. A state or nation governed by the people: republic. 3. A federation of autonomous states." (p.142). However, that definition does nothing to explain the unique status of Puerto Rico, or to explain how its local government works in a republican fashion with the federal government of the United States of America. To understand that, one must look specifically at the governmental structure of Puerto Rico:

Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth in association with the United States. The chief of state is the President of the United States of America. The head of government is the elected governor. There are two legislative chambers: the House of Representatives, 51 seats, and the Senate, 27 seats.

Puerto Rico has authority over its own internal affairs. United States controls: interstate trade, foreign relations and commerce, customs administration, control of air, land, and sea, immigration and emigration, nationality and citizenship, currency, maritime laws, military service, military bases, army, navy and air force, declaration of war, constitutionality of laws, jurisdictions and legal procedures, treaties, radio and television- communications, agriculture, mining and minerals, highways, postal system; Social Security and other areas generally controlled by the federal government in the United States. Puerto Rican institutions control internal affairs unless U.S. law is involved, as in matters of public health and population. The major differences between Puerto Rico and the 50 states are exemption from some aspects of the Internal Revenue Code, its lack of voting representation in either house of the U.S. Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), the ineligibility of Puerto Ricans to vote in presidential elections, and its lack of assignation of some revenues reserved for the states. (Rivera).

In short, being the commonwealth status of Puerto Ricans means that they have more autonomy than members of the 50 states and are freed from some of the burdens of U.S. citizenship, but it also means that they do not get to exercise all of the rights of U.S. citizenship. Commonwealths have greater privileges than U.S. territories, and Puerto Rico is one of only two existing U.S. commonwealths, though Guam is in the process of becoming a commonwealth.

Puerto Rico has not had an autonomous government since the Europeans first settled the Americas. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for 405 years, and then became a U.S. territory in 1898. It became the first unincorporated U.S. territory in 1900, and the Foraker Act established the basis for a civil government and commerce relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. By 1904, there was already official resistance to the colonial-type government established by the Foraker Act. In 1909 the Foraker Act was amended by the Olmstead Amendment, which gave the U.S. Executive branch control over Puerto Rican affairs. In 1912, the first party promoting Puerto Rican independence was founded. In 1917, Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Act, which gave Puerto Ricans more autonomy and gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. In 1922, a U.S. Supreme Court decision determined that the Constitution did not apply in Puerto Rico. In 1947, under the Elective Governors Act, Puerto Ricans got the right to elect their own governors. However, this growth of autonomy was short-lived, because in 1948 the Puerto Rican legislature passed a law, "La Ley de la Mordaza," which prohibited Puerto Ricans from engaging in a wide-variety of nationalistic behaviors. In 1951, under the 600 Law, Puerto Ricans received the right to establish a constitutional government. In 1952, Puerto Rican voters approved their constitution, and named Puerto Rico a commonwealth. In 1991, Puerto Rican voters rejected an amendment that would have provided them with an opportunity to review and change their status as a commonwealth. A 1993 referendum reaffirmed Puerto Rico's status as a commonwealth, but demonstrated that the majority of Puerto Ricans wanted a different status: either statehood or independence. In 1997, the U.S. Congress introduced Project Young, which was designed to lead to full independence for Puerto Rico. In December 1998, almost 50% of Puerto Rican voters demonstrated support for statehood, few desired to remain a commonwealth, but the majority of Puerto Ricans desired a different status. Despite the fact that it appears the majority of Puerto Ricans are dissatisfied with being a commonwealth, Puerto Rico continues to be a commonwealth today.

In fact, as recently as 2005, the U.S. government made its position about Puerto Rico's governmental status very clear. While Puerto Ricans believe that their status as a commonwealth gives them privileges surpassing people in U.S. territories, the official position of the U.S. government is that Puerto Rico is a territory:

In June 2005, the Congressional Research Service issued a report titled Political Status of Puerto Rico: Background, Options & Issues in the 109th Congress. The report states Puerto Rico remains subject to congressional jurisdiction under the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Under this authority, Congress has passed legislation that governs elements of Puerto Rico's relationship to the U.S.While these and other aspects of the relationship of Puerto Rico to the U.S. are matters of record, other elements of the relationship have been and continue to be matters of debate. Some contend the Commonwealth has a special nature outside the Territorial Clause that derives from the 1950 legislation "in the nature of a compact" agreed to by the people of Puerto Rico and Congress, as well as from declarations made to the United Nations in the 1950s. Also, certain federal-court rulings and statements by past presidents buttress claims to special status. Such advocates contend the current political status of the Commonwealth, perhaps with enhancements, remains a viable option for the future. Others argue the commonwealth status is (or should be) only a temporary fix to a problem to be resolved in favor of other permanent noncolonial and nonterritorial solutions- either statehood or independence as a foreign nation, the latter possibly negotiated with the federal government.

Marquez).

Since becoming a commonwealth, Puerto Rico has been plagued by a variety of Problems, which make it seem unlikely that Puerto Rico can survive in its existing commonwealth state. First:

Under Commonwealth, Puerto Rico always has suffered from low labor-force participation rates (i.e. people holding or seeking jobs) and high, double-digit unemployment rates. The low participation-rate figures mask the real unemployment situation. Puerto Rico's labor-force participation rate has been under 50% for decades, way below the over 65% rate on the U.S. mainland. With a labor-force-participation rate similar to the U.S. mainland, the island's unemployment rate would be over 30%. Even with such low workforce-participation rates, Puerto Rico's official unemployment now stands at over 12%, more than double the U.S. national average. The island's official unemployment rate many times has been between 15% and 20%, and even as high as 22%. To put that into perspective, the unemployment rate in the U.S. during the Great Depression of the early 1930s was 25%. (Marquez).

