CAGUAS - El gobernador Alejandro García Padilla rechazó en la tarde de hoy que deba renunciar a su cargo a raíz del testimonio del convicto exrecaudador del Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), Anaudi Hernández Pérez, quien ha declarado que su ...
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- Poll Predicts Statehood Wins - Puerto Rico Report
- PROMESA Board Members Announced - Puerto Rico Report
- Obama to name board tasked with fixing Puerto Rico's money woes - NY Daily News
- House speaker of Puerto Rico resigns post under pressure - The Washington Post
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- 9.5.16 - sanjuanweeklypr.com
Published on Aug 17, 2016
Should The U.S. Let Puerto Rico Go Bankrupt? http://bit.ly/2blOZqv
Should Puerto Rico Become A State? http://bit.ly/2aZOocU
Subscribe! http://bitly.com/1iLOHml
Puerto Rico is holding $72 billion in debt after decades of borrowing and overspending. Can the country survive another disastrous default?
Learn More:
CNN: Puerto Rico makes historic default http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/01/inves...
Vox: The Puerto Rico crisis, explained http://www.vox.com/2015/7/1/8872553/p...
New York Times: A Surreal Life on the Precipice in Puerto Ricohttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/bus...
NBC News: Congress Passes PROMESA Act for Puerto Rico Debt Crisis
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/co...
Should Puerto Rico Become A State? http://bit.ly/2aZOocU
Subscribe! http://bitly.com/1iLOHml
Puerto Rico is holding $72 billion in debt after decades of borrowing and overspending. Can the country survive another disastrous default?
Learn More:
CNN: Puerto Rico makes historic default http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/01/inves...
Vox: The Puerto Rico crisis, explained http://www.vox.com/2015/7/1/8872553/p...
New York Times: A Surreal Life on the Precipice in Puerto Ricohttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/bus...
NBC News: Congress Passes PROMESA Act for Puerto Rico Debt Crisis
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/co...
Read the whole story
· ·
Activists in Puerto Rico Are Fighting to Keep Beaches Publicby Ana Gabriela Calderón
Boat houses in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Photo courtesy Alberto Marty.
Environmental activists and experts in Puerto Rico took a sigh of relief when a law that sought to privatize La Parguera, a public maritime zone in the western coast of Lajas, was rejected. But their battle is far from over. Several public beaches and maritime zones are fighting privatization proposals.
Project #1621, the bill that was recently rejected, intended to legalize floating water houses or casetas.Illegal casetas have existed in La Parguera for decades. The bill would have legalized these homes, allowed the owners to rent the property for up to 40 years and it wouldhave turned the free public space along the casetas into an exclusive tourism zone.
Local mayors and business owners defended the proposed bill, stating that it could help increase tourism in the region. Some residents said that the owners of such homes help boost the local economy, claiming that they contribute around 2 million US dollars to the small town, which represents 20% of Laja's budget.
“The beaches belong to the people”
Despite its supporters, environmental activists staunchly expressed their opposition through protests and social media, with the phrase “Las Playas son del Pueblo” or The Beaches belong to the People, which has become the official slogan for the anti-privatization movement.
Amigos del MAR (Friends of the SEA), an environmental organization founded in 1995 to protect Puerto Rico's natural resources, were actively lobbying against the bill, writing a letter to Governor Alejandro García Padilla urging him not to sign the controversial law, and recommending various, eco-friendly alternatives, such as allocating funds for studies related to environmental protection.
Legal scholars from various universities in Puerto Rico also joined environmental leaders in trying to orientate politicians about the potential effects of Project #1621, stating that it establishes a disastrous precedent because it conforms to an ongoing tendency of privatization in public areas and it would potentially eliminate access to such spaces.
La Parguera: a coastal gem
In 2014, the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez published a comprehensive study of the environmental history of La Parguera, detailing its origins as a small fishing village to a popular tourist location with hotels, shops, restaurants and recreational activities. Famous for its Phosphorescent Bay, “the marine resources that were once the source of income for subsistence, recreational, and commercial nearshore fishing are mostly gone,” making the old fishing village a now distant memory for locals. The study also states that the casetas are indeed illegally occupying the zone and that they “constitute one of the key elements defining policy and governance.”
