El Nuevo Día- The former governor of Puerto Rico (1993-2001) and president of the Equality Commission, Pedro Rosselló, affirmed that the territory "is a living example of how Congress is governing in a colonial and imperial manner over its unincorporated territories."
In an article published in Firmas de EFE, Rossello recalls that Puerto Rico is "the most populated and largest of the US territories" and, nevertheless, Washington "has turned a deaf ear to the claims of democracy and civil rights of American citizens that reside in their territory."
The representative of Puerto Rico in the United States Congress explains that, although the inhabitants of the island were granted US citizenship in 1917, "the Congress has ruled over the island with plenary powers, and the territorial government and its laws have remained subordinate to the caprice of Washington. "
"This imperial subordination prevents citizens of this American territory from voting in national elections, which deprives them of having a voice when choosing the president, vice president and members of Congress," he adds.
He also regrets that, meanwhile, many young Puerto Ricans "have fought and served honorably in every war in the United States since the First World War."
Rossello denounces that this colonial situation is maintained despite the fact that most Puerto Ricans have spoken against it in up to two plebiscites during the last five years.
"In 2012, 54% of the electorate voted against the current colonial status, and 61% chose statehood as the best option for their political future," he remarks, adding that "these results have been ignored by the federal government "
On June 11, 2017, in another consultation, "97% of those voters favored statehood for Puerto Rico," he adds, to state that "to top it all off," the United States Congress imposed a Fiscal Supervision Oversight Board on Puerto Rico, "with the sole purpose of controlling the finances of the island from the federal capital."
No comments:
Post a Comment