Spotlight on Puerto Rico
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-06-15/spotlight-puerto-rico
As a U.S. senator, Barack Obama visited Puerto Rico and promised to return. Yesterday, he did. It was the first official visit to the territory by a sitting U.S. president in 50 years. Home to high unemployment and beautiful beaches, Puerto Rico gussied itself up and gave the president a warm welcome. The trip was fulfillment of a past promise, but also a look to the future. 2012. Nearly 10 percent of Latino voters in the U.S. are of Puerto Rican descent. And they don't always vote Democratic. We'll talk about Puerto Rico - its people and economy, and whether it will ever become the 51st U.S. state.
Guests
Luis Fortuno
Republican governor of Puerto Rico.
Rafael Fantauzzi
president and CEO, the National Puerto Rican Coalition.
Mauricio Cardenas
director, Latin America Initiative, the Brookings Institution; formerly Colombia's minister of Economic Development and Transportation.
Fernando Pizarro
Washington correspondent, Univision.
Laura Meckler
White House correspondent, The Wall Street Journal.
Comments
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I am saddened that this show didn't present all sides of the debate. As a Puerto Rican that has lived both on the island & in the US, I can tell you that many Puerto Ricans that live in the US support independence for the island & would love to move back there if only there were the political will to change the island.
It bothers me that none of the speakers on this show mentioned the fact that, since the creation of the Commonwealth of PR in the 50's, there have only been governors representing 2 of the 3 existing political parties- either the Popular Democratic Party (PPD - supporting commonwealth status) or the New Progressive Party (PNP - supporting statehood). There has NEVER been a governor representing the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) because when the US INVADED Puerto Rico in 1898, the approach towards education of all Puerto Ricans was to make them obedient & fearful of returning to misery & poverty (though, as was mentioned, 40% still live in poverty anyway). I am not exaggerating on this, please research the US focus on creating a manufacturing industry in PR in the early 1900's which required an educated but docile population. I believe this was also the approach on Pacific territories.
To this day, many Puerto Ricans believe that if a governor from the PIP party were to take office, everything would go to hell- we would become a communist nation the likes of Cuba. Decisions made on behalf of governors from the PPD & PNP have ruined any chance of PR successfully moving towards independence by implementing policies that have decimated our economy, education, agriculture, & other industries because neither the PPD or PNP are truly interested in the island progressing. They want Puerto Ricans to think they NEED the US for their survival & to think the only viable option for our status is to either become a state or maintain the status quo so they don't lose their beloved social program benefits. Complete brainwashing.
I wish Diane would have also mentioned the new party created during the '08 general election called "Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico" with a platform around engaging people more in the political process & in building up the island back to the point where people will still want to live there- minus the focus on status. I think this is a more productive platform for political parties to consider as the "status" discussion only takes attention away from real issues.
Also, it is misleading to say only 3% of Puerto Ricans support independence. This 3% is actually the percentage of votes the PIP gets in general elections. There are Puerto Ricans who are PIP members that vote for candidates from the PPD in general elections because they would prefer that party to the PNP. There are yet others (my grandmother included) who are staunch supporters of the PPD & commonwealth status, but given the choice would prefer independence.
Finally- yes, your tax dollars are going to pay for all these welfare recipients in PR. And yes, they in turn don't pay federal taxes. I think it's in the US best interest to explicitly say what the advantage would be to adding PR as the 51st state. Obviously none of the speakers on this show could answer that question when Diane asked it, because the answer is there IS NO BENEFIT to the US. However, it would benefit both the US & PR to explore a move towards independence, which is a very long time coming. Just don't put "commonwealth" as a choice on the next plebiscite & you will force the island to pick one or the other.