The law's original text stated that owners of these casetas have paid the expenses related to the sewage system in La Parguera, but this is also because the houses were responsible for much of the contamination in the area, as stated by the Association of Architects and Landscape Architects.
Puerto Rican anthropologist Rima Brusi has interviewed caseta owners, and, while these constructions are in fact illegal, many individuals are attached to them because they grew up there with their families. However, Brusi adds that there is a sense of ambivalence among locals regarding the law. The majority of the caseteros(floating house owners)belong to the professional class, with some residents claiming that they are typically wealthy, usually own other homes, and limit their boats’ access to the bay, but they also offer some temporary job opportunities cleaning or fixing anything in the casetas.
“Marriott, enemy of the environment.”
Project #1621 was only one of several bills that intended to commodify public spaces on the island. In November 2015, an altercation between Marriott hotel's administration and environmental activists made headline news after a ten year struggle erupted into a protest in Isla Verde Beach in Carolina. The organization Coalición Playas Pa'l Pueblo had established a camp site in Isla Verde over 10 years ago to protect free public access in a beach located in the northern city of Carolina. But in 2015, Playas Pa'l Pueblo received an eviction order from the township. Agencia EFE reported last November that the Puerto Rico National Parks Company had transferred the maritime zone to the city of Carolina in 2003; however, CH Properties, a real estate firm affiliated with Courtyard Marriott, has a 99 year lease on the site.
Mural in Isla Verde Beach: “The beaches belong to the people, they are not for sale.” Taken from Amigos del MAR's Facebook page. Used with permission.
Amigos del MAR and Playas Pa'l Pueblo remain two of the most important environmental organizations trying to protect public beaches from privatization, stating that doing so would also affect Isla Verde's ecosystem, including a Leatherback Sea Turtle nest located on the area that could potentially become property of the Marriott. Earlier this year, the Carolina Appellate Court ordered the eviction of Amigos del MAR protesters from Isla Verde, but Carolina mayor José Carlos Aponte Dalmau was against such action, stating that it represents a violation of their constitutional rights.
Sea Turtle Nest in Isla Verde Beach, Carolina, Puerto Rico. Photo from Amigos del MAR Facebook page, used with permission.
Protesters in Isla Verde Beach in Carolina. Sign reads “Marriott, enemy of the environment.” Photo from Amigos del MAR's Facebook page. Used with permission
Project #2853
Another bill proposed this year by the House of Representatives was Project #2853, which intended to legalize the privatization of Puerto Rico's coastal zones. This project would have created a Trust for Ecotourist Conservation in Puerto Rico under the Department of Natural Resources for granting special licenses for the private use of the coastal maritime zone. The bill was rejected by the Senate, and during the night of its hearing, activists gathered outside the Capitol of Puerto Rico to protest, and activist Alberto de Jesús, better known as “Tito Kayak”, climbed a flag pole and replaced the American flag with one that read “Beaches belong to the people.”
Tito Kayak started a hunger strike to protest the proposed bill. The bill was vetoed later by the Governor. Photo courtesy Diana Valle.
While organizations, academics and environmental activists have united forces to protect public spaces and the Puerto Rican ecosystem, the island is routinely plagued by attempts to privatize beaches as an effort to boost tourism. On Friday, August 6, Amigos del MAR organized a protest in front of the Fortaleza in San Juan, the home of the island's Governor. The group used social media to encouraged Puerto Ricans to contact the Fortaleza via phone and urge Alejandro García Padilla not to sign the bill, and activist Tito Kayak announced a hunger strike to protest the project.Campamento Contra la Junta, a camp site established by activists against the federal control board (PROMESA) in front of the Federal Courthouse, also expressed their solidarity for Amigos del MAR.
