The Commonwealth Status of Puerto Rico

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the concept of a commonwealth and how it differs from the regular state-federal government structure. The paper specifically focuses on the commonwealth status of Puerto Rico and how it functions within the United States. The paper describes the history of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and discusses the problems that it causes for Puerto Ricans, as well as possible solutions.

From the Paper:

"It also makes sense for Puerto Ricans to question the idea of statehood. Americans have proven historically resistant to non-assimilation, which means that statehood will probably result in the eventual loss of the Puerto Rican cultural identity, even if Puerto Rico was entitled to keep Spanish as its official language upon attaining statehood. Statehood is unlikely to provide an immediate fix for Puerto Rico's economic woes; though it is poorer than the poorest state in the United States, a comparison of the wealth of different states makes it clear that statehood does not confer wealth. In fact, Puerto Ricans are already entitled to significant government benefits aimed at alleviating their financial woes, which would mean that statehood probably would not benefit individual Puerto Ricans financially. However, Puerto Rico does not get the same type of money for infrastructure as states do, and statehood would help improve its infrastructure to that of a major world power, rather than a third-world nation. Statehood would give Puerto Rico a voice in the federal government, both by providing representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and by giving Puerto Ricans an actual voice in U.S. presidential elections. However, it is naive to assume that such a voice would have a dramatic impact. Puerto Rico would still have a diverse set of cultural traditions and real needs, compared to the existing 50 states, and it would probably be decades before any Puerto Rican representatives could exercise any type of substantial power in any branch of the Federal government."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Commonwealth." Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary: Revised Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996.
• Marino, John. "Puerto Rico Report: Status Goes National." Puerto Rico Herald. 2004. Puerto Rico Herald. 19 May 2008 <http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2004/vol8n36/PRR0836-en.html>.
• Marquez, Carlos. "Puerto Rico's Economic Future is a Matter of Status." Caribbean Business. 2006. Puerto Rico Wow. 19 May 2008 <http://www.puertoricowow.com/html/Archives/ArcDetail2.php?archID=18478>.
• "Puerto Rico." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 19 May 2008 <http:www.britannica.com/eb/article-54557>.
• Rivera, Magaly. "Government." Welcome.toPuertoRico.org. 2008. Welcome to Puerto Rico. 18 May 2008 <http://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml>.

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