Word: statehooder
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...March 10 rally was surprising for its size, spirit and the message emblazoned on some banners: LA ESTADIDAD ES PARA LOS POBRES. Statehood for the poor? In Puerto Rico's triangulated politics, the statehood cause had been - monopolized by the upper class. A small faction of nationalists and leftists fought, occasionally with guns, for total independence. The rest of the population appeared content with commonwealth status, the pragmatic option in effect since 1952. As an American commonwealth, or "associated free state" in island usage, Puerto Rico has received enough benefits and tax concessions from Washington to make it rich...
...triangle has been rearranged. The New Progressive Party, led by former Governor Carlos Romero Barcelo, argues that statehood would mean not only political equality but also more food on the table. The Popular Democratic Party, under incumbent Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon, contends that only an "enhanced" version of commonwealth can protect the island's economy as well as its Hispanic culture. Judging by polls and street-corner opinion, Romero's statehood campaign today enjoys momentum. When the Popular Democrats staged a rally in Mayaguez, only 75 partisans showed up. Watching the Ponce parade, Luisa Rodriguez, an unemployed mother of seven...
Washington helped promote the change in political dynamics. In January 1989 Hernandez proposed that Congress give formal blessing to a plebiscite with three options: independence, statehood or a modified form of commonwealth giving the island greater self-government. A month later, George Bush endorsed the proposal and reaffirmed the G.O.P.'s traditional support for statehood. But Bush signaled that he intended more than the token effort made by Republican predecessors. Bush and the Republican National Committee are trying to pry Hispanics from their traditional Democratic loyalty. Proposing full political equality for the island seized from Spain in 1898 helps that...
...Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last summer approved a bill that would sanction a binding plebiscite in 1991. However, the details horrified the Governor's faction: under the Senate bill, the statehood option seems an instant gold mine. Islanders would get a congressional delegation plus full parity with the other 50 states in federal welfare assistance immediately, while the present full exemption from federal taxes on individuals and companies would be phased out only gradually. About 40% of the island's 3.3 million residents now qualify for federally supported food assistance. According to Hernandez, average monthly benefits...
Vermonters tend to be crusty, idiosyncratic and, above all, independent. After the Revolution, it took them 14 years to decide to join the Union. So with the 200th anniversary of statehood at hand, it seemed reasonable to stage a series of debates on whether the time had come for the Green Mountain State to declare its independence. The Vermont Statehood Bicentennial Commission selected political scientist Frank Bryan of the University of Vermont to argue for seceding from the Union and State Supreme Court Justice John Dooley to argue for staying...