The bill was vetoed by the Governor on Saturday night, August 7. While this struggle proved to be a triumph for environmentalists, similar projects, like Marriott's expansion, are still ongoing and the future of Puerto Rico's shore will remain uncertain while similar proposals are presented.
Written by Ana Gabriela Calderón · comments (5)
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· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Presented by the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of CFL’s Community Business Initiative Council and the City of Kissimmee
Central Florida’s first Annual Pig Roast Competition and Festival will take place
on Saturday, September 17, 2016 starting at 11am at the Kissimmee Lakefront Park in Kissimmee, Florida
This is a FREE community event which will include live entertainment, food vendors, domino tournament, a kids area and much more!
The business selected as roasting the pig will win a $1,500 cash prize and the coveted title of “Best Pig Roast in Central Florida” for a year! There are also prizes for 2nd and 3rd places.
Central Florida’s first Annual Pig Roast Competition and Festival will take place
on Saturday, September 17, 2016 starting at 11am at the Kissimmee Lakefront Park in Kissimmee, Florida
This is a FREE community event which will include live entertainment, food vendors, domino tournament, a kids area and much more!
The business selected as roasting the pig will win a $1,500 cash prize and the coveted title of “Best Pig Roast in Central Florida” for a year! There are also prizes for 2nd and 3rd places.
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· ·
Five Indicted For Moving Coke And Money Between NY And PRby noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
U.S. Attorney's Office
San Juan
Press Release
August 24, 2016
SAN JUAN, PR – This morning, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force (OCEDTF) dismantled a drug trafficking organization responsi-
ble for the transportation of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and drug
money between Puerto Rico and the Continental United States, announced
United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. The Drug Enforce-
ment Administration (DEA) is in charge of the investigation with the colla-
boration of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security In-
vestigations (ICE-HSI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
On August 23, 2016, a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment
charging five individuals with participating in a conspiracy to possess with
intent to distribute cocaine between the year 2009 through December 2013.
The defendants are: José G. Herrera-Olavarría, a.k.a. “Pito”; Richard Rodrí-
guez-Heredia; Luis Rodolfo Mejía, a.k.a. “Tripa”; Emilio J. González-Espi-
nal, a.k.a. “Buster”; and Cessy Martínez-Lantigua, wife of Herrera-Olavarría.
The investigation leading to today’s arrests uncovered that members of this
organization traveled on commercial flights that departed from the Luis Mu-
ñoz Marín International Airport (LMMIA) to the continental United States
with kilograms of cocaine concealed inside suitcases. According to the indic-
tment, the defendants and co-conspirators also mailed controlled substances
to the continental United States.
The indictment alleges that the defendants sold the controlled substances in
the continental United States and would have the profits from the sales sent
back to Puerto Rico.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José A.
Contreras.
If found guilty, the defendants are facing terms of imprisonment from 10 years
to life. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A def-
endant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case was investigated by agents from the Organized Crime Drug Enforce-
ment Task Force (OCDETF) that investigates South American-based drug tra-
fficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quanti-
ties of narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distri-
bution to the United States. The initiative is composed of DEA, HSI, FBI, US
Coast Guard, US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and PRPD's
Joint Forces for Rapid Action.
The Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT) operates in the District
of Puerto Rico as an OCDEFT strategic initiative that is part of the National Air-
port Initiative. It is a multi-agency, co-located task force that includes DEA, HSI,
FBI, USPIS, CBP - Office of Field Operations, and ATF. AirTAT also works clo-
sely with the Police of Puerto Rico. AirTAT’s mission is to identify, locate, disr-
upt, dismantle, and prosecute TCOs and their operatives using the Luis Muñoz
Marín International Airport (LMMIA), the Fernando Luis Rivas Dominicci Air-
port (FLRDA), and airport peripherals as platforms to smuggle narcotics, weap-
ons, human cargo, counterfeit documents, illicit proceeds, and other contraband
through these critical airport infrastructures.
