Puerto Ricans have voted for statehood in four plebiscites this century: in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024. There is no real question about the preferred status option for people living on the Island, who value their U.S. citizenship.
But independence is also a viable option under the U.S. Constitution, and a small group in favor of independence — which, somewhat ironically, is based stateside — has been pushing independence on Puerto Rico. Most recently, advocates have urged Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) to introduce a pro-independence proposal that would include significant federal funding and related resources for a new nation, but McClintock has stated that this bill won’t happen any time soon. This push followed one for an executive order to make Puerto Rico independent, which similarly was met with silence by decisionmakers. And then there are the annual efforts at the United Nations by Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and other countries to impose independence on Puerto Ricans, with no mention of the fate of their U.S. citizenship. These activities can garner press, but they don’t go anywhere. So if publicity won’t lead to a new Republic of Puerto Rico, what is the best route for Puerto Rico to achieve the dignity, respect, full democratic rights, and resources that often accompany quests for sovereignty?
In a November 2022 cover article for The Atlantic, a Puerto Rico-born author living stateside described an expansive vision of Puerto Rican independence. “A return of sovereignty to the Puerto Rican people would require a U.S. commitment to a policy of reparations designed to provide independence and security—a policy that acknowledges and begins to address generations of environmental destruction, economic dislocation, and human-rights violations,” she wrote. Any legislation Congress passes should acknowledge Puerto Rico’s distinct nationhood, she said, and guarantee that sovereignty is returned in a way that allows Puerto Ricans to be secure—economically, militarily, and in terms of disaster recovery—rather than abruptly cut off.
Would Congress provide that support?
Only Congress can provide the kind of funding involved in reparations and the level of support this vision of independence would involve. Would Congress agree?
Consider the evidence. First, if we look at previous independence bills introduced in Congress, we can see that few of them offered any support. The 1936 Marcantonio bill was the exception. It stipulated that the federal government should do whatever the new Republic of Puerto Rico asked them to do. It also said there would be no limits on trade or immigration. The bill was a statement in response to the Tydings bill from earlier in that year. It was not taken seriously. Otherwise, independence bills have generally provided little financial support.
Since none of those bills became law, they may not present a picture of what Congress might actually do. Supporters of independence with reparations have made a variety of estimates of the cost of such a plan, with a rough total of more than 15 trillion dollars. The chances that Congress would approve such an expenditure are vanishingly small. Fiscal conservatives are likely to look at the investment in Puerto Rico made to this point and figure that they’ve done enough for a place that is not even a state. After all, there are limits to what the U.S. has provided its three freely associated states, even in the face of nuclear testing consequences in the Marshall Islands. An even more similar case is that of the Philippines, which received no reparations when it became independent.
Even those Members of Congress who might support the idea of reparations or of initial financial support for an independent Puerto Rico are at base representatives of the people who live in their own states. They do not represent Puerto Rico, and they would have to consider the costs to their constituents of an investment of that magnitude even if they viewed the mission as just. The money would have to come from somewhere, and money can be hard to find.
And of course any bill approved by Congress needs the signature of the President of the United States. Generous funding going to people who did not vote for him and have chosen to leave the U.S. may not be compelling from an electoral perspective, even if a President may genuinely want to help. Like anything in politics, it would be a battle with no guarantees.
The best route to Puerto Rico sovereignty
In order to gain the kind of heavily subsidized independence its advocates imagine, the independence advocates would need real support in Congress and in the executive branch. As a state, Puerto Rico would have two senators, four or more Members of Congress, and votes in the electoral college. As an independent nation, Puerto Rico would have no representation in the U.S. federal government and no particular influence with the executive branch.
Ironically, the best way to combat the “generations of environmental destruction, economic dislocation, and human-rights violations” may be to become a state.
Legislators like McClintock and Tydings support Puerto Rico independence in order to remove U.S. responsibility for the Island, not out of concern for the well-being of Puerto Rico. For Puerto Ricans to be safe and secure—economically, militarily, and in terms of disaster response – Puerto Rico needs a seat at the table. That’s statehood.
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