Puerto Rico's status as a territory means it has to follow fed law but not get all of the benefits

[DonViejo]

A Territory in Limbo

Puerto Rico's status as a territory means it has to follow federal law but not get all of the benefits.

By Susan Milligan Senior WriterJune 8, 2018, at 6:00 a.m.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – It's become a sardonic joke among residents of this storm-ravaged and bankrupt island: at least, they say, our fellow American citizens know who we are now.

But Puerto Rico, while getting a bit more attention in the past eight months, still operates in a sort of cultural and jurisdictional limbo, without either the advantages or burdens that come with being a U.S. state or an independent nation. And with its formal status unlikely to change anytime soon, islanders are reaching for another kind of status, that of a community whose independence comes not from separation from the U.S., but from home-grown success and a pride in their Caribbean culture.

[ READ: Skilled Workers Are Leaving Puerto Rico in Droves ]

Puerto Ricans can't agree on whether they want to join the union, remain a U.S. commonwealth or (as a small percentage argue) go it alone as a sovereign country. But nor do they want to continue as they were – subject to the regulatory whims of the federal U.S. government, struggling to keep quaint traditions with antiquated infrastructure and constantly wrangling with fiscal problems. Local activists see the massive destruction on the island as an opportunity for Puerto Rico to redefine itself as a commercial partner and vacation spot. But the task is complicated by the fact that the island is struggling with its own identity crisis.

"After 120 years of a relationship, we still don't call ourselves 'Americanos,'" says Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá, a former governor of Puerto Rico. That disconnect goes both ways – a Morning Consult poll last September found that just 54 percent of Americans knew that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, more than the 46 percent in a Suffolk University poll who knew that civics fact before Hurricane Maria hit.

There is little support in Congress for Puerto Rican statehood, and it's not just because the GOP-led institution is worried that the island would send Democratic senators and representatives to Congress, Acevedo-Vilá says should this be Acevedo Vilá?. "It's the economic issue, and the cultural identity issue. We are U.S. citizens, but we don't feel we are Americans. That's important to both sides – for Puerto Rico and for Americans," he adds. "It's one thing for you to be for multiculturalism, even bilingualism. It's another thing to accept a people that call themselves a nation within the federation. That's a completely different story."

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https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-06-08/puerto-ricans-are-americans-but-they-dont-get-all-the-benefits?emailed=1&src=usn_thereport

[smirkymonkey]

1. It is so tragic what has happened in Puerto Rico. I am so angry at the neglect of our government

in helping these people to recover from the hurricane. I knew they would not get the help they needed. I directed 60% of my payroll United Way contribution this year toward PR because I suspected that they would not get the government help they deserved. Usually I go local, but this year was different. The rest went toward the Mexican earthquake and the food bank here locally. I am so disgusted at our lack of response toward this disaster.

Every time I see a photo of Trump throwing paper towels I just want to rip his fucking throat out. He is such a heartless, evil bastard!