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· · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For August 30, 2016by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
PERELLO RESIGNS AS HOUSE SPEAKER
From Caribbean Business:
"Jaime Perelló resigned from his position as Speaker of the Puerto Rico House
of Representatives Monday afternoon. He announced his resignation in the Ca-
pitol rotunda next to an original text of the Puerto Rico Constitution...Perelló
left his position after meeting with 16 lawmakers at the Capitol to discuss a tr-
ial underway in federal court of three former House employees under his dire-
ct supervision who were charged in a pay-for-play scheme to benefit the form-
er speaker’s fundraiser, Anaudi Hernández. During the trial Monday, Hernán-
dez said he raised more than $60,000 in cash for Perelló as part of a pyramid
scheme organized by attorney Irvin Faccio in which he was required to raise
$75,000 for the House leader..."
PUIG HEADS TO US OPEN AFTER GOLD MEDAL
From Bloomberg:
"Tennis player Monica Puig, who won the commonwealth’s first Olympic gold
medal in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month, competes Monday in her first match
this year at the U.S. Open in Queens, New York. Puig’s Olympic victory comes
amid dire Puerto Rico headlines of escalating debt, a broke pension system, a Zi-
ka outbreak, and a 10-year economic recession. Thousands of cheering fans gree-
ted her at the airport in San Juan when she arrived on Aug. 20, a week after her
win..."
BERNABE: AGRICULTURAL REFORM "URGENT"
From The San Juan Daily Star:
"Working People’s Party (PPT by its Spanish acronym) Rafael Bernabe said
late last week that the destruction of the island’s agriculture has been one of the
greatest tragedies in Puerto Rico’s recent history. Speaking at a forum sponsored
by the Puerto Rico Agriculture Association during its annual assembly, Bernabe
laid out some of the PPT’s proposals for the agricultural sector. “It’s a scandal that
today we import 85 percent of our food and that with the ability to export much
more and having a much broader food industry, we don’t do the first, and we don’t
have the second,” he said, according to an Inter News Service report. He added that
the reconstruction of island agriculture, with an agro-ecological emphasis, “is an ur-
gent and crucial task...”
LIBERTY GOES SOLAR AT LUQUILLO HQ
From News Is My Business:
"Oak Leaf Solar X LLC, a Yarotek entity, has installed 2,444 solar panels at Li-
berty Puerto Rico’s facility in Luquillo, making the provider’s operations more
sustainable and “reaffirming the companies’ respective commitments to Puerto
Rico and the environment,” the company announced Monday. Liberty entered
into a long-term power purchase agreement to buy its solar power from Oak Le-
af Solar X, an independent power producer and developer focused on solar energy..."
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Puerto Rico officials struggle to translate Zika virus fears into action by Jessica Glenza in San Juan, Puerto Rico
A quarter of the population may have the disease by the end of mosquito season, but efforts to control it have been thwarted by apathy and misinformation
Every time it rains in San Juan, Dr Brenda Rivera-García walks around her home emptying containers of standing water, probably wearing long sleeves, and almost certainly wearing mosquito repellent. Rivera-García is the state epidemiologist in Puerto Rico, a woman tasked with tracking every single Zika-infected pregnant woman in the US territory.
Less than two weeks after the US health and human services administration declared the spread of Zika on the island an epidemic, Rivera-García said it’s not frustration or anger that overtakes her when she adds a new woman’s name to a list of roughly 700 confirmed to be infected with the disease.
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Pasquines (press release) (blog) |
Comparing the major parties' stances on Puerto Rico | Pasquines
Pasquines (press release) (blog) In the heat of the political season and partisan rhetoric, political party platforms are rarely more than formalities. Nevertheless, these platforms delve into issues ... and more » |
Bond Buyer |
Serrano Asks P.R. Task Force to Focus on Statehood, Health Care
Bond Buyer Congress must allow Puerto Rico residents to vote on statehood and establish parity between the territory and states with regard to health care and tax credits to help the island's struggling economy and address its fiscal crisis, Rep. José Serrano, D ... and more » |
NBCNews.com |
Who are the Members of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Control Board?
