It's that burning question: Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state, remain a commonwealth, or become a free nation?
Not wanting to overstep my boundaries in a culture I'm just being introduced to, I have carefully avoided blurting out this question in the the event that it would be unwelcome and/or appear to be a loaded question coming from an American with little knowledge of what this question is really asking. But on Halloween, waiting out an Elementary School Halloween party, amongst superheroes, witches, zombies, princesses, and an assortment of furry animals, it came up in conversation with one of my Puerto Rican colleagues, the High School History teacher. And I have a feeling you won't find this printed in many US textbooks.
Oddly enough, it began with a rant about tomatoes. The tomatoes here are very orange and very expensive. For example, four medium-sized tomatoes, undeniably orange, are packaged together and fetch the price of $7. After agreeing with this complaint, the History teacher said, "But you know why, don't you?" Actually, I had no idea unless it was a cruel ploy to withhold the good tomatoes.
"Produce is so expensive because Puerto Rico is not allowed to trade with anyone except the US," she explained.
I mentally walked through the local grocery stores and recalled the signs on each produce item saying where it was from. Costa Rica. Chile. Mexico. But how is it possible to only trade with the US when Puerto Rico clearly gets produce from other countries?
Let's say you pick up the bananas from Costa Rica in a local grocery store in Puerto Rico. Those bananas did not travel from Costa Rica to Puerto Rico. They went from Costa Rica to the US to Puerto Rico. Why do this when it would be cheaper to export from Costa Rica to Puerto? Because Puerto Rico's commonwealth status prevents it from trading directly with countries except the US, which allows the US to collect an additional profit from the item it's "trading" with Puerto Rico.
Taken aback, and moderately confused, I asked about the role the US plays in relationship to Puerto Rico. And, more importantly, what's in it for both parties?
Being a commonwealth gives Puerto Ricans US citizenship, military protection (somewhat), and welfare money. Puerto Ricans can still not vote in Presidential elections unless they move to the US.
"That's it? Why is that appealing?" I asked.
My colleague went on to explain that the welfare money was somewhat ridiculous in proportion. In her hometown, she said approximately 60% of the people who lived there did not work. And not because they were old or prevented by any other means. It's because the US welfare gave them paid houses, paid cars, cellphone plans for $10/month, and even free wi-fi. Why work if you don't have to?
But this welfare, she explained, is likely doing more harm than good. Because some of the people receiving this money are content with not working, but still desire attaining a more extravagant lifestyle, it is not uncommon to sell drugs on the side, leading to potential violence.
What does the US get out the relationship if it's paying a crazy amount in welfare? Though it sounds like a lot of welfare money, when you consider how small the island is (though somewhat densely populated), it's not really all that much to a large country like the US. Especially when the US collects additional profits from Puerto Rico for trading produce, the exports that come from Puerto Rico like fruit and coffee, and the booming tourism industry. Though the US is giving money to Puerto Rico, it's collecting far more in return. Additionally, because Puerto Ricans have US citizenship, they are eligible to be drafted during wartime.
Essentially, the US is bribing Puerto Rico with the welfare money, dangling cellphones and lifting the curtain on paid houses to say, "See? You NEED us. Look what we will give you. You'll never have this without us." According to the History teacher, some Puerto Ricans believe that this is true (also for additional reasons, I'm sure), which creates a split on the issue of statehood, remaining a commonwealth, or becoming a free nation. Others see what the US is really gaining from the relationship and noting how severely it pales in comparison to what Puerto Rico is gaining.
I asked my colleague for her opinion on the statehood, commonwealth, or free nation question. She is on the free nation side and explained that Puerto Rico has very fertile soil and a nice climate, which allows it to produce an abundance of crops, helping it to be self-sustaining. These resources would also make it an appealing trade partner with other countries. Furthermore, with a lack of welfare money from the US, people would no longer have the luxury of not working; this means that the drug and violence problem would eventually diminish because people would be in the workforce and able to make ends meet without ridiculous added costs from things like shipping bananas to the US before they arrive in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has never been a free nation: it was under Spanish rule before the US snatched it away as a war prize. It's an interesting and saddening dynamic between the US and Puerto Rico--and one that is often neglected in schools and textbooks in the US (how convenient....). Though I'm sure this barely scratches the surface of the issue, whenever I see those orange tomatoes I will now think "manipulation" instead of "expensive".
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