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21

CARIBBEAN BUSINESS THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

We cant ask for statehood (Part I)

Congress must give us equal political, economic rights
BY CARLOS ROMERO BARCELO

ince Puerto Rico became

part of the U.S. as
a result of the SpanishAmerican War in 1898,
we have been ruled by
Congress and the President
of our nation, which has
been the example and
inspiration of democratic
movements throughout the world. However,
we have been disenfranchised and denied par
ticipation as equals in the democratic process of
our nation.
Upon the passage in Congress of Puerto Ricos
Organic Act of 1900, better known as the Foraker
Act, the island became a U.S. territory. Since we
werent granted U.S. citizenship by the Foraker
Act, we were later classified by the U.S. Supreme
Court as a non-incorporated territory, whose des
tiny as a U.S. territory was undetermined. As long
as we werent U.S. citizens, Puerto Rico wasnt
incorporated and we were thus deprived of equal
rights with our fellow citizens in the 50 states.
On March 2, 1917, however, Congress passed
the Organic Act of Puerto Rico, better known as
the Jones Act, and granted U.S. citizenship to all
people bom in Puerto Rico. The Organic Act also
approved the territorial governments organiza
tion, which gave us a bicameral legislature. The
Governor was to be appointed by the President
and would serve under his authority for a term
of four years, or as long as the President wanted.
Puerto Ricos new Organic Act of 1917 actually
changed the nature of the relationship of Puerto
Rico with the U.S. At that moment, we became
an incorporated territory.
How was the nature of the relationship changed?
Under the 1900 Organic Act, the residents of
Puerto Rico were citizens of a foreign island with
the right to be protected by the U.S. (Section 7 of
the Organic Act). The local government of Puerto
Rico under the 1900 Organic Act was under almost
total control of the President and Congress. The
Governor of Puerto Rico was appointed by the
President as well as the Executive Council, which
was composed of 11 members, only five of whom
had to be native residents of Puerto Rico.
The other six members were also appointed by
the President, with the advice and consent of the
Senate. They were appointed as secretary, attor
ney general, treasurer, comptroller, interior com
missioner and education commissioner. They ran
the executive branch of the government of Puerto
Rico. Under the 1900 Organic Act, Puerto Rico,
although a U.S. territory pursuant to our national
Constitution, was, pursuant to international crite
ria, a colony, and still remains a colony.

In 1917, the Organic Act passed by Congress

gave Puerto Rico much more control over local
matters. In other words, Puerto Rico achieved
a greater degree of local autonomy. To begin
with, the Executive Council appointed by the
President, which until then was the most powerful
government group, was eliminated. A bicameral
Legislature composed of a Senate and a House
of Representatives, of which all members were
elected by the American citizens who resided in
Puerto Rico. (As a matter of fact, my grandfather,
Antonio R. Barcel Martinez, was elected to the
Senate and became the first Senate president in
Puerto Rico.)
I have no doubt that the moment in which U.S.
citizenship was granted to Puerto Rican citizens
residing in Puerto Rico, we acquired the right to
equal political and economic rights as all our fel
low citizens in the territories classified as incorpo
rated territories, and as well as all other American
citizens in the States.
However, in the early part of the 20th century,
prejudice was prevalent in the U.S.
The majority of the people in Puerto Rico were,
and are, of African and Latino descent and were
over 90% Catholic. Obviously, many prejudiced
people in the U.S. didnt want Puerto Rico to be
admitted as a state. If Puerto Rico had been clas
sified as an incorporated territory, which it truly
was from the moment we were granted U.S. citi
zenship, Puerto Rico would be one of the territo
ries that would eventually become a state. As a
result, when the issue of the constitutional rights
of an American citizen in Puerto Rico came up
in the case of Balzac v. Puerto Rico, in the U.S.
Supreme Court, the strongly biased and prejudiced
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, William
Howard Taft, wrote the most prejudiced decision
of the U.S. Supreme Court that I have ever read,
declaring Puerto Rico to be a non-incorporated
territory, which wasnt entitled to become a state.
The theory was that incorporated territories were
promised statehood, whereas unincorporated ter
ritories werent.
However, the court never discussed whether
all U.S. citizens have a right to vote for their
President, as well as Senators and Representatives
to represent them in Congress. The right to vote
in our nations democratic system of government
is fundamental to our democracy. To deny a U.S.
citizen his right to vote and his right to representa
tion is a violation of the most important right guar
anteed in a democracy. Nevertheless, our nation,
our Congress and our Presidents have all been
guilty of having disenfranchised the U.S. citizens
of Puerto Rico for 97 years.
While 3.6 million American citizens in Puerto
Rico are denied equality with their fellow citizens
in the 50 states, our nations government spends

billions of dollars and sends our young men and

women into harms way to Iraq, Afghanistan and
other countries around the world, to bring democ
racy to people; many of whom dont want it, and
many others who dont even understand it.
The President and Congress have tried to cover
up the denial of equal rights to the American citi
zens in Puerto Rico. First, President Harry Truman
appointed a Puerto Rican as Governor for the first
time since 1900 and then, in 1947, he signed a law
granting us the right to elect our Governor. But still,
the U.S. was considered a colonial power, which
held Puerto Rico and other islands as colonies.
In 1952, Congress allowed us to draft our own
Constitution, subject to ratification by Congress.
The U.S. Ambassador in the U.N. and his staff,
together with the Governor of Puerto Rico, repre
sented to the U.N. that Puerto Rico had achieved
full and complete autonomy. That was a lie. Puerto
Rico is still ruled by Congress and the President.
All laws passed by Congress, such as labor laws,
banking laws, minimum-wage laws, health and
medical services laws, criminal laws, and many
others passed by Congress, apply fully in Puerto
Rico. How can anyone claim that Puerto Rico
has achieved full autonomy? Even though our
name, the Territory of Puerto Rico, was changed,
to Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, we are still a
territory, subject to the powers of Congress.
The leaders of the Commonwealth status option,
particularly former Gov. Rafael Hernndez Coln,
keep saying Puerto Rico has full and complete
autonomy, which, as a lawyer, former Justice sec
retary and Governor, he must know is a lie. Federal
tax laws apply to Puerto Rico if Congress makes
them applicable, witness: Social Security and
Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code, which
was passed by Congress and then repealed by
Congress. All Section 936 companies, Hernndez
Coln and his. cohorts went to Congress to try to
stop the repeal of Section 936 and they recruited
the best and most powerful lobbyists and lawyers
in Washington, D.C., but to no avail. Section 936
was repealed. Is that fiscal autonomy?
Look for Part II in the Sept. 4 issue.
Carlos Romero Barcel is a two-termform er governor
o f Puerto Rico (1977-84), a two-term form er resident
commissioner (1993-2000), a two-term form er mayor
o f San Juan ( 1969-78) and was president o f the New
Progressive Party fo r 11 years. While Governor, he
became president o f the Southern Governors Conference.
While mayor o f San Juan, he became president o f the
National League o f Cities. He is now a real-estate
consultant doing business as CRB Realty. His email
address is rbarcelo@prtc.net. Comments on this
article are welcome at caribbeanbUSineSS.pr. Go to the
" K w h " link on the homepage to participate. Emails
also may be sent to co lu m n @ ca tib b e 3 n b iisin 6 ss.p f.

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