NBCNews.com The White House announced Wednesday the appointment of seven people who will serve on a financial control board overseeing the restructuring of Puerto Rico's $72 billion debt. The board was created in legislation signed into law by President Barack ... and more » |
House speaker of Puerto Rico resigns post under pressure
Townhall SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Puerto Rico has resigned under pressure from party leaders because of his connections to a former fundraiser convicted in a political corruption case. Jaime Perello insisted Monday ... and more » |
Bloomberg |
Puerto Rico Bonds Risk Court Workout If Consensus Eludes Panel
Bloomberg The seven-member federal control board appointed to address Puerto Rico's $70 billion of debt may ultimately leave it up to a court to force investors to accept losses if they don't do so willingly. The panel appointed by President Barack Obama ... White House announces members of board helping manage Puerto Rico's crisisFox News Latino all 22 news articles » |
The Atlantic |
Puerto Rico's Invisible Health Crisis
The Atlantic For over 60 years, the U.S. Navy used the small island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, as a bombing range and site for military-training exercises. Then the island got sick. Thousands of residents have alleged that the military's activities caused illnesses ... |
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How Puerto Rico can recover
Jordan Times Puerto Rico's economy has been contracting for nearly a decade — one of the worst recessions in recent history among economies not experiencing domestic conflict. Indeed, its slump has far outlasted that experienced by, say, the Baltic states, which ... |
Readers respond to “Life on the Precipice in Puerto Rico” (Aug. 7).
To longtime nationalists, moves by the United States over the island’s $72 billion debt are yet more proof that colonialism is alive and well.
Team From Finance and Law to Oversee Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Affairs by By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Four Republicans and three Democrats will serve on the seven-member board, which has four Puerto Rican members.
Restoring sanity to the economy of Puerto Rico will require a long-term term approach. CNE is recommending to the U.S. Congress the creation of a permanent working group at the federal level focused on structural and long-term issues related to economic growth in Puerto Rico.
Click the following button to download the report:
Or read the document below:
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The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce (PRCC) is holding an event it’s calling “the First PROMESA Conference” today in San Juan. With the support of El Nuevo Dia, Birling Capital Advisors, and the Select Global Advisory Group, the PRCC is bringing its members a “walk through” of PROMESA and its own recommendations to the Task Force on Economic Growth.
Caribbean Business reports that PRCC is not in favor of a tax incentive proposal some other business groups have favored. The Puerto Rico government, the Private Sector Coalition and the Manufacturers’ Association are asking the Task Force to consider incentives that exempt 85% of Island-sourced dividend income from federal income tax and tax the remaining 15% half of the federal corporate income tax rate. Caribbean Business reported earlier that “the key principles of the proposal are aimed at ensuring that it is not tainted with the corporate welfare stigma of Section 936 and providing for mandatory repatriation of trapped Puerto Rico source income and including strong base erosion rules.”
The reference is to Section 936, a tax code which benefited corporations without producing sustainable growth in Puerto Rico’s economy.
The PRCC points out that these measures may not be relevant if Puerto Rico becomes a state. They want to see proposals that will work in the future regardless of the status Puerto Rico’s voters choose.
The Private Sector Coalition includes more than 20 organizations, including the PRCC as well as the Manufacturers Association, the Puerto Rico Products Association, the Puerto Rico Restaurant Association and the Puerto Rico Hospital Association.
Chamber of Commerce President David Rodríguez listed some of the proposals the PRCC will send to the Task Force:
- Equality in healthcare funding, which is also favored by the U.S. administration
- A repeal of taxes on healthcare premiums
- Extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax credit for working families, to Puerto Rico
- A temporary reduction in payroll taxes for Puerto Rico
- Intervention by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to help PREPA, the Island’s electric utility
“If the business environment is improved,” Rodríguez said, “there will be more revenues to support essential services and pay pensions.”
The post Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce Questions Tax Incentive Proposals, Uncertainty on Status a Factor appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
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· ·
PROMESA Board Members Announced by Associate Writer
The Obama administration is expected to announce at 4:00 pm today the seven appointees to the PROMESA fiscal oversight board, according to Bloomberg news and other sources.
