Disenfranchisement Allowed in an Unincorporated Territory

Disenfranchisement Allowed in an Unincorporated Territory It is known that the U.S. Supreme Court (Harris v. Rosario, 446 U.S. 651[1980]) has decided that an unincorporated commonwealth relationship is temporary by nature, and disenfranchisement and less-than-equal discriminatory treatment of citizens of the territory is deemed constitutionally permissible. Thus, for the population of any territory, which wishes to remain within the U.S. sovereignty, completion of the process of integration through statehood is the only path to full self-government. And, the only alternative within the framework of the U.S. Constitution is to continue indefinitely in less than fully self-governing status, which is plausible only as long as Congress deems that to be consistent with the national interest and the people concerned do themselves make the choice required to seek a change of status. The Limbo Status of the Island Contrary to the general benefit of the people of Puerto Rico, insular politicians with the backing of powerful forces in the Hill have broadly misinformed the people of the island that the present status, that is E.L.A (Free Associated State) is better than independence or statehood. It is no secret that the U.S. Congress can capriciously disassociate the island from its unincorporated status unless it becomes a state. The island of Puerto Rico is in a state of limbo as it is not free, associated, or a state. It did not become an estado as states are represented by 2 Senators and a proportional number of Representatives in the U.S. Congress, and the people of the estado are able to vote directly for these legislators and as well for the President of the United States. Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico do not have any federal voting rights, as the island is not legally an estado. And, the island did not become libre as the federal government has sovereign jurisdiction over it, even to the extent of dictating what the insular legislature can do. And, Puerto Rico being but an unincorporated territory is not asociado with the United States as an association implies an equal partnership. And, surely, such partnership does not exist even remotely except in the minds of the self-perpetuating local politicians. However, these politicians have falsely implanted in the minds of many insulars that Puerto Rico has a special status with the United States. And, because this special status has not brought any substantial benefit to the people of the island, it has been questioned and caused much confusion in all spheres of the island. As briefly examined above, the political environment appears to be one of the main factors contributing to a state of disorder in the minds of a subset of Puerto Ricans. It causes a sort of inertia and vacillation, and a significant number of people are affected by its quandary. Thus, an individual quite easily becomes confused by the political incoherence manifested by the leaders of the various parties. For certain, the insular poor have been misled for many years. The uncertainties manifested by the political climate have produced a yearning for the sameness of times passed, the days when the jibaritos (countrymen) were small landowners and farmers. That these jibaritos and their descendants are the bulk of the poor Puerto Ricans who are having trouble in finding stability is not a mystery. And, the children of the island’s poor become disoriented when the schools they attend portray the history of Puerto Rico as a footnote in most textbooks and the status of the islanders is misrepresented or totally ignored. These children become indoctrinated to see Puerto Rico as playing no significant part within the United States. And, when these children are provided the notion of the irrelevance of Puerto Rico they become discouraged, confused, and start seeing themselves as individuals without a State or national identity. Many of these children grow up to become troubled adolescents and adults. And, that adults do resort to immature behavior when faced with frustrating situations is not uncommon. Confronted with ambiguous conditions people may curse or yell or run amuck, or they may just give up any attempt in bringing an adjustment to their lives and passively become stagnated in the fringes of society. Thus the inability to cope with the drastic changes brought upon them through political and economical upheavals have produced a state of unrest and passivity (that is, not being able to stay put in a given place and only superficially forming part of a given community) within a substantial number of poor Puerto Ricans.