Sandy beaches, forced eviction, and Latine pride. This was at the forefront of Bad Bunny’s music video/documentary about his song “El Apagón,” translated as “The Blackout.” Puerto Rico’s most famous singer highlighted the serious problems affecting his beloved island, including problems with Ley(Law) 22 and the frequent blackouts that have happened since Luma Energy took over. As this November, Puerto Rican Heritage Month, comes to a close, we can reflect on the concerns plaguing the citizens of the Caribbean island.
The island of Puerto Rico has been a protected territory of the United States since 1898. At the end of the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded it to the U.S at the Treaty of Paris, along with the other Spanish-controlled territories: Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines. Despite being a part of the U.S for 124 years, Puerto Rico has yet to become a state or have its citizens vote in a presidential election. In the 2020 election, 52 percent voted to become a state and 47 percent voted in opposition of it. The current governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Perliusi, is a big supporter of the idea and introduced a bipartisan bill last year to push for statehood. However, the naysayers should not be discounted as the 47 percent still matter. Some in the Senate are calling for all options to be considered, leaving the matter up in the air.
There are some that think independence is the best option, since the US and Puerto Rico don’t have the best history. The U.S government contributed to the forced sterilization of numerous Puerto Rican women and drug experimentation on pregnant women. On top of this, it was illegal to fly the Puerto Rican flag for about a decade. Living under a commonwealth state is something that a slim majority of constituents are voting against, but the 2020 ballot did not consider independence. Either way, statehood or independence, the bills continuously remain in the legislative branch and never seem to move on.
After the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico did its best to pick up the pieces and start over, despite getting almost no help from FEMA, compared to other hurricane responses. Electricity was out for almost a year in some areas, and the situation has not improved. Luma Energy struck a $115 million dollar deal with the Puerto Rican government to take over the electrical grid, and in this time, they have raised the prices of electricity seven times and power outages have become more common. This expense is outrageous as Puerto Rico median household income is $21,058, well below the U.S national average of $67,751.
On top of the problem with blackouts, many residents are being forcefully evicted from their homes due to a bill introduced in 2019. Act 22 is a bill that allows for huge tax breaks, but it does not benefit the local residents. This is only available to those who have not lived in Puerto Rico in the past ten years, can buy a house, can donate $10,000 a year to a non-profit, and can prove residency status. Do all this and you now have “full exemptions from all local taxes on passive income.” Passive income is money you gain from rent, royalties, and the stock market. This has attracted many businesses and tech investors to move to Puerto Rico and take advantage of this monetary gain. These people will come and offer to buy housing on the island, force out all the tenants, and then gentrify the area to attract more people to come live or vacation in their accommodations.
All of these are pressing issues that seem to be a never ending cycle for the people of Puerto Rico. Despite all the negatives, the people still press on. “Puerto Rico is a family-oriented and hospitable place,” says Jennifer Soto (senior, animal science). “We love having people of different backgrounds visit us and we love sharing our culture with everyone.”
Whether the U.S. government makes a long awaited move to make Puerto Rico a state or the island gains its independence, the fact remains that the people are struggling. The split of opinions will not make a decision easy, but maybe a hard decision needs to be made for the betterment of the people.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.