President-elect Barack Obama promised that Puerto Ricans will decide their political status sometime over the next four years.According to a letter that he sent to new Boricua governor Luis Fortuño, Obama vowed to "enable the question of Puerto Rico's status to be resolved" during his first term. An article in Tuesday’s Orlando Sentinel website claimed that the “[letter] prompted a standing ovation when read during Fortuño’s inauguration on January 2nd.
The pro-statehood Fortuño is allied to the Republican Party and he backed John McCain during last year’s presidential election.
Obama’s pledge appeared to be welcomed by Puerto Rican politicos yet fellow contributor Maegan la Mala observed that not all that glitters is gold:
President-elect of the United States Barack Obama reiterated that he will try to resolve the colonial case of Puerto Rico during his first term and explained that self-determination is a “basic right” of Puerto Ricans, for which reason he will undertake responsibility for seeing that Puerto Ricans have “a voice” in the solution.Image- AP (“President-elect Barack Obama arrives to speak about the economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.”)
Wait, a voice in the solution? Am I wrong in thinking that if self-determination is a basic right, then shouldn't Puerto Ricans decided the solution, not just have a voice?
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Vivirlatino, All News Web, LAHT, Orlando Sentinel
8 comments:
Self-determination is defined "as free choice of one’s own acts without external compulsion, and especially as the freedom of the people of a given territory to determine their own political status or independence from their current state".
So based on that definition Maegan la Mala is absolutely right, but Puerto Ricans have been voting for a while to determine their status and the results have always been a split down the middle between statehood and Commonwealth ("Estado Libre Asociado") supporters and less than 5% for outright independence.
There were two referendums during former Governor Pedro Rossello administration (1992-2000) and in the end Puerto Ricans were no closer to a final solution to their status issue than they where before him. Anyone who believes in Puerto Ricans right to Self-Determination will have to respect that about half the population currently prefers the status quo.
Statehood and independence supporters think (and I happen to agree) that the status quo is a colonial status because Puerto Ricans are under the authority of a president and a congress for whom they do not vote and are subject to the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court (whose judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate). That's a colony, right? Well, looks like one to me...
But, if you in the exercise of your self-determination choose to live under that system...what can Obama do to resolve the status issue in four years? Impose a referendum in which Puerto Ricans will have to select between statehood and independence and exclude the current commonwealth status? I'd love to see that. If he manages to do that, I will believe then that he is "The Messiah"....
Let us remember, senora La Mana, that Puerto Ricans have rejected statehood and independence twice in the past 15 years. In 1998 the majority of Puerto Ricans voted infamously for "none of the above", and ultimately, the status quo. That was despite Gov. Pedro Rossello's intense campaigning.
www.craigdylan.blogspot.com
So is Puerto Rico going to remain a colony for another hundred years? The status quo has to change someday. If the option status quo is off the table then statehood would win over independence, based on popular vote. I believe it will eventually become the 51st State of the Union. The only question really is when.
If I'm not mistaken the previous plebecites/referendums where not politically binding. Thus, Congress had the right to overturn the vote if it wanted to.
That will be the key to a future vote in Puerto Rico. True self-Determination would allow the referendum to be binding and definitive regardless of the result. Whether that will be the case may be doubtful after political factions on and off the island debate the process.
It will never happen through via the United States or the Puerto Rico's two major parties. Here's how.
I invite you to join the non-violent protest to demand that the United States (US) decolonize Puerto Rico (PR) immediately. It will be on Monday, June 17, 2013 from 8 AM to 5 PM outside the United Nations (UN) visitor’s entrance located on 46th Street and First Avenue in New York City.
The UN has determined that colonialism is a crime against humanity in 1960 under Resolution 1514 (XV). That’s why the UN celebrates every year a hearing about Puerto Rico decolonization. Every year the UN puts forth a resolution asking the US to decolonize PR. Despite 30 of these resolutions, PR is still the oldest and most populated colony in the world! It is obvious by now that the US is not going to decolonize PR just because the UN asks.
Through education, we must create a domestic and international solidarity with this cause to pressure the US to do what historically she has refused to do. This is why we need everyone who also believes that colonialism is a crime against humanity to join the protest to demand compliance to international law!
Puerto Rico has been a colony of the US for 114 years. The US’ intention is to keep PR a colony forever unless we do something about it. It is important to note that: democracy isn’t what a government does. Democracy is what people do!
President John F. Kennedy said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” These ideas, of course, are the reasons why the United Nations was created after World War II.
It is up to us to defend the fundamental human rights that promote world peace. The tragedy of doing nothing is that we will have the kind of government that we deserve!
Sincerely,
José M. López Sierra
For more information:
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com
Compañeros Unidos para la Descolonización de Puerto Rico
Dear Partner,
After the approval of the 33rd United Nations’ resolution by consensus on June 23, 2014 asking the United States (US) to immediately decolonize of Puerto Rico, we should work together to force the United States government to comply with it.
The facts that the United States government has maintained Puerto Rico as its colony for 116 years, has had Oscar López Rivera in prison for 33 years for fighting for Puerto Rico decolonization, and has ignored 33 UN resolutions to decolonize Puerto Rico, confirm that the US government has no intentions of ever decolonizing Puerto Rico. Therefore, we need to form a tsunami of people to force the US to comply with the 33 resolutions.
We should peacefully protest at least 3 times a year until we achieve our goal. The first one will be a march up to the US Courthouse in Puerto Rico on the Abolition of Slavery Day on March 22. The second will be another march in Puerto Rico on a day before the UN’s Puerto Rico decolonization hearing. The third one will be a protest in New York City on the same day the UN holds its Puerto Rico decolonization hearing.
These 3 protests are indispensable, because those who have colonies don’t believe in justice for all.
Sincerely,
José M López Sierra
Jlop28vislophis@gmail.com
Comité Timón del Pueblo
United Partners for the Decolonization of Puerto Rico
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com
Not true that there are 3 political status options for Puerto Rico
The United States (US) government has made Puerto Ricans believe that there are 3 political status options for Puerto Rico. That is a lie. The purpose for that is to have Puerto Ricans fight amongst themselves. The plan has been a huge success! Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States for 116 years, and judging by the 80% voter turnout in the colonial elections, the majority of us has not realized that we have been lied to.
In reality, there is only one option. The United Nations (UN) in 1960 determined that colonialism is a crime against humanity. Therefore, the only thing that Puerto Rico can do is to become her own nation. That means that the US must give Puerto Rico the sovereignty that the US illegally took away from her by virtue of the July 25, 1898 military invasion.
Thus far, the US government has ignored the 33 UN resolutions asking it to immediately decolonize Puerto Rico. Instead, it has tried to hide these petitions, and at the same time appear to believe in democracy by pushing for plebiscites so that Puerto Ricans could decide between colonialism, being a US state, or independence (decolonization as required by the UN).
The problem with the US pushed plebiscites are that they:
1. don’t comply with international law that prohibits a nation to have a colony.
2. don’t comply with international law that requires the empire to give the sovereignty it illegally took away to its colony.
3. don’t comply with international law that requires that to have free elections, that country must be free first.
4. have 2 options that are not permitted by international law- continuing being a colony and becoming a state of the country that has the colony. For the option of becoming a state of the country that has the colony to be considered, the colony must first become her own nation (decolonized).
This is why we have to peacefully protest 3 times a year until the US government complies with the UN resolutions for Puerto Rico decolonization.
José M López Sierra
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com
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