Time to act on Puerto Rico’s shameful colonial status – By José M. Saldaña

Time to act on Puerto Rico’s shameful colonial status

By José M. Saldaña
April 08, 2015,
For the last nine years Puerto Rico has been experiencing a severe economic, financial and demographic crisis. Never in our recent history have we been under such a predicament. This current crisis is related to Puerto Rico’s current territorial (colonial) status. As recently stated by one of our prominent lawyers: “The Island is collapsing under the weight of an ancient territorial infrastructure.”

The lack of full representation at the federal level is primarily responsible for the unequal treatment the U.S. citizens of the island receive under federal laws. As stated in the 2011 Report by the President’s Task Force On Puerto Rico’s Status: «resolving the island’s political status is essential to restoring the health of Puerto Rico’s economy and to improving our security.”

On November 6, 2012 the Government of Puerto Rico held a two-part plebiscite in which 54 percent of the voters rejected continuing under the present territorial status, and in which 61 percent of voters who selected among one of the three constitutionally viable non-territorial options voted in favor of Statehood.

Given Puerto Rico’s current territorial (colonial) political status, Congress holds the ultimate power to make any legally binding changes to Puerto Rico’s status. Seeking Congressional endorsement and approval for any proposed process to definitively decide the future of the territory’s political status is not only logical but mandatory since any such process has to be endorsed and approved by Congress in order to be binding.

It has already been more than one year since Congress approved $ 2.5 million appropriation for an education campaign in order for the government of Puerto Rico to conduct a fair, transparent and inclusive plebiscite.

Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and his party have not taken any significant actions to approve such a bill. In fact although the territorial legislature created a Joint Committee on Matters of Status, this committee has not met once or considered a single piece of legislation. This is due to the fact that the governor’s ruling party has a deep internal division with regards to its own position on this issue and is unable to act on the matter in a way that would meet the requirements of the appropriation, that any options considered be certified by the U.S. Department of Justice as not inconsistent with the Constitution, laws and policies of the U.S. and is aimed to resolve the ultimate status issue. So when they say that they will act, they do that knowing that so far they have not been able to make up their minds and that it’s unlikely that they will be able to do so for the foreseeable future since they have internally two completely opposite fractions, one that promotes the Free Association (independence) and one that supports an “Enhanced Commonwealth.”

The Free Association (independence) is a valid Constitutional option, but the so-called “Enhanced Commonwealth” is nothing but a wish list of fantasies without any legal and constitutional possibility. The reality is that their inaction is just a way of promoting perpetuation of a morally and economically bankrupt territory (colonial) status against the democratic will of their own constituents which have formally withdrawn their consent to being governed in that way and expressed a preference for statehood over all other constitutionally viable options.

Due to the local government inaction, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluissi recently introduced HR 727 to conduct a referendum before December 2017 with the single yes or no question: Should Puerto Rico be admitted as a State of the Union? HR 727 already has 91 bi- partisan endorsements. Congress should move forward and without any delay conduct hearings on HR 747. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources- accountable for the political status of territories- is responsible for holding hearings on the bill. We expect and request from Congress to do the right thing for the American citizens in Puerto Rico to help us achieve the long time deserved right and moral imperative to choose once and for all a final status from constitutionally validated options.

Five centuries as a colony is enough. Puerto Rico does not deserve this unfair and morally reprehensive treatment. We are ready to definitively choose our ultimate political status and we believe that statehood is the only option.

Saldaña, DMD, MPH, is a former President of the University of Puerto Rico and president of Igualdad (Equality).