Unemployment is not the only economic problem facing Puerto Rico; its Federal tax exempt status has done little to help Puerto Rican natives, while helping buildup the coffers of mainland U.S. companies, Puerto Ricans pay very high local income taxes, and Puerto Rico is experiencing a period of declining economic growth. (Marquez). Perhaps the biggest problem for Puerto Rican nationals is that they have absolutely no say in the federal government; they cannot vote for the president, and their elected representative does not get to vote on any issues. Therefore, while many Puerto Ricans historically supported the commonwealth status, it is clear that a vast majority of today's Puerto Ricans do not enjoy the commonwealth status, and desire a change. However, there is tremendous debate in the community about what direction Puerto Rico should take in its future.

Of course, one option is for Puerto Rico to become a state, which may seem like the logical choice for mainland Americans. However, Puerto Ricans do not necessarily support the idea of statehood, even though it appears to be the highest chosen option for the majority of Puerto Ricans. There are several reasons why Puerto Rico has not yet become a state. First, the majority of Puerto Ricans do not desire statehood, and the United States has yet to create a state under those circumstances. Second, there is a language and cultural divide between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States that has created some issues in the area of statehood. Looking at Phyllis Schlafly's comments regarding Puerto Rican statehood, it becomes clear that this cultural divide is a significant part of the political question regarding Puerto Rico's status. Schlafly points out that, "The Puerto Rican independence faction is small, but that doesn't mean its members would acquiesce in being outvoted in a democratic election. They are among the most militant groups in the world and are responsible for domestic terrorist incidents in the United States.' (Schlafly). However, her greatest concern is the fact that Puerto Ricans are unwilling to accept assimilation as the price for statehood. According to Schlafly, "The most important issue about Puerto Rico statehood is that it would transform the United States overnight into a bilingual nation. Puerto Ricans don't speak English, don't intend to learn it, and are even antagonistic to the whole idea of learning English." (Schlafly). In addition, Puerto Rico's impoverished status has kept many Americans from endorsing the statehood option, because "the average income of Puerto Ricans is less than half that of our poorest state, and infrastructure and the environment are far below American standards, so statehood would bring immediate demands for massive federal funding." (Schlafly). While Schlafly's concerns may seem overtly racist to most people, there does seem to be some legitimacy in her concerns. She worries that Puerto Rican statehood could start America "down the road of countries that have fought bloody wars when minority populations tried to maintain a separate language and cultural identity within another nation, such as Quebec, Ireland, Bosnia, and Iraq." (Schlafly). Placed in that perspective, it makes sense for Americans to question the idea of statehood.

It also makes sense for Puerto Ricans to question the idea of statehood. Americans have proven historically resistant to non-assimilation, which means that statehood will probably result in the eventual loss of the Puerto Rican cultural identity, even if Puerto Rico was entitled to keep Spanish as its official language upon attaining statehood. Statehood is unlikely to provide an immediate fix for Puerto Rico's economic woes; though it is poorer than the poorest state in the United States, a comparison of the wealth of different states makes it clear that statehood does not confer wealth. In fact, Puerto Ricans are already entitled to significant government benefits aimed at alleviating their financial woes, which would mean that statehood probably would not benefit individual Puerto Ricans financially. However, Puerto Rico does not get the same type of money for infrastructure as states do, and statehood would help improve its infrastructure to that of a major world power, rather than a third-world nation. Statehood would give Puerto Rico a voice in the federal government, both by providing representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and by giving Puerto Ricans an actual voice in U.S. presidential elections. However, it is naive to assume that such a voice would have a dramatic impact. Puerto Rico would still have a diverse set of cultural traditions and real needs, compared to the existing 50 states, and it would probably be decades before any Puerto Rican representatives could exercise any type of substantial power in any branch of the Federal government.

It is essential to realize that statehood is not the only other option for Puerto Rico. On the contrary, Puerto Rico has several viable options besides statehood. An examination of the political movements that have sprung up in Puerto Rico helps one understand the pros and cons of each of these options. It is telling to note that:

Most Puerto Rican political parties since 1898 had attempted to modify the political relations between the island and the U.S. federal government; the island's Republican Party favoured statehood, whereas the Union Party worked for greater autonomy. The Nationalist Party arose in the 1920s and argued for immediate independence. Meanwhile, the pro-U.S. Socialist Party, led by the highly respected labour leader Santiago Islesisas, remained focused on the plight of Puerto Rico's laboring classes, but its program had little support, because popular attention was largely concentrated on the political status of the island. (Encylopaedia Britannica).

These efforts make it clear that the political status of Puerto Rico has always been an important issue for Puerto Ricans.

Today's Puerto Ricans continue to be concerned about its political status, even though many of the old political parties have been eaten up by the two giants of American political life, the Republican and Democratic parties. In 2004, both the Republican and Democratic parties in Puerto Rico strengthened their language regarding Puerto Rico's political status, vying for a non-territorial status for Puerto Rico. However, they also recognized that there was no national consensus regarding Puerto Rico's political future. The Democratic party more strongly favored the option of statehood, which should not be very surprising given the overall context of the two parties. The overwhelming majority of Puerto Ricans are Democrats, which means that statehood would give the Democrats a decided majority in the Congress and receive a good advantage in presidential elections. Therefore, Republicans are not quite as eager to push for statehood as Democrats, even though they have recognized that the current commonwealth status does not appear to be satisfactory to the majority of Puerto Ricans. Some critics do not believe that either party really wants statehood, or expects the federal government to provide Puerto Ricans with options: