...Abneil D. Alicea The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory, holds more than $73 billion in debt. According to United States Census Bureau and World Bank, the Island has only 3.337 million dwellers (2017). So, how an Island with this population is responsible for a debt of such large amount? There are several answers to this question and from different perspectives, but everyone can agree that Puerto Rico is facing a major economic crisis. I will be presenting the causes of this historic bankruptcy eyeing the economist's view, and the viewpoint of different civil society groups. Anne Krueger, an American Economist and first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), together...
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...After years of government corruption and neglected infrastructure, Puerto Rico has finally collapsed and is in desperate need of help. Help they know, they will receive if they were to become the 51st state. According to the New York Post, Puerto Rico’s government has been inept at taking care of their precious infrastructure. Even before hurricane Maria, their power and water systems were crumbling due to being outrageously outdated and they were up to their eyeballs in debt, 118 billion to be exact. According to CNN, people were leaving the island at a historic rate with an “average of 230 people leaving a day”. This was due to essential resources shutting down. Hospitals no longer had the funding they needed to help their people and schools...
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...Identification. Christopher Columbus landed in Puerto Rico in 1493, during his second voyage, naming it San Juan Bautista. The Taínos, the indigenous people, called the island Boriquén Tierra del alto señor ("Land of the Noble Lord"). In 1508, the Spanish granted settlement rights to Juan Ponce de León, who established a settlement at Caparra and became the first governor. In 1519 Caparra had to be relocated to a nearby coastal islet with a healthier environment; it was renamed Puerto Rico ("Rich Port") for its harbor, among the world's best natural bays. The two names were switched over the centuries: the island became Puerto Rico and its capital San Juan. The United States anglicized the name to "Porto Rico" when it occupied the island in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. This spelling was discontinued in 1932. Puerto Ricans are a Caribbean people who regard themselves as citizens of a distinctive island nation in spite of their colonial condition and U.S. citizenship. This sense of uniqueness also shapes their migrant experience and relationship with other ethnoracial groups in the United States. However, this cultural nationalism coexists with a desire for association with the United States as a state or in the current semiautonomous commonwealth status. Location and Geography. Puerto Rico is the easternmost and smallest of the Greater Antilles, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Basin to the south. Puerto Rico is a crucial hemispheric access point...
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...President Trump has failed to focus consistently on rebuilding the devastated island of Puerto Rico, home to 3.4 million US Citizens, after the tropical storm Hurricane Maria took place. Two months after the disaster the lights still remain off in even the most bustling cities of Puerto Rico, more than 50% of the population still live without electricity, and 100% of those with power experience constant blackouts. The innocent citizens of Puerto Rico have essentially been left for dead by their own federal government, and despite the efforts of Puerto Rican Officials to raise money for the island, the funds raised so far are nowhere near what is needed to provide and rebuild for Puerto Rico's commonwealth. Part of the reason why Puerto Rico...
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...When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as positive as was thought it would be. During early U.S. rule, Puerto Ricans still were not included in the majority of governmental relations, and as with Spaniards, Americans who were sent to rule in Puerto Rico had never been there before and were ignorant about the history, culture, Spanish language, etc. Basically, Puerto Rico continued being ruled by foreigners who sought to complete their own interests, as opposed to looking to what are the interests of the nation they are invading and ruling. A cogent metaphor in Ferré's novel for the unrequited hopes that Puerto Rico had when United States invaded is Tony Torres, who is supposedly going to dance in Kerenski's adaptation of Swan Lake and Firebird . The people who lived in Machuelo Abajo...
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...count the number of deaths caused by last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The latest estimate: roughly 4,600, many of them from delayed medical care. Residents of Puerto Rico died at a significantly higher rate during the three months following the hurricane than they did in the previous year, according to the results of a new study by a group of independent researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions. The researchers say their estimate, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, remains imprecise, with more definitive studies still to come. But the findings, which used methods that have not been previously...
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...Schwarz Mr. Whelan English IV 11-20-2017 Should Puerto Rico become a state? On August 21, 1959, Hawaii was admitted as the fiftieth state of the United States. In order for Hawaii to become a state, under Article 73 of the United Nations charter, citizens of the territory must vote in a special referendum. Hawaiians were not given the option of independence, so statehood won by a seventeen to one ratio (Best). Hawaii became a state, based on the results of the referendum. On the November 6, 2012 a referendum was held in Puerto Rico, 54 percent of citizens said that they do not like the current status of the island. The next question had three solutions following the United Nations guidelines. Of the three options, statehood received the highest vote getting 61 percent of the votes. Since the mid-twentieth century, the status of Puerto Rico has been in discussion both in Congress and on the island. With the three options proposed by the ballot, many believe that statehood was the best choice. With statehood; Puerto Ricans will remain citizens of the United States, they will receive all the benefits of a U.S....
