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An Open Letter to Congressman Gutierrez:
Sometimes you seem to be such a paradox.
While you obviously take pride in your job as an
American lawmaker, you seek independence for the people of Puerto
Rico, and would thus deny the nearly four million American citizens
living here the same rights and responsibilities that, as citizens,
you and your family enjoy.
If you truly feel that independence is the best
option for Puerto Rico and that being Puerto Rican and American
are mutually exclusive, then you really should put your money
where your mouth is and come live in Puerto Rico and fight for
your ideals.
It seems somewhat hypocritical for someone who
is living the American dream to the extent you are to deny that
same dream to the millions of Puerto Ricans who do call this
lovely island home. Please stop undermining our struggle for
equality. You are not our elected representative. -Roberto Guzman,
THE SAN JUAN STAR
WASHINGTON - In the strongest Clinton administration
message on commonwealth status yet, both the State and Justice
departments have maintained that nothing has changed politically
in the U.S.-island relationship since 1952 and that "Puerto
Rico remains a territory" subject to the full powers of
Congress.
"The status of Puerto Rico since the creation
of the commonwealth system is that Puerto Rico's status remains
the same," attorneys for both agencies said in a brief filed
in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The brief continued: "Although Congress, through
the 1950 act, authorized the process for democratically instituting
a local constitutional government in Puerto Rico, Congress retained
the authority to legislate with regard to Puerto Rico."
The attorneys maintained that the courts also have
indicated that, "Puerto Rico's status in relation to the
United States remains the same following the establishment of
the commonwealth system."
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DANGERS
OF PDP "US" VERSUS "THEM" OPPOSITION TO STATEHOOD:
AN IDEOLOGY PREMISED ON MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CULTURE MEANS
AND OF WHAT PUERTO RICAN AND UNITED STATES "CULTURE"
ARE
The Popular Democratic Party opposes Puerto
Rico becoming a state. It justifies its position in large measure
on the perceived notion that Puerto Rico's is a "Latin American"
culture, distinguishable from and therefore somehow incompatible
with U.S. culture. The present administration on the other hand,
that of the New Progressive Party, believes that Puerto Rico
and its citizens have embraced and share the culture of the United
States..
In the end, the culture that matters, that
describes the way in which people must be compatible in order
for political union between them to be possible, is political
culture; that is, we must focus on political culture when assessing
the cultural compatibility of Puerto Rico and the United States.
Since the signing of the Treaty of Paris brought
the war to its end, Puerto Rico has remained a U.S. territory
and its inhabitants have lived under the Constitution of the
United States of America. During that time, Puerto Rico and its
people have come to embrace the United States Constitution and,
in particular, the individual liberties protected by the Bill
of Rights. As a result, Puerto Rico has broken, culturally, from
its Latin roots over the last one hundred years. JAIME PIERAS,
JR., United States District Judge, Zappa v. Cruz
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The
Land that Would be a State: Divided over Statehood, Puerto Rico's
Economy Shows It's Practically Joined Up
San Juan - While Puerto Ricans remain split over whether they
want to become a U.S. state, their island's speedy recovery from
Hurricane Georges shows a paradox: When it comes to the economy,
Puerto Rico is practically a state already.
Long term, Rossello and others in his pro-
statehood party dream of a day when Puerto Rico would not just
resemble a state economically --but actually be the 51st star
on the U.S. flag.
"Statehood is a development tool," claimed economic
czar Vivoni. "It's not just because we'd get more federal
funds. It's for the perception of stability that comes with being
a state. Statehood would mean even more business and investment."
- Doreen Hemlock, SUN-SENTINEL
"I see statehood and separate sovereignty
as acceptable alternatives for Congress," the Alaska Republican,
whose state entered the Union in 1959, said. "Because 'None
of the Above' received the majority vote, I intend to conduct
oversight hearings to see what led people to cast votes against
the only constitutional options available to Puerto Rico which
were on the ballot," he added. -CARIBBEAN BUSINESS
The movement to legislate English as the official
U.S. language is completely unnecessary and, at worst, inflammatory.
Americans shouldn't forget that this country has always been
a nation of immigrants who eventually learn English; legislating
an official language would only betray the xenophobia of a dwindling
majority.
