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Projects: Puerto Rico |
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| As a follow-up to
the World Peace Foundation's 1983 project on Puerto Rico, the WPF Program, together with
Ateneo Puertorriqueno, Strategy Group International, and Analisis Inc., organized a
meeting in Washington, D.C., May 5-6, 2000, to discuss U.S. national policy toward Puerto
Rico. In the immediate aftermath of the Vieques Island protest movement and removal,
Puerto Ricans and mainland Americans meeting in Washington recommended new negotiations to
arrange a special newly conceived form of free associated status for the island. The White
House's person in charge of the Puerto Rican question participated fully in the meeting,
as did other Americans and Puerto Ricans from all political persuasions. There was
consensus at the meeting on achieving a status of quasi-independence than there was on
jettisoning the benefits that Puerto Rico now receives by virtue of its status as an
associated Commonwealth. Achieving statehood for Puerto Rico, narrowly rejected by Puerto
Ricans in two referenda, was also seen to be inherently unlikely so long as Republicans
controlled the U. S. Congress. Among the other conclusions of the Washington meeting were the Puerto Rican belief that the clearing of protesters from Vieques Island marked a meaningful watershed in U. S.-Puerto Rican relations. It demonstrated the powerlessness of Puerto Rico in ways that were sharper and new. It strengthened Puerto Rican dislike of the U. S. Navy's role in Puerto Rico. It deepened the Puerto Rican sense of dependency. There was a belief that Puerto Rican nationalism, always strong, was bound to grow. The Challenge of Puerto Rico: Resolving Status Issues, WPF Report 27, by Rachel M. Gisselquist was published in July 2000.
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