Front Burner:
Independence is the answer: Break corporate, colonial ties
What’s best for Puerto Rico’s future?
Every minute of debate about whether or not Puerto Rico should become a state serves only to perpetuate the island’s current colonial status with the United States.
I lived in Puerto Rico for more than 18 years, where I worked for the island’s Senate president and secretary of state. After that I interned in the U.S. Congress and at the White House. With this experience, I have been able to learn a great deal about the corporate-colonial scheme in Puerto Rico.
The century-old debate about Puerto Rico’s political status is nothing but a smokescreen to keep the people on the island divided — so members of the U.S. Congress can say, “Puerto Rico is divided.” That allows Congress to declare that the island is not able to decide its future.
But that’s not true. In 2012, more than 61 percent of Puerto Ricans on the island voted in a referendum for statehood. Yet the U.S. Congress has done nothing in response.
This should not be surprising, given the corporate sway over both political parties in the U.S. Congress. The island has been exploited by corporate America for decades through exotic tax loopholes. These loopholes allow corporations and millionaires to pay zero taxes — while both the people of Puerto Rico and American taxpayers continue to bear a continuously increasing tax obligation every year.
Many U.S. corporations, notably pharmaceuticals and software companies, are big donors to both Democratic and Republican candidates, thus wielding great influence in Congress. That power was increased exponentially after the Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which established that freedom of speech prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations. Its practical effect was to permit unlimited campaign spending in elections. Many corporations with operations n Puerto Rico — again, notably pharmaceuticals and software companies — donate millions of dollars to members of Congress through corporate political action committees.
I would argue the reason Puerto Rico’s request for statehood in 2012 has been ignored is because if the island became a state, many American corporations might lose these tax breaks that they now have through their operations in Puerto Rico.
In essence, if Puerto Rico were to become a state, corporations and millionaires might have to pay a fair share of taxes. How likely is that? As we all know, the game in corporate America is to reduce taxes and increase profit.
I hope our newly elected member of Congress, Darren Soto, who is of Puerto Rican descent, will step up and stop the corporate exploitation of Puerto Rico. He should partner with U.S. Rep. Luis Vicente Gutiérrez of Illinois, who has introduced legislation that would make the island an independent country.
However, the underlying cause of Puerto Rico’s economic downward spiral must be revealed. The people of Puerto Rico and American taxpayers deserve to know details about the tax haven created by U.S. Congress in Puerto Rico. It affects everyone.
Under the pro-big business administration of Trump, statehood is further away than ever. If the United States isn’t willing to grant statehood to Puerto Rico, the federal government should grant the island independence, instead of holding it as a colony.
More than being just another option for political status, independence is an inalienable human right as defined in the the United Nations Charter and international law. If the U.S. isn’t willing to make Puerto Rico a state, it should grant independence instead of holding the island as a colony.
Ironically, there is nothing more “American” than supporting the independence of one’s own country. This is why I support independence for my homeland of Puerto Rico.
There is nothing more “American” than supporting the independence of one’s own country