Puerto Rico does have a Congressman that can “make the voice of Puerto Ricans be heard,” but the resident commissioner “cannot vote on any matters[,] not even those that affect the island” (Badillo 3). This type of injustice can be compared to the taxed colonists that revolted against “no taxation without representation”. According to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514, “Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence ... with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy ... freedom” (67). With that fact in mind, the most recent study showed that over half of Puerto Ricans favored the statehood parties (Barreto 98). This type of behaviour towards Puerto Rico is not a new situation; in regards to Puerto Rico, “the residents of these new territories [Puerto Rico] enjoyed even fewer constitutional protections than had the inhabitants of earlier, ‘incorporated’ territories. For instance, the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to a criminal trial by jury did not apply to the former Spanish colonies, though it had applied in the territories acquired prior to 1898” (Burnett 436). The abuse that Puerto Ricans have been put through has been passed down the generations, including the current generation. According to the General Assembly document, “their freely expressed will and desire” appears to be for statehood. Another revealing statistic shows that “today, over 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s voters place the utmost priority on ‘permanent’ union with the United States and ‘guaranteed’ U.S. citizenship” (Burnett 434). The smoothest route to comply with Puerto Ricans is expressed by Jose D. Roman of Fordham University School of Law, who said that “Puerto Rico will never be an equal part of the United States unless it decides to make the transition to statehood” (6). The obvious rule breaking the United States is forging through must end urgently. The quickest and most effective route would to grant Puerto Rico statehood. The island of Puerto Rico has been a colony for almost the entire time since its creation.
Puerto Rico does have a Congressman that can “make the voice of Puerto Ricans be heard,” but the resident commissioner “cannot vote on any matters[,] not even those that affect the island” (Badillo 3). This type of injustice can be compared to the taxed colonists that revolted against “no taxation without representation”. According to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514, “Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence ... with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy ... freedom” (67). With that fact in mind, the most recent study showed that over half of Puerto Ricans favored the statehood parties (Barreto 98). This type of behaviour towards Puerto Rico is not a new situation; in regards to Puerto Rico, “the residents of these new territories [Puerto Rico] enjoyed even fewer constitutional protections than had the inhabitants of earlier, ‘incorporated’ territories. For instance, the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to a criminal trial by jury did not apply to the former Spanish colonies, though it had applied in the territories acquired prior to 1898” (Burnett 436). The abuse that Puerto Ricans have been put through has been passed down the generations, including the current generation. According to the General Assembly document, “their freely expressed will and desire” appears to be for statehood. Another revealing statistic shows that “today, over 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s voters place the utmost priority on ‘permanent’ union with the United States and ‘guaranteed’ U.S. citizenship” (Burnett 434). The smoothest route to comply with Puerto Ricans is expressed by Jose D. Roman of Fordham University School of Law, who said that “Puerto Rico will never be an equal part of the United States unless it decides to make the transition to statehood” (6). The obvious rule breaking the United States is forging through must end urgently. The quickest and most effective route would to grant Puerto Rico statehood. The island of Puerto Rico has been a colony for almost the entire time since its creation.