“Let the welfare of the people be the highest law” (the motto of Puerto Rico) The Journey of Puerto Rico

September 26, 2019August 6, 2023 Buffalo Latino Village

Besides being labeled or forced to be called “Hispanics”, we are truly Puerto Ricans, Puertorriqueños, Tainos, and boricua. We were originally known as Borinquen before we were invaded by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493, and claimed the island for the rulers of Spain, at the time, King Ferdinand, and Queen Isabella.

In the American history books, it says that Puerto Rico was discovered, which is far from the truth.

In that same year, 1493, they erased the name Borinquen and named it San Juan Bautista, but they changed it to Rich Port (Porto Rico) when they found there was gold in the water.

By the way, the meaning of Borinquen means “land of the brave lord, which was what the original natives called their country at the time.

Spain continued to own and oppress the people of the colony until the beginning of the Spanish-American war in 1898, and as you should know, Spain lost that war to the US and was forced to give up their rights to Puerto Rico, becoming a possession of the US, and it has been a US colony since then.

You should know that during that war, Spain granted independence to all their other colonies in Latin America and was in the discussion of granting Puerto Rico a process leading to their independence, but the United States never honored that agreement.

Today, Puerto Rico is a unique country with rich cultural diversity, composed of black, white, and brown faces. The historians and the politicians try to color it as a “beautiful melting pot of cultures due to the influence of different cultures like Spanish, Asian, Taino Indians, and Africa”, but they leave out the slavery, the rape of our women, and the on-going violence imposed on us.

We like to say, “we come in all colors”, although there is a percentage of light-skin Puerto Ricans who deny their African heritage. There are also black Puerto Ricans who are beginning to appreciate and speak out celebrating their black roots. Like me, although I look very white, I celebrate my cultural roots and I’m proud to say that I’m not white by the nature of those cultural roots.

The United States is about 1,080 times bigger than Puerto Rico, just so you know.

Puerto Rico is located on the northeastern side of the Caribbean Sea. The population of Puerto Rico was about 3.4 million before 2019, but it has been decreasing in population due to US control, local government corruption, and the recent Hurricane Maria, finding many Puerto Ricans moving to the mainland, mostly to Florida, where you will find over 1 million living in Orlando.

Puerto Rico continues to be the most highly populated of all US territories.

Puerto Rico is found in the Caribbean region of North America. It is a popular travel destination for many across the globe. Many say it is the future paradise colony for the rich and large corporations.

We are still a territory, a colony of the United States. It is not a state. We do not have all the rights of regular Americans, for example, Puerto Rico does not vote in the presidential elections. They cannot vote for a president, however, Puerto Ricans who are born in Puerto Rico are US citizens.

The Puerto Rican flag, designed in 1892, was proclaimed the official flag of Puerto Rico in 1952. The governor at the time was Luis Munoz Marin, at one time he lived on the mainland, as a poet, and writer in New York, but influenced by American politics, and corporations, moved to Puerto Rico, becoming the first “Puerto Rican” governor of the colony.

You should know that before becoming the official flag of Puerto Rico, it was a violation or crime to carry or wave the flag in public. The flag is very much like the flag of Cuba, as both were designed at the same time.

The red stripes are symbolic of the “blood” that nourishes the three branches of its government: Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. The white stripes represent individual liberty and the rights that keep the government in balance.

The first known incarnation of the symbol was made by Puerto Rican Manuela `Mima’ Besosa. She is our Puerto Rican Betsy Ross. The motion to adopt the flag was approved unanimously by the Puerto Rican revolutionaries. In 1895, Cuba and Puerto Rico were the only two Spanish colonies left in the Western Hemisphere.

As a point of fact, and not too many people know this, the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party founded by Jose Marti, agreed upon using the Cuban flag as the model for the Puerto Rican flag.

The colors of the Puerto Rican flag are:

Red Stripes – The blood from the brave warriors of the revolution.
White Stripes – Victory and peace after obtaining independence.
Blue Triangle – Our sky and sea.
White Lone Star – Our beautiful Island.

As their first Puerto Rico governor, Luis Munoz Marin was mandated to eliminate the revolutionary movement led by a man named Pedro Albizu Campos, who was a trained lawyer who also served in the US military as a loyal soldier but hated the US treatment of Blacks in the south, resigned his commission, and returned to the colony to fight for its independence, becoming the leader of the Independence Party. He was highly loved and respected.

