Which Puerto Ricans should decide Puerto Rico’s future?

All of us should regardless whether we are on or off the island of Puerto Rico (PR).  Anything less than that would compound the 114 year old crime committed to Puerto Ricans.

The US went to war with Spain in 1898.  At that time PR was an autonomous government since the previous year (1897).  We were finally enjoying our self government after over 400 years of Spanish colonial rule.

Without any regards to the rights that Puerto Ricans had fought long and hard for, the US forced Spain to give PR up despite the fact that she had no right to do so.

Simon Bolívar had known that the US, England, France and Mexico all wanted Cuba and Puerto Rico as their own colonies.  That was why he could not finish liberating all of Spain’s colonies in America.

The US has destroyed Puerto Rican industry, and has forced us to consume her goods for 114 years.  That is why there are no jobs in PR.  And the few we do have pays a third of what the same job pays in the US.  Incredibly however, we are the US’ sixth market among all nations that trade with her!

Colonialism, like slavery, is an international crime against humanity.  Crimes against humanity were exactly what the Nazi officers who were captured after World War II were tried for during the Nuremberg trials.

Some of the devastating consequences of our colonial relationship with the US are:

• PR has more than twice the crime as New York City despite having only half of NY’s population.
• 70% of the reported crimes in PR are unresolved
• PR has a high rates of mental illnesses
• High alcoholism, drug abuse
• High drop outs, domestic violence
• Low self-esteem, etc., etc., etc.

As a result of this chaos, Puerto Ricans have been forced to leave PR in search of the opportunities that colonialism has deprived them from having in our own homeland.  Don Pedro Albizu Campos said that the US wanted the cage (PR) and not the birds (Puerto Ricans).  The fact of the matter is that we now have for the first time in history more Puerto Ricans living off the island than on it.  Only by forcing the remaining 3.7 million Puerto Ricans off Puerto Rico will the US grant statehood for PR.  Then, the US would have the cage Albizu Campos referred to.

The future of PR will be whatever all Puerto Ricans decide.  This is why it is imperative that all Puerto Ricans begin to learn our real history.  That way, we will be able to talk intelligently about our future.  114 years of colonialism means a lot of propaganda that we have internalized, in the interest of getting Puerto Ricans to go along with this crime.  It will take some time to undo the damage caused over a century of injustice.  But, we need to begin the process now!

Join the protest in June 2013!