Political Quotes

“For 124 years Puerto Rico, the nation where I was born and raised, has been a colony of the United States. Invaded by the United States during the 1898 Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico has remained in a state of colonial limbo that flies in the face of the anticolonial values upon which the American Republic was founded. Congress' unlimited plenary powers over Puerto Rico are reminiscent of the monarchical powers enjoyed by King George III against which the Founders of the American Republic so bravely fought. If Hamilton and Madison were alive today, they would be shocked to see how the anticolonial Constitution they drafted in 1787 is currently used to legitimize colonialism in Puerto Rico over 300 years later. Advocating now for the continuation of the status quo on the island is the height of hypocrisy. Colonialism has destroyed the Puerto Rican economy. Colonialism has divided the Puerto Rican people. Colonialism has eaten away our people's sense of dignity and self- worth. Colonialism has made the people of Puerto Rico both psychologically and economically dependent on the United States. Colonialism is not only humiliating for Puerto Rico, but it is an embarrassment to the United States--the United States that holds itself out as a leader of the free world and that stands up to imperialist tyrants abroad while keeping colonies in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Puerto Rico's colonial crisis is not a simple domestic issue as some erroneously believe.…”