Behind the White Wigs and Robes: Government in Puerto Rico.

Today, I'll be discussing the current state of government in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico's government is an interesting form of government. Puerto Rico is its own island, but it's not a country, it's a commonwealth. Puerto Rico is self-governing, but many aspects of their government are in association with the United States. Their chief of state is Mr. Obama himself and as United States presidents alternate, so do Puerto Rican chief of states. The head of government in Puerto Rico is an elected governor.
Puerto Rico has authority over all of their internal affairs (unless it's something that involves United States law, like pollution and public health). The United States has authority over...everything else. This includes control over: interstate trade, foreign relations and commerce, customs administration, control of air, land and sea, immigration and emigration, nationality and citizenship, currency, maritime laws, military service, military bases, army, navy and air force, declaration of war, constitutionality of laws, jurisdictions and legal procedures, treaties, radio, television, and all other aspects of communications, agriculture, mining and minerals, highways, postal system, Social Security, and anything else that is generally controlled by the federal government of the United States.

So basically, what differs mainly from Puerto Rico and any of the 50 states is that Puerto Rico has no control over what goes on in the United States government. Citizens have no voting rights in the United States presidential elections. Puerto Rico has one resident commissioner ,who has voice, but no vote, in the Congress of United States.

The United States gives Puerto Rico just enough power to have a bit of control over their island, but not enough to be their own country. Because it's not its own country, many of Puerto Rico's injustices are based on United States law. This largely affects people of African descent in Puerto Rico. Discrimination is alive and prominent in the United States, therefore it's just as prevalent in Puerto Rico. Discrimination towards Puerto Ricans of African descent is even greater because Puerto Rico is such a concentrated area. With the combination between discrimination based on U.S. law and embedded racism on the island from times of African enslavement, discrimination towards Puerto Ricans of African descent is at an all time high.

In order to begin working towards ending discrimination towards Puerto Ricans of African descent on the island, I believe that Puerto Rico needs to become its own country.

While looking up news articles about Puerto Rican's government, I clicked past numerous articles about Sonia Sotomayor's connection to the island and violence towards the Puerto Rican judicial system. Since Sotomayor became a member of the supreme court, many articles have been written about her being of Puerto Rican descent and if that would change government on the island or not. So far, nothing has changed. As for the violence in Puerto Rico, as of today, the courts have granted protection for workers of the Puerto Rican justice system along with their families. Many Puerto Ricans are unhappy with the justice system and are becoming violent. I read about it here. The article is in Spanish, but google translate is an amazing source of assistance.

The article that surprised me the most was a fox news article about Puerto Rico now being considered a "narco-state" because of it's involvement with drugs. Government officials are doing everything they can in order to deny these statements. Officials claim that drugs need to be embedded in Puerto Rican government in order for Puerto Rico to be considered a "narco-state." So as of now, that's a big government priority. They're trying to protect the integrity of the island.
Don't believe me? See for yourself here.

Sources:
"Puerto Rico Government." Welcome to Puerto Rico! History, Government, Geography, and Culture. . http://www.topuertorico.org/government.shtml (accessed February 17, 2012).

 "Exjueces del Supremo aseguran que alguaciles también deben proteger a su familia - El Nuevo Día." El Nuevo Día - Noticias de Puerto Rico, información de última hora y multimedia - El Nuevo Día. http://www.elnuevodia.com/exjuecesdelsupremoaseguranquealguacilestambiendebenprotegerasufamilia-1192229.html (accessed February 17, 2012).

"Puerto Rico Government Denies Island Is 'Narco-State'." Fox News Latino. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/12/13/puerto-rican-govt-denies-island-is-narco-state/ (accessed February 17, 2012).