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- A Cagueño in
the diaspora
-
Jose
L. De Jesus
-
Las
Vegas, Nevada
Ninety
years plus, of inequity is more than enough for Puerto Rico! |
The
Office of Resident Commissioner was unilaterally established by the
Foraker Act of 1900 (also known as the Organic act of 1900), as
passed by the US Congress. It called for the Commissioner to be
elected by the Puerto Rican voters for a period of 2 years and the
Office to represent Puerto Rico in the House of Representatives
without a vote on the floor. In 1917, once again, the US Congress
unilaterally amended this Office with the passage of the Jones
Shafroth Act of 1917. Now the Commissioner could be elected to a
term of 4 years. The Commissioner then, and to this date, could only
vote in committee but not on the floor of the House. This stagnant
office has remained static for the last 97 years plus, what a
disgrace! No wonder the island inhabitants complain all the time
about how they are treated by Uncle Sam. It is time to like the
Constitution; make this Office a dynamic body that really looks out
for the welfare of the Island inhabitants. We need muscle in
Washington and a good working knowledge of how to get the best out
of the American bureaucracy. One way of trying to do it is by having
more representatives. If the states can do it, why not Puerto Rico!
It is a well known fact that each state of the Union has 2 senators
and as many representatives in the House as the population of a
state constitutionally allows. The smallest state Wyoming,
population wise, has 2 senators and 1 Representative in the Congress
of the United States. Wyoming has only a little over 500,000
inhabitants. If we look at states with populations similar to Puerto
Rico, states like Connecticut, Oklahoma and Oregon, all with over
3.5 million inhabitants, this is what we find: Connecticut - 2
senators and 5 representatives; Oklahoma - 2 senators and 5
representatives and; Oregon - 2 senators and 5 representatives. What
is wrong with this picture!?
Throughout the history of the Union we have known that presidents,
senators and representatives have committed pretty bad mistakes in
serving the people of their states and the country, no need to
enumerate here. The point is that the American government is a huge
bureaucracy that very few people can say that they know how to
handle. Like governor Rexford Guy Tugwell pointed out in his book,
The Stricken Land: The Story of Puerto Rico, published in 1947, The
Congress of the United States is saturated with politicos and
lobbyist, all seeking their selfish interests. How can we expect
Puerto Rico with 1 single representative without a vote that counts
on the floor, to productively to some extent, navigate this swamp of
alligators!? On page 608, of his book, Governor Tugwell mentioned
the 2 Senators and the 5 representatives’ possibilities that Puerto
Rico could have to protect its interest in the U.S. Federal system
of government. Although tedious in some parts, the book is
worthwhile reading very thoroughly.
Therefore, the least that we can do is ask the people of Puerto Rico
that by themselves and through their government, put pressure on the
President and the Congress to amend this obsolete law and bring us
up to par in some form of representation in the Congress.
We know that as we travel the perilous road toward this aim, we are
going to find alligators on both sides of the pond! Governor Tugwell
in his book forewarned us about the mainland alligators. From Puerto
Rico we most likely will find straw man (El Cuco) arguments from all
3 present political groups, Independentistas, Populares and
Estadistas. They are always talking about status, like the weather,
but none are able to do anything about it. The regular Puerto Rican
who has a family to take care of, does not want to hear those old
arguments of we are better this way or we are better that way, or we
lose this or we gain that as Puerto Ricans. They are foremost
interested in Health, education, jobs, crime and the quality of life
on the island. They want to see their sons and daughters healthy,
well educated, with a good job there or on the mainland, the crime
rate to go down to a manageable level and a good quality of life now
and in posterity.
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They want to see their representatives in Washington fighting
fair and square to bring home a decent and fair share of the
dream that all human beings want, a fair opportunity to get
ahead with their families. They want their representatives to
have more than a fair understanding of the American bureaucracy
and what can be obtained for the benefit of the people on the
island that want to get ahead in life. They want those
representatives to protect the island and its people from the
selfish machinations of the politicos and the lobbyists with
their greedy ideas. They want their representatives answering to
them and not to political parties or machines, or special
interests groups. It should be a contract between the
representatives and the people on the island. No more, no less.
We should not be naive to believe that if we manage to get the
Congress to amend the law in question that this is a panacea for
all that ails Puerto Rico. This is merely one of many small ways
in which the people of the island can be better off. Not like
that last crazy scheme that went nowhere, the mono-camera
legislature fiasco that diverted attention, time and energy from
the real problems that have been aggravated by selfish island
politicos and the self-interest groups that feed on then like
parasites. The people of Puerto Rico are sick and tired of the
do-nothing promises of its government and politicos. It is time
for tangible changes, not smoke and mirror fantasies. Let us
take this small step in the right direction for the benefit of
the island inhabitants.
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