George Bush has made it clear he wants it to happen. Boosted by rallies and parades, a growing number of islanders tell pollsters they support it, too. And two bills designed to pave the way for a 1991 referendum on the great event are now making their way through each house of Congress. Nothing, it would appear, could stop the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from finally becoming the 51st star in the American flag. Nothing, that is, except a strong anti-statehood movement touting the economic advantages of remaining a dependency, and the island’s nearly 500 years of identity with Spanish and Caribbean culture. “Puerto Rico is a Latin American nation . . . except for political expression of the fact,” says Fernando Martin, a member of the Puerto Rican Senate, who favors a third option: total independence.
Under the existing arrangement, Puerto Ricans are quasi citizens of the United States. Though they cannot vote in national elections and send only a shadow representative to Congress, they are free to migrate to the mainland, can serve in the armed forces and pay no federal income tax. The success of the partnership, dating from 1898 when Spain ceded the island after the Spanish-American War, can be a matter of perspective. Among Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico is prosperous, with its skyscrapers, clean streets and 88 percent literacy rate. But compared to the 50 states, unemployment stands at 14 percent, higher than any state, and the annual per capita income of $5,287 is less than one half that of Mississippi, the poorest state.
The key to the debate, say those who oppose statehood, is Section 936 of the U.S. tax code. Under the provision, U.S. companies with operations in Puerto Rico do not have to pay federal income tax on profits made on the island, where the minimum wage is only $3.35. The commonwealth government also gives the companies a big break by exempting 90 percent of island-earned profit from taxes. A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office concluded that with statehood, the loss of tax incentives might cause some U.S. companies to pull out, costing the island 100,000 jobs by the end of the century.
Statehood advocates reject the idea that the island’s economy would suddenly sink because American businessmen lost their tax shelters. “Where are they going to go?” says former governor Carlos Romero Barcel6, leader of the statehood movement. “To the Dominican Republic, where there’s no electricity? To Haiti, where that’s even worse?” Romero uses another kind of economic appeal to make his case. According to the CBO study, as a commonwealth, Puerto Rico will receive only $1.8 billion for food stamps, Medicaid and other socialservice programs in 1992. As a state, the benefits would jump to $5.1 billion by 1995. Even opponents of statehood like Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon acknowledge that this is a powerful lure. “One half of the electorate in Puerto Rico would stand to gain economically and personally from a vote for statehood,” he told NEWSWEEK.
Voting with their feet: Before islanders can vote on statehood Congress must resolve an equally controversial issue: will the 2.5 million Puerto Ricans living on the mainland be allowed to vote in the plebiscite? Jose Serrano, a congressman from the Bronx, introduced an amendment to the House bill that would grant the vote to any U.S. resident who was born on the island or has one native Puerto Rican parent. But back in Puerto Rico, political leaders from both sides have objections, arguing that the logistics of such an election would be cumbersome, or that mainlanders made their choice by migrating. “I never thought the leadership was so out of touch,” says Serrano. “Our relatives want us to vote.”
Ultimately culture, not economics, could decide the issue. The prospect of a state in which English is a second language might give some congressmen pause before approving a referendum. The Quebec independence movement stands as a cautionary tale on the dangers of embracing a region with a national identity that runs deep. Though only 5 percent of Puerto Ricans support independence, pride in their Spanish heritage is strong–and few islanders would tolerate any attempt to anglicize their basic culture. But even if the statehood movement fails, it has already left a lasting benefit: a boon to a people who believe they are too often seen as second-class Americans.
