Puerto Rico Debt Crisis Summary

The once powerful Spanish Empire was hanging onto a thread as Cuba and Puerto Rico were their last two major colonies. Tension between the Cuban people and the Spaniards had been building since the beginning of Spanish reign over the island in 1492. One of the leading issues was the “impact of increased taxation and an international economic crisis” (LOC). Spain was exploiting Cuba for its sugar plantations and treating the locals very poorly. This poor treatment and taxation by Spain would lead to the “Ten Years' War” (LOC), from 1868 to 1878, in which the Cubans

Juan Gonzalez discusses the historical relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. in Harvest of an Empire, interestingly enough the author’s family were a part of the surge of Puerto Ricans emigrated to New York in 1946. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris the Spanish-American War came to a close with Puerto Rico now under the control of the U.S. along with Cuba, Guam, and the Philippians. In 1900 the Foraker Act established Puerto Rico as a U.S. territory, but it had less autonomy than when under the control of Spain. The Foraker Act allowed the U.S. to dominate the economy of Puerto Ricans by replacing the peso with the dollar and not allowing for any outside commercial treaties. Challenges were unsuccessful with the dreadful ruling

I will be discussing how the country of Puerto Rico’s impact of resource scarcity, issues with boundary delineation, separatism and sovereignty issues, poverty, migration, legacies of colonialism and imperialism, global climate change and its impact. The once poor nation of Puerto Rico now seems to be a stepping stone for trading in the Caribbean. With its location in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is a major asset for shipping lanes. One of the main reasons the U.S. wanted to take over this land. Its geographical location is important in helping to move resources around the world, as well as keeping an eye on Cuba. The economic system of

Most Americans, don’t know how Puerto Rico got the way it is and like Nelson said many believe that the debt we have is one that was 100% our fault. However, most don’t understand the deep history and relationship Puerto Rico has with the United States and how the way we have and continued to be treated has a lot to do with the debt Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s major political division is the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which supports commonwealth rank for the island; has been the leading political party since 1940. The PPD was

military control was to end, Puerto Rico would use the monetary system of the U.S., Puerto Ricans did not have to pay federal taxes, Puerto Ricans were not U.S. citizens, and the governor was to be appointed by the President and Congress but there would be a two-chamber legislature. Downs vs. Biddell was the Puerto Rican reaction to the Foraker Act. The Jones Act 1917, advocated by Munoz Rivera, granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, election of legislators, introduced the draft system, issued a Bill of Rights, and granted male suffrage. Balzac vs. Puerto Rico in 1920 was the reaction to the Jones Act asking for the same rights as Hawaii and Alaska. However, the efforts did not prove to be a success.The right to elect their own governor was granted in 1947. Munoz Marn, son of Luis Munoz Rivera, was the first elected governor in 1948. Three distinct ideologies on Puerto Rico’s status emerged in the 20th century Independence, Commonwealth, and Statehood. In plebiscites on the island, the Puerto Ricans have chosen to maintain commonwealth status. Operation Bootstrap 1940’s planned industrial progress. This was the turning point in Puerto Rico’s economy. The project gave protection to U.S. markets, gave tax exemptions to industries, and gave Puerto Ricans jobs. The results were more jobs, better sanitation, a rising middle class, role of women, and added money to the

A congressional advisor said it should be America’s primary goal to implement in Puerto Rico “an effective administration, that simultaneously provided the largest degree of self government” (Fernandez 20). Puerto Ricans were highly inexperienced in government, as the American forefathers had been a little more than a hundred years before, but were hopeful in their ability to adjust and grow.

My research paper will be about Puerto Rico and its importance to the spanish language. It is located in the Caribbean sea, southeast of Florida. It is home to many US citizens in its beautiful tropic landscape. In this paper I will explain the important aspects of the Puerto Rican government, the people, and the lovely food.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, Briggs argues that the United States created Puerto Rican difference through ideas of the sexual deviancy of the island and the tropics. Local politicians, Puerto Rican feminists, and North American missionaries and doctors used the sexuality of working women as an organizational tool and as political rhetoric. Women were lacking a voice on the island and in the colonial process, and by debating their sexuality each group was laying claim to their best interests. Each of these groups labeled working-class women’s sexuality and reproductive capacity as problematic and offered their solutions. In 1937 Puerto Rico passed an anti-poor eugenic sterilization law that made voluntary sterilization and birth control legal and available. Briggs tracks the path of that sterilization through the 1970s when Puerto Rico had one of the highest rates of sterilization in the world. In the United States at the time there was some coercive sterilization of minority women, and the mainland feminists assumed that the same was going on in Puerto Rico. Mainland feminists framed it as a genocidal sterilization program and turned it into a symbol of women’s victimization by the United States. But the local feminists had been pressing for increased access to sterilization as

White sandy sun kissed beaches, ice cold piña coladas with little umbrellas poking out the top, mingling with locals, waves crashing, and the sound of Bomba through the rows of palm trees surrounding the shorelines. This is the image that most people have of Puerto Rico and they would be right, for the most part, about this beautiful island. However, Puerto Rico which translate to “rich port” is far from the name it inhabits. The commonwealth has a $72 billion dollar debt which is causing the residents to live in poverty and the United States government is partially to blame. In addition, even through Puerto Rico has it 's own government the United States Congress has the final ruling. This is making it difficult for Puerto Rico to resolve this issue. The island and its residents that call it home are treated unfairly and the only resolution to help aid in their struggling economy and politics is to grant Puerto Rico statehood, making the island the 51st state of America.

Puerto Rico wants to become a state. The governor of this territory named Ricardo Rossello asked the government to recognize them as the fifty-one state. It's residents already voted yes for being admitted to the union; all Congress would have to do is sign off on it. If this decision were passed, it would help revive some of its economy. According to Michelle Gorman (2017)" The island is more than seventy billion dollars in debt because of a shift in U.S corporate tax policy over the course of the past decade." It will also help with school funding which took a big hit. More den one hundred and eighty schools will be shutting down soon because of funding issues. Some people are scared that accepting them will make the government take on to much responsibility for their economic crisis they are going through right now.

Puerto Rico has long been subject to U.S. domination and reliant on welfare transfer payments. The island’s struggled for economic independence as a strategic locality for military operations. Bourgois illustrates the idea of a jibaro as evolving from poor rural farmers to the urban poor

Integrating Puerto Rico into the United States and changing its political status to state would be a great accomplishment on the United States part. Puerto Rico is facing many obstacles not just economically but also government wise, the structure of the government causes many problems to arise. Also the residents of the island are not provided with all the benefits and rights that are provided by the government to the states, Which is why it would be a great upgrade of the island to be integrated as a state.

“Most Young Lords were the children of the Great Puerto Rican Migration that arrived in the United States after World War II. Under US domination since 1898, Puerto Rico’s agriculture had been destroyed when large-scale absentee corporations took ownership of the land, forcing displaced farmers into migrant labor and low wage jobs. A government program called “Operation Bootstrap” gave tax breaks and offered cheap labor to US

Even though Puerto Rico is American territory the citizens on the island do not vote in the elections and are completely separate political wise. Which is why it is important that one should decide on what to do with Puerto Rico with the people’s approval and see the changes for the better or worse. According to the Huffington Post “Puerto Rico is in Serious Trouble” which is the headline of one of their latest article. The article explains how Puerto Rico is in debt with about seventy billion dollars and their government claims they cannot pay it. Puerto Rico is having a financial crisis at the time and is continuing to struggle paying its debts.