Eventually, he was arrested by the federal government, served time, and released to die a few years later in his homeland. While in prison, he was poisoned or injected with radiation. Today, Pedro Albizu Campos is considered the father of Puerto Rico.

Some facts you should know about Puerto Rico:

The World’s Largest Single-Dish Radio Telescope is in Puerto Rico.
El Yunque is the Only Tropical Rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System.
Puerto Rico was not discovered by Christopher Columbus, it was invaded
Puerto Rico’s Unofficial Mascot Is a Tiny Tree Frog Found Only on the Island, and it makes a unique sound like coki, coki, coki, meaning that it is calling a mate to have sex.

If you do not know by now, some of the Puerto Rican last names are:

Rivera, Rodriguez, Garcia, Diaz, Fernandez, Hernandez, Martinez, Lopez, and of cause, Cappas

The Reality of Puerto Rico Today

Today, Puerto Rico is in a state of emergency.

There is a real political and economic crisis in the colony today.

In the first decade of the 21st century, Puerto Rico’s economic growth slowed, even as its national debt rapidly expanded.

In 2015, the worsening economic crisis led its governor to announce that Puerto Rico could no longer meet its debt obligations.

In 2017, under legislation passed by the US Congress to help Puerto Rico deal with its economic crisis, the commonwealth declared a form of bankruptcy, claiming debt of more than $72 billion, mostly to U.S. investors. Puerto Rico’s economic crisis was compounded when Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane.

In Maria’s aftermath, Puerto Rico’s inhabitants—some 3.4 million American citizens—found themselves with a shortage of water, food, fuel, and an uncertain future.

Its public debt is over $73 billion, and it continues to increase at an alarming rate. Unemployment is at a dismal 14 percent and 46 percent of the island’s inhabitants are living below the poverty line, a rate higher than that of any state on the mainland.

Puerto Rico’s serious and worsening economy is largely rooted in its colonial status. As a U.S. colony, Puerto Rico’s insolvent municipalities and public corporations cannot declare bankruptcy.

And because Puerto Rico is not independent, it is prohibited from seeking help from international financial institutions, leaving it with few options in the face of what seems like inevitable default. Yet while the right to declare bankruptcy is important in helping the island restructure its mounting debt, it is only part of a short-term solution to a crisis that is, at its core, deeply structural.

Puerto Rico’s economy is both limited by and dependent on Washington. Constrained by U.S. federal laws and regulations, the island’s economy lacks the structural capacity to thrive on its own. Puerto Rico has no control over its monetary policy and little control of its fiscal policy.

Issues that have to do with immigration, foreign policy, and trade are controlled or dictated by U.S. law and U.S. regulatory agencies.

In 2019, Puerto Rico has no actual representation in Congress, decisions are made with little to no consideration for the needs and general welfare of the island’s residents.

Puerto Ricans must obey laws passed by a government in which they do not participate. Independence would grant Puerto Rico a platform to address the debt crisis on its terms and afford the island’s 3.5 million inhabitants the right to self-determination.

As for Statehood, economic and cultural arguments aside, statehood has never been a real option for Puerto Rico. Contrary to Alaska and Hawaii, which were deemed “incorporated” territories to move toward annexation to the Union, the decision to keep Puerto Rico as “unincorporated” was a ploy to avoid statehood.

Puerto Rico’s status as an unincorporated territory means that it “belongs to, but is not part of the U.S.” And that is unlikely to change.

A Republican-controlled Congress would never admit Puerto Rico — with its massive debt and overwhelmingly Democratic (and non-white, Spanish-speaking) voting base — into the Union, even if such a determination is made by the island’s residents.

In addition, too many states have fewer people than Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rico was admitted as a state of the union, all the states with smaller populations would lose some representation in Congress, losing political pull.

For far too long, the people of Puerto Rico have chosen to accept the comfort of a familiar yet broken status quo over the uncertainty of real, revolutionary change. Many on the island and in the diaspora adhere to a colonized mentality, one that believes an independent Puerto Rico is economically unsustainable. But liberated nations across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America have demonstrated otherwise.

Singapore is a prime example. With a size 14 times smaller than Puerto Rico, less natural resources, and a significantly higher population density, Singapore has thrived socially and economically since gaining independence — even exceeding the per capita income of the United States.

An independent Puerto Rico would more readily protect the welfare and the rights of its people than the United States.