English will likely remain the widespread
de facto language of choice because of its utility as a unifier.
No legislation is needed to create this condition. Alarmists
who politicize the issue merely betray another unfortunate trend
in American history: a rather inexplicable fear of outsiders.
-Brian Winter, Daily Texan (U. Texas-Austin)
The full meaning of the election is still
being sorted out, but because of the (Puerto Rican Cultural Society
of Dayton Symposium on Puerto Rico status) I have a better perspective
on why voters said `None of the Above.'
Why? None of the choices offered on December's
ballot represented improvements on the status quo. Arguments
seemed to be rooted in the past - often appearing stale by the
lack of relevance to the world we live in. Today we have increased
globalization of not only trade but also of ideas and how and
where we live. State boundaries are becoming less distinct as
national and international ties grow more dominant. One speaker
questioned if the U.S. Congress would accept Puerto Rico only
if Puerto Ricans looked and acted more like mainlanders. But
the truth is, demographics hint that the mainland may be growing
to look more like Puerto Rico , which includes a mix of cultures,
many based on Hispanic heritage.
Going in, I thought I would have picked statehood. But that choice
wasn't as clear-cut as it appeared. Limitations had been imposed
by Congress. And more troubling, pro- statehood Gov. Rossello
had spent more time building consensus in Washington than in
San Juan.
Imposing statehood by political maneuvering might have worked
in the19th century, as happened in Ohio. But today's voters in
Puerto Rico are sophisticated. It's essential to first build
consensus at home before Puerto Rico can move ahead. -Kay Semion,
DAYTON DAILY NEWS
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As U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Reagan and Bush,
I urged Congress to sponsor a democratic process to resolve the
status of Puerto Rico based on constitutional principles which
favor equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens, as
well as government by consent of the governed. Even though these
basic values governed our nation's process for resolving the
status of 33 other large and populous territories since 1789,
in 1998 Congress again failed to take long overdue action on
Puerto Rico's status.
Yet, instead of asking why Congress still has no plan to end
Puerto Rico's current state of political limbo, many pundits
reacting to a recent status vote held under local law in Puerto
Rico seem puzzled because statehood supporters in the territory
have not abandoned their cause after failing to win a majority.
(I)nstead of being puzzled because elected statehood leaders
in Puerto Rico are asking Congress to act on the basis of the
recent plebiscite, let's remember that America became the greatest
nation in the history of the world by empowering people with
the tools for informed self-determination. Sooner or later Congress
will have to do the same for Puerto Rico, and the sooner the
better for Puerto Rico and the nation as a whole. -Dick Thornburgh
Congressional Sponsored Plebiscite
Necessary
The 1998 plebiscite confirms the need for Congress to ascertain
the will of the people of Puerto Rico among options Congress
is willing to consider. This can be accomplished only if Congress
sponsors a referendum under Federal law and informs the voters
of the terms for continuing the current status or changing to
a new status.
STATEHOOD ISSUE IS CAUGHT IN STALEMATE - PUERTO
RICO AND CONGRESS ARE WAITING FOR THE OTHER TO DEFINE THE POLITICAL
RELATIONSHIP
For Barbosa, "Americanization" was not incompatible
with island patriotism, but rather it was the vital instrument
by which to obtain social justice and economic progress. For
him, political unity with the United States did not imply dissolving
the cultural personality of the Puerto Rican people. Political
assimilation was not synonymous with cultural assimilation. He
was convinced that Calderón's native tongue could coexist
with that of Shakespeare, thus creating a more educated and dynamic
people. -Gonzalo F. Cordova
Make no mistake about it, the prospect of federal taxation
for Puerto Rico's elite, not the voter's preference for the status
quo tipped the scales against an outright statehood triumph on
December 13th. Paying little or no taxes under the porous Hacienda
collection apparatus, the wealthy five percent among us feared
the efficiency of the Internal Revenue Service more than they
fancied commonwealth. -Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer
"Congress has full powers to tax the US territories and
there is nothing special under commonwealth relationship to stop
it. Taxation without representation is just a slogan. There is
nothing in the Constitution about it," said John Killian.
-Robert Friedman, THE SAN JUAN STAR
SAN JUAN: VACATIONER'S PARADISE
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The Statehood
Movement
