Borikén, a thorn in the side for the U.S.
• On April 11, 1899, the United States exchanged ratification documents with Spain to seal the Treaty of Paris signed the year before • Among the countries ceded under the Treaty was Puerto Rico, which remains a colony of the U.S. empire today
By Lídice
Valenzuela García
Borikén, the indigenous name of the archipelago including the main island of Puerto Rico, lives enslaved in the 21st century by a Treaty signed in 1898 by Spain and the United States, a status rejected in important international forums, thanks to the resistance of Puerto Rican nationalist movements which have been fighting for decades to achieve national sovereignty.
A map of U.S. military bases in Puerto Rico. The
U.S. took control of the
island by military force at the end of the 19th century, taking advantage of
the decline of the Spanish Empire.
island by military force at the end of the 19th century, taking advantage of
the decline of the Spanish Empire.
Washington refuses to relinquish sovereignty to
Puerto Rico – in foreign hands since the arrival of
Christopher Columbus in 1493 – keeping its citizens
in a kind of legal limbo. The U.S. does not
recognize Puerto Rico as a state, but neither has it
been returned to its rightful owners, given the
imperial power’s many interests on the island, among
them military. Thus the idea which best served
Washington’s purposes was to arrogantly declare the
country a Free Associated State.
On
April 11, 1899, the U.S. government and Spain
exchanged documents ratifying the Treaty of Paris -
signed the year before in the French capital by both
nations, a stroke of luck resulting from U.S.
interference in the Cuban War of Independence. The
treaty gave U.S. authority over territories
important to the new geopolitics it had envisioned
for the Caribbean in the 20th century.
With
this sham diplomatic act, U.S authorities also
gained control of Spain’s remaining possessions in
the Caribbean and Pacific - consisting of Puerto
Rico, Cuba, Guam and the Philippines.
In
regards to Cuba, strategists at the time planned to
occupy the country and later grant independence,
which had already been won from the Spanish on the
battlefield. The supposed U.S. salvation arrived on
imperial ships and marked the history of the county.
Cuba was subjugated to Washington’s political and
economic interests, until 1959.
The
signing of the Treaty brought an end to the Cuban
War of Independence. The imperialist regime took
advantage of its entry into Cuba to broaden its
expansion after almost 100 years of appropriations
justified under different doctrines, a realization
of the so-called Manifest Destiny attributed to the
country. By 1989 the U.S. had annexed Louisiana,
Oregon, California, Texas and New Mexico, among
other territories, but its ambitions took it
further, to the Caribbean, protected by a fleet
which clearly demonstrated its military power.
A
THORN IN THE SIDE
Since the day President William McKinley signed the Paris Treaty, Puerto Rico has been a thorn in the side of the United States, even when the majority of the population has voted in opposition to independence in a number of referendums, reflecting the country’s economic dependence and saturation of U.S. culture over generations.
Pro-independence protest march in San
Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. The independence
movement grows stronger in the heart of the Puerto
Rican people.
Puerto Rican nationalists have, however, been waging
an uphill battle to regain the island’s freedom, and
in order to do so, have employed different forms of
resistance, from the streets to discussions in the
United Nations about this archaic case of
colonialism in the 21st century.
The
new democratic governments of Latin America and the
Caribbean have joined forces with those who desire
Puerto Rico’s full independence. There have been
important demonstrations of solidarity with Puerto
Rico, for example, the UN Decolonization Committee’s
vote in favor of Puerto Rican sovereignty and
support received in other international forums, such
as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States (CELAC), the most significant unifying,
integrationist force currently existing in the
region.
Last
year, The UN Decolonization Committee reevaluated
Puerto Rico’s status, on the request of Cuba -
historically and geographically linked to Puerto
Rico - with the support of other Latin American
nations, in a diplomatic exercise first carried out
more than 30 years ago, which Washington has
ignored.
Before delegates from 193 UN member countries,
Cuba’s representative, Oscar León, presented a
resolution, supported by Venezuela, Nicaragua,
Bolivia and Ecuador, asserting Puerto Rico’s
inalienable right to self-determination and
independence.
This was not a novel event. Puerto Rico’s right to
self-determination
has
been recognized in 31 resolutions and decisions
since 1972.
León
stated however, “Little progress has been made, in
all these years, in the search for a definitive
solution to the current colonial status, which will
allow Puerto Ricans to freely determine their
political condition and realize, without foreign
interference, their political, economic, social and
cultural dreams.”
The
proposed resolution also called on U.S. President
Barack Obama to release political prisoners Oscar
López Rivera, imprisoned 32 years ago, and Norberto
González Claudio, both serving unjust sentences for
their pro-independence efforts.
The
inclusion of the issue of Puerto Rican independence
in the Second CELAC Summit, held in Havana, gave
support to the efforts of Puerto Rican patriots.
Representatives of Puerto Rican political movements
favoring national sovereignty traveled to Havana as
invited guests to participate in the great event’s
ancillary activities.
“We
reiterate the Latin American and Caribbean character
of Puerto Rico, and taking note of the resolutions
regarding Puerto Rico adopted by the United Nations
Special Decolonization Committee, we reiterate that
this is an issue of importance to CELAC,” indicated
the Final Declaration of the Summit, approved by 29
heads of state and government convened in Havana.
The fight for Puerto Rican independence is long and
difficult. The U.S. is a powerful enemy who will not
give up this Caribbean jewel, which it governs from
afar, but nor can it evade the desire of a good part
of the four million people who live on the island,
demonstrating in protests, in the streets, in public
forums, in their continual political struggle, that
at some point Puerto Rico will be included among the
free nations of the Caribbean. (Cubahora)
Granma.cu