Since the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898, Washington’s relationship with Puerto Rico has been one of exploitation and convenience. From the Ponce Massacre and government-sanctioned programs aimed at forcibly sterilizing working-class Puerto Rican women to unethical testing and human radiation experiments on Puerto Rican prisoners, the U.S. government has a shameful track record of transgressions on the island.

And let’s not forget Vieques: for more than 60 years the U.S. Navy used the island of Vieques as target practice. Though the bombings stopped in 2003, the U.S.’ legacy on Vieques continues in the form of destroyed land (over half the island is dilapidated), shattered livelihoods, and increased rates of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses — the result of contamination from years of continuous bombings.

Yet because Puerto Rico lacks any real autonomy or representation, these and other travesties — both social and economic — are largely ignored. Independence would hold accountable elected representatives at all levels of government and restore power to the people.

Absent an act of Congress, the Federal Reserve is prohibited from lending Puerto Rico money. The U.S. Treasury officials and the White House have publicly ruled out aid packages to save the island’s government from default, instead advising Puerto Rican officials to just keep searching for “credible” financing plans.

The United State Congress continues its anti-bailout position, refusing to extend financial relief by extending Chapter 9.

You should know that some of the biggest stakeholders in Puerto Rico’s financial crisis can be found on the U.S. mainland. The island’s municipal bonds have been widely traded in U.S. markets due to their triple tax-exempt status — exempt from federal, state, and local taxes, they’ve been an attractive bet for long-term investors. Despite the growing economic instability and the rumblings of a potential default, investment banks, and hedge funds have continued to view Puerto Rico that way.

Last year, the island sold some $3.5 billion in municipal bonds even though they were given junk status — the largest junk-rated municipal offering in history, according to Bloomberg. And earlier this year, Goldman Sachs’ asset management division boosted its stake in Puerto Rico’s government-run power company, PREPA, from $351 million to $1.3 billion.

The sad reality is the following:

Puerto Rico’s political system and its economic structure are completely controlled by the United State government, policies that are influenced by greedy US corporations.

Under this nightmare, the Puerto Rican government officials are corrupt, as you can read from current publications.

Did you know, for example, that New York City, with a population of over 8-9 million people, has only one mayor, while Puerto Rico, with a population of a little over 3 million, has 78 mayors?

In the United States, mainland Puerto Ricans, are divided between Independence and statehood, and I believe, statehood wins today.

Let us look at the effect of the US and Puerto Rico on the Mainland, Buffalo, as an example:

Let me give you a profile of Puerto Ricans in Buffalo, NY, which should give you a good idea of what is going on in other states, as Buffalo Puerto Ricans reflect what is going on throughout the US mainland.

The population of Latino population in Buffalo & Erie County is about 33,000. 85% to 90% of that Latino population is Puerto Rican.

Yet, over 95% of your Puerto Rican leaders in Buffalo identify themselves as “Hispanic.”

All their federally funded “non-profit” community organizations also classify themselves as Hispanic organizations. This indoctrination is not by accident.

I believe in the early 1980s, for the US to have better control and management of the Latino population, it devised three strategic policy actions:

It created Hispanic Heritage Month. This slowly erased the ethnic and cultural identity of the Puerto Ricans.

Before the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month, 90% of Puerto Rican organizations identified themselves as Puerto Rican organizations.

The US convinced the “non-profits” that if they wanted to fund their programs or projects, they would be in a better position to get funding if they identified themselves as “Hispanic.”

If you look at the Buffalo Puerto Rican organizations today, this is what you get:

Hispanic Heritage Council
Hispanic United of Buffalo
Hispanic Women’s League
Hispano Panorama Newspaper
Puerto Rican and Hispanic Parade

If you ask a Puerto Rican kid today “what is your nationality, he or she will tell you that he or she is Hispanic.

This issue may not be clear or understood by people who do not know the political practice of mental and political colonialism, which is well alive today.

As you can see from the brief outline I layout for you today, Spain is the evil root responsible for the invasion of our country, creating slavery, rape, and violence. The United States continued the practice when they took over Puerto Rico in 1898.

Puerto Ricans never invaded Spain; Spain invaded Puerto Rico. I never went to Spain; Spain came to me. I’m not Spanish, but I do speak Spanish.

Let me leave you with this poem I wrote back this past year:

A MESSAGE TO THE LATINO DIASPORA

Not Hispanic

Not from Spain

Not born in Spain

We did not go to Spain

Spain came to us

Introducing us to slavery.

We are not Spanish

We speak Spanish

I’m Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban & Mexican