What social, political, and economic reasons should Puerto Rico be an Term Paper

What social, political, and economic reasons should Puerto Rico be an Independent Nation - Term Paper Example An island with over ? of the population having difficulties with English will never fit in a country whose 97% of its population speaks fluent English. It would be easier for Puerto Rico be a sovereign country due to the cultural and linguistic concessions. A Spanish speaking island would not want to see its culture erode gradually the way Quebec has been torn from Canada (usefoundation.org 1). Being an overseas territory of the U.S, Puerto Rico has been exposed to penetration of American commodities, capital, customs, and laws. This is unequaled to any other Latin American state. Paradoxically, Puerto Ricans show strong cultural identity compared to other Caribbean people. There has been a widening rift between asserting a separate culture for the Islanders and the pushing for sovereignty. This has been manifested in music, beauty contests, sports among other areas. Puerto Rico is a representation of apparent paradox. It is stateless and has refused to assimilate into mainstream Ame rica. After over a hundred years of American occupation PuertoRico is Afro-Hispanic. Puerto Ricans consider it a postcolonial colony. They are people without a nation of their own since they live in a U.S territory that is not part of the U.S (Jorge Duany 425). Puerto Rico’s juridical definition is neither a sovereign republic nor a state. This creates contested, problematic, and ambiguous political status. It is a Paradox how this kind of in-between status strengthens rather instead of weakening Puerto Rican national identity. In opinion polls which have been conducted in Puerto Rico, over 60 percent of the population chooses Puerto Rico to be their nation, whereas about... There are many pros in Puerto Rican economics. Puerto Rico will be able to tax its own citizens and use the money to build and develop its infrastructure. There will be an open market for trading with the nations currently in alliance with United States. If it becomes a sovereign state, the island will enjoy low unemployment rates and a high per capita income. All the Puerto Ricans working in the U.S and other countries will come back to build their country. The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States is directly responsible for the island having among the highest living standards of Caribbean, Central, and South America. However, Puerto Ricans who are American citizens by birth are still very far away from the same economic prosperity levels as the American citizens in the fifty states. The opportunity of achieving those standards is only if Puerto Ricans will govern themselves and improve the economic situation of their country