🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <35BD6A53.29EC@swbell.net>, tracey12@swbell.net says...
ttp://search.nytimes.com/search/daily/bin/fastweb?getdoc+site+iib-site+118+0
+wAAA+hispanic 

July 24, 1998 

The Debate Over Puerto Rico's Future Heats Up 

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ 

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic governor of Puerto Rico, pushing for a
chance for his island to vote for statehood, has
come up with a tempting sales pitch for the Republican-controlled
Congress. 

Imagine a place, Gov. Pedro Rossello and his lobbyists say, that opposes
abortion, hands out vouchers so children can attend
parochial schools, has sliced capital-gains taxes, allows school pupils
five minutes for prayer, and is busy privatizing many of its
major industries. The place, they add, hoping to clinch the deal, is
Puerto Rico. "Puerto Rico passed the 'Contract With
America,"' said an important backer in Congress, Sen. Larry Craig,
R-Idaho, and it is a point that the Idaho Republican never
fails to make to incredulous colleagues as he pushes his legislation for
a congressionally sanctioned referendum on Puerto Rico's
status. 

It is an uphill battle to persuade his fellow Republican senators,
especially the majority leader, Sen. Trent, R-Miss., to take the
chance that Puerto Rico will not, as a state, send two Democratic
senators and six Democratic representatives to Washington.
That fear, along with the fact that Puerto Rico is Spanish-speaking, has
kept the Republican-controlled Congress from acting
quickly in accordance with the party's 1996 platform plank that "we
support the right of the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico to be
admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state after they freely so
determine." 

To get the party to live up to that pledge, Rossello is trying to
convince Republicans that the island will make a stellar 51st state
and that Puerto Ricans will not necessarily vote for Democrats. It is a
message that other statehood supporters are sending,
too.

Just last month, Jack Marquez, a Puerto Rican who was decorated for his
service in the Vietnam War, established the Puerto
Rican American Foundation here. The lobbying group, modeled on the
influential Cuban American National Foundation and
working independently of the Puerto Rican government, seeks to spread
the gospel about Puerto Rico's conservative
conversion. "This is a very conservative society," Marquez said. "Not a
'West Side Story,' welfare-cheating society as it is
portrayed in some circles." His group recently ran an advertisement on
conservative talk shows supporting a Republican bill for
education tax credits, saying, "If school choice can work in Puerto
Rico, it will work for America." 

Opponents of statehood counter that the Republican image is not as pure
as Rossello and his supporters have presented it.
Puerto Rico also has strict gun control laws and a universal health care
system. "And we still have the view that the government
is the most important player guaranteeing social justice for the
people," said Anibal Acevedo Vila, president of the Popular
Democratic Party, which supports keeping a variation of the island's
current commonwealth status. In other words, despite the
governor's recent efforts, many Puerto Ricans love big government,
Avevedo Vila said. 

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 209-208 to set Puerto
Rico self-determination in motion. The 10-year
process would begin with a referendum allowing Puerto Ricans to choose
among three options: independence, statehood or
commonwealth status. The bill was supported by proponents of statehood,
including Rossello and both houses of the Puerto
Rican Legislature, as well as the relatively small faction supporting
independence. It was vigorously opposed by commonwealth
backers, who said the bill, in putting forward a narrow definition of
commonwealth for the referendum, was unfairly slanted
toward statehood. 

Now the onus is on the U.S. Senate. Lott has said there is simply not
enough time this year to grapple with an issue as
contentious as Puerto Rico's self-determination. But Sen. Frank
Murkowski, R-Alaska, who heads the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources and vividly remembers Alaska's own struggle for
statehood, is forging ahead with a streamlined bill that
at the least would allow for a referendum and a set of approved
definitions. Republican pollsters and consultants have advised
party members to seize on the issue of Puerto Rican self-determination,
saying it is a natural for Hispanic voters and one that
tracks with the party's support of statehood. "Hispanics in this country
hold many of the same virtues and values as
Republicans, but they continue to feel alienated by what they
characterize as the close-mindedness on the part of Republicans
in their approach to governing," two Republican pollsters, Ed Goeas and
William Stewart, wrote in a report on a national study
of Hispanic attitudes. 

The issue is complicated, especially in an election year, confronting as
it does questions of language and cultural identity.
Although Puerto Rico is predominantly Spanish-speaking, English is
routinely spoken in government and business, and it has a
distinct culture. "No one should assume that the road to a status change
will be short or smooth," Murkowski warned at a
recent hearing. Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in 1898
after the Spanish-American War. Congress granted U.S.
citizenship to Puerto Ricans in 1917 and made the island a commonwealth
in 1952. Puerto Rico has its own laws, taxes and
government. 

Puerto Ricans who live on the island are subject to U.S. military
service, but do not pay federal taxes, cannot vote for
presidential or congressional candidates, and are not entitled to most
federal benefits. Puerto Ricans are almost equally split
between statehood and commonwealth status. Relatively few favor
independence. "At least 75 percent of Puerto Rican voters
align themselves with status options rather than candidates, programs or
solutions to pressing problems," Murkowski said. "This
orientation distorts governance." One important battle over the
referendum bill centers on how to define "commonwealth." 

Commonwealth supporters pushed for a broad definition that would
guarantee American citizenship, among other things. The
House rejected that definition, and now commonwealth backers say they
will boycott the referendum, if it comes to pass.
Statehood supporters say a definition guaranteeing citizenship is
unconstitutional. Without a guarantee of U.S. citizenship, most
Puerto Ricans, even those who see economic advantages in commonwealth
status, are likely to vote for statehood. 

In pressing their case for a referendum, which they believe will lead to
statehood and greater economic prosperity on the island,
Rossello and his chief lobbyist, Xavier Romeu, have painstakingly listed
the governor's chief accomplishments since 1992.
Rossello has privatized the government-owned shipping industry, the
hotel industry and, most recently, the telephone industry.
He has cut the capital gains tax to 7 percent from 20 percent. He has
slashed welfare spending by 20 percent and made both
English and Spanish official languages. And Puerto Rico has seen a 19
percent reduction in the personal income tax.

The pitch does not thrill Democrats of Puerto Rican descent. Rep. Jose
Serrano, a New York liberal who supports the
referendum, practically grimaces at the thought of Puerto Rico as a
conservative bastion, describing it as pandering. "You do so
much to please the master," said Serrano, who calls Puerto Rico the last
U.S. colony. "People are desperate to make their
point. It's like we can make you guys wish you had another 50 states
just like us." 
-- 
The Past: Man oppressed by government.

The Present: America-a wonderful country where man controls his
government.

The Future: Man oppressed by government.
----------------------------------------------
Liberalism Loves Government, Not Liberty!