- Position‹2 of 2
- Puerto Rico should be an independent country
- Argument1 of 4›
Puerto Rico would have a more localized government
Puerto Rico has a local government, but Puerto Rican laws can be overruled by the US government, and all laws have to be within US law. Puerto Rico deserves a more localized and democratic government.
The argument
Under the current regulations regarding Puerto Rico's territorial status, any law passed in Puerto Rico's congress has to fall within existing US law. However, the island itself is entirely different than the US. Puerto Rico should be given its independence to govern itself however it sees fit. In its current state, Puerto Rican law is overseen by a board of non-Puerto Ricans that was appointed by President Obama when he signed the Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act, otherwise known as PROMESA. Under normal circumstances, Puerto Rican law would be subject to US law already. However, under PROMESA, a political board oversees Puerto Rico, making decisions and setting policy agendas that Puerto Rican citizens never agreed to. This board was set up to control Puerto Rico's debt, which is a staggering $120 billion. However, decisions on how to best manage the debt of the island are being made from the mainland United States, with little to no knowledge of what the island actually needs. If Puerto Rico were to be given its independence, it could make its own laws, create its own system of governance, and manage its own debt, all in a way that would be more personalized to the island. Independence would inevitably lead to quicker policy action, better money management, and a better quality of life for Puerto Ricans.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Puerto Rican independence movements have a history of being overly violent, as exhibited by a 1954 shooting at the US Capitol by Puerto Rican nationalists. Other nations with a history of violence have not faired well when proclaiming independence, like Venezuela, who had a historic debt crisis in 1902. Venezuela was marred by government takeovers and unstable politics throughout the 20th century, and Puerto Rico could suffer the same fate if it became an independent nation.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] The oversight board is a creation of an act of Congress rather than of territorial status as such, and its members were appointed from lists supplied by congressional leaders — which means the grievance points to a specific statute that could be repealed or amended, not to a constitutional feature that only independence could remove. [Rejecting P2] Independence would not deliver what the second premise promises: the debt does not disappear with sovereignty and would have to be restructured with the same creditors from a weaker position, without dollar access, federal transfers, or the market and mobility rights the island now has — and the alternative on the ballot in this debate, statehood, would also end the current arrangement while retaining them.