The Republican appointees are expected to be: Andrew Biggs, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration; José Carrión, Partner at San Juan insurance brokerage Carrión, Laffitte & Casellas, Inc. and former chairman of the boards of the Puerto Rico government’s State Insurance Fund and Automobile Accident Compensation Administration; Carlos García: CEO, founder and managing partner of BayBoston and previous head of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank; and David Skeel, the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
The Democratic appointees are likely to be: Arthur González, senior fellow at New York University’s School of Law and former bankruptcy judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York; José Ramón González: Ramón González, former president of the GDB and current president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York; and Ana Matosantos,financial and budget consultant with the Public Policy Institute of California and former director of the California Department of Finance from 2009 until September 2013, serving under both Governor Jerry Brown (D) and Arnold Schwartzenegger (R).
“I am pleased that President Obama, in consultation with Congress, has appointed the members of the Oversight Board in a thoughtful and timely manner, and I thank the seven appointees for their willingness to serve,” said Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi.“PROMESA is among the most important pieces of legislation that Congress has ever enacted on the subject of Puerto Rico,” he continued. “If the Oversight Board, its professional staff, Puerto Rico’s elected leaders, the island’s creditors, and our private sector professionals work together in a spirit of cooperation, I believe that—acting within PROMESA’s framework—we can begin to turn our beloved island around, to improve quality of life for our people, and to stem the tide of migration to the states. Success will require hard work and sacrifice. But nothing truly worth doing in life is ever easy.”
Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasurey, has explained, “the government of Puerto Rico, which retains primary responsibility for its budget and fiscal planning, must develop a multi-year fiscal plan for Puerto Rico that meets the statutory obligations under PROMESA. Time is of the essence. The Puerto Rico government should bring together all of its resources to develop and submit a plan to the Oversight Board as soon as possible.”
“We stand ready to provide any additional requested technical assistance to Puerto Rico and the Board,” added Lew. “While the road ahead will be challenging, I am confident that Puerto Rico can and will emerge from the current crisis and return to growth.”
The next step is for the Oversight Board to appoint an executive director and professional staff.
The post PROMESA Board Members Announced appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
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· ·
An Issue for All Americans by hadeninteractive
Only residents of Puerto Rico were eligible to vote in the November 2012 referendum on Puerto Rico’s political status. Only residents of Puerto Rico will vote in the next — the first federally funded — referendum, but that doesn’t mean that Puerto Rico’s status is important just to people living in Puerto Rico.
Members of the U.S. government and other high profile Americans have recognized this. You’ll find links to many more of these statements at the bottom of the page, but here are a few quotes that speak to this point:
[T]his is not primarily about Puerto Rico, but about the rest of us. What are our values? What is our culture? How can we make one America in a world and a nation ever more diverse?[T]his is a domestic obligation of ours. [Puerto Rico] is not another country.We cannot expect our foreign policies to be enjoying prestige around the world – attracting support instead of collapsing – when we are having serious problems with our closest neighbors.Ronald Reagan, “Puerto Rico and Statehood,” Wall Street Journal, February 11, 1980.Make a career of humanity, commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of our country, and a finer world to live in.
Puerto Rico has been a possession of the United States since 1898, so its treatment is relevant to everyone in the United States.
Puerto Rico is a part of the American political family:
- Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917.
- They are not considered immigrants when they move to the United States — which they can do freely.
- You don’t need a passport to travel to Puerto Rico.
The question is not whether Puerto Rico is American – unless Puerto Rico votes to become an independent nation, that issue has already been decided. The question is how Puerto Ricans should be included in the nation of which they are already citizens. Learn more about Puerto Rico’s relationship with the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The United States has led the world in the advancement of democratic freedoms. U.S. ownership of a territory of close to four million people undermines its position as a world leader of democracy.
Read statements from the people of Puerto Rico making the case for federal leadership on the status issue.
Read statements by national state and community leaders throughout the U.S. on the need to clarify serious, realistic status options for Puerto Rican self determination.
The post An Issue for All Americans appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
