Puerto Rico is a small island (100x35 miles) located in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico was discovered November 19, 1493 by Christopher Columbus under Spanish imperialism. It was instantaneously converted to a colony for raw materials and central production for coffee and sugar. Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule until the Spanish American War where US took over PR in 17 days under General Nelson Miles. The island was defined by two acts Foraker and Jones. The Foraker Act of 1900 regulated political and economic relations between PR and USA and organized a civil government, where the US president appointed all governors. In The Jones Act of 1917 the US Congress grants Puerto Ricans US citizenship and provided for the creation of a local senate.
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth meaning it is a territory of the US, the federal court applies, semiautonomous, no federal taxes apply, no vote, and limited representation in Congress. Puerto Rico by definition is a combination between a nation, colony, and a city-state. Modern struggles that the Caribbean island face are citizenship without a valid vote, lack of US or UN political influence, strict international commerce, divided political parties, large public debt, cycled bankruptcy, and low employment rates. The problem of today is the law PROMESA (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act) where the US has totalitarian control over the affairs of the island to balance the budget and restructure debt, which completely strips Puerto Rico from its semiautonomous state and illustrates modern American imperialism in the act.
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Enrique SabaterA young man who yet knows nothing of the world. Archives
November 2016
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