Puerto Rico deserves to be 51st star on American flag

The unincorporated territory known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is insolvent. This is due primarily to the economic exhaustion and political insufficiency of the present territorial model. The cost of this situation is untenable for the 3.5 million U.S. citizens residing on the island, for its government and for the United States.

To overcome this situation, there are only two valid, legal options that are compatible with the U.S. Constitution and international law: independence (including a possible free association after the separation) and statehood (equitable incorporation).

{mosads}As in other parts of the world — Cataluña and Comunidad Vasca of Spain, for example — most pro-independence groups in Puerto Rico have argued that independence is a moral imperative, a sacred destiny that is even above the sovereignty of the citizens and the will of the majority in a democracy. For them, the will of the people is not important.

This totalitarian vision of the Puerto Rican “independentistas” is shared by their allies in The United Nations Decolonization Committee, dominated by the authoritarian governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Syria. For decades, this committee has consistently approved a resolution demanding independence for Puerto Rico in spite of the fact that the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) has consistently obtained only around 2 percent of the votes in the last three general elections.

Behind this resolution is a Machiavellian conspiracy endorsed by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), a congressman of Puerto Rican descent, who favors independence for the island. Gutierrez has already introduced a bill in Congress to promote the island’s independence through a plebiscite that excludes statehood.

The strategy is to block statehood and enable an independent Republic of Puerto Rico to become another Venezuela or Cuba in the Caribbean. Is this a democratic exercise? Would it benefit Puerto Rico and the United States of America? Of course not. 

Today, statehood has the solid support of the majority of Puerto Ricans. It has easily prevailed on the recent plebiscites of 2012 and 2016, the later boycotted by the forces of territorial immobility and anti-American separatism. The benefits of statehood for the U.S. citizens of the island are obvious.

They would have the same civil rights and responsibilities as the citizens living in the other 50 states. Due to the bankruptcy of the territory, there are more than 5 million Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. mainland. Many of them would gladly return to Puerto Rico as the quality of life in the island improves.

Statehood would also be very favorable for the United States. As in the case of all the previous 37 territories that became states, Puerto Rico would become a much more prosperous and productive economy. This would be very positive for taxpayers, the government and the United States. Puerto Rico, as the 51st state, would be a stable and productive entity instead of the now-impoverished territory.

As such, it would become an important cultural and commercial bridge between the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. It would also send a clear message of the progress that the democratic American way of life can bring to the region. Aside from those reasons, we have earned the 51st star on the American flag through our bravery fighting in all U.S. wars and conflicts since World War I. 

As a matter of fairness and for the enjoyment of the same civil rights provided to our mainland brothers and sisters, Puerto Rico deserves to become the 51st state. 

Hector A. Rios Maury is a professor specializing in management and international business at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (San Juan) Campus.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.