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...Elizabeth Cuevas Puerto Rican Culture May15, 2018 La Musica Puerto Riqueña The instruments utilized as a part of conventional Puerto Rican music began with the Taíno individuals. Most important is the güicharo, or guiro a scored emptied out gourd, which was adjusted from pre-Columbian days. The melodic conventions of the Spanish and Africans can likewise be heard in Puerto Rico's music. No less than four distinct instruments were adjusted from the six-string Spanish established guitar: the requinto, the bordonua, the cuatro , and the triple, every one of which creates an exceptional tone and pitch. The most well-known of these, and one for which most prominent number of adaptions and structures have been composed, is the cuatro, a guitar-like...
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...Higher Education in Puerto Rico Amanda Morris Consumer Behavior 10 December 2012 Higher Education in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico is an interesting country when looking in comparison with the United States. They have been largely influenced by the US in culture, economics, and education. Because they have had aspirations of becoming the 51st state, they have historically tried to mainstream their culture in tandem with cultural trends in the mainland US. The interesting thing about that is that Puerto Rican people are fiercely proud of their cultural identity, and their heritage. They refer to themselves as Puerto Rican, even when they are second and third generation United States’ citizens. They have fought to keep Spanish in their schools instead of strict English. They hold themselves to even higher standards of education in many aspects. This leads to some interesting nuances in Puerto Rican education and the choices people make when it comes to choosing a college. This paper seeks to briefly examine how consumer behavior relates to higher education in Puerto Rico. Economics play a large factor, as well as strong involvement from the government, and US cultural influences in how and why secondary education choices are made for the people of Puerto Rico. To being with, when thinking about Puerto Rico, one must first look to what makes the country unique. A good starting place would be its basic facts regarding its demographics. Puerto Rico is one of the most...
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...Even though Puerto Rico seems to be a great place, you can drink at the age of eighteen. Puerto Rico is located In Northeastern Caribbean, and it’s located East of the Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico is only a hundred miles long and 35 miles wide. The population of Puerto Rico is 3,725,789 people (Rivera). Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean sea, it is between the Caribbean sea and the North Atlantic ocean and is east of the Dominican. It can be found on a map in South America and in the Car Caribbean. Puerto Rico is mostly mountains with coastal plans in the north. It stays 70 to 80 in Puerto Rico. The tropical marine mild...
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...The Music Culture in Puerto Rico during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries is poorly documented. It most likely included Spanish church music, military band music, and diverse genres cultivated by the jíbaros, who are peasants, mostly of Taino descent, and enslaved Africans and their descendants. While they only make up 11% of the population in the country, they contributed some of the island's most dynamic musical features becoming distinct indeed. In the 19th century, Puerto Rican music begins to emerge into historical daylight, with genres such as danza being naturally better documented than folk genres like jíbaro music and bomba y plena. The African people of the island used drums made of carved harwood covered with an untreated rawhide on one side, commonly made from goatskin. A popular word derived from creole to design this drum was shukbwa, which literally means 'trunk of tree'. In other islands like Guadalupe, this type of hollowed trunk is known as bwa fuyé. If the term "folk music" is taken to mean music genres that have flourished without elite support, and have evolved independently of the commercial mass media, the realm of Puerto Rican folk music would comprise the primarily Hispanic-derived jíbaro music, the Afro-Puerto Rican bomba, and the essentially "creole" plena. As these three genres evolved in Puerto Rico and are unique to that island, they occupy a respected place in island culture, even if they are not currently as popular as contemporary music like...
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...ensayo estaremos explicando el sistema judicial de Puerto Rico en términos de estructura, jerarquía y funcionamiento. A su vez lo compararemos con el sistema federal de Estados Unidos. El sistema judicial o poder judicial se define como un poder que tiene el país, en el cual administrar la justicia en la sociedad a través de normas o leyes jurídicas que sean creadas en base a conflictos o situaciones que hayan sucedido. El sistema judicial de Puerto Rico entro en vigor El 25 de julio del 1952, en ese día fue creado lo que hoy conocemos como la constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. La constitución establece el poder judicial que tendrá Puerto Rico. En ese entonces la Constitución estableció un juez presidente y cuatro jueces asociados pero concedió al propio tribunal el poder de solicitar a la legislatura aumentar o reducir el número de jueces. Este poder que se le otorgo a la legisladora crea conflictos de intereses ya que se puede ver claramente que hoy en día él aumentar y reducir jueces sea a convertido en politiquería más que merito propio. La estructura del sistema judicial de Puerto Rico ha sido modificada en tres ocasiones. La primera estructura fue creada para el año 1952, la segunda fue para el año 1994 y la tercera fue para el 2003. Actualmente vigente la nueva estructura del sistema judicial del año 2003. Esta ley conocida como la “Ley de la Judicatura del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico de 2003". La misma se estableció de la siguiente...
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...Running head: PUERTO RICO local law paper Puerto Rico local law paper Name School Instructor Course number 1) The concept of Mercantile Right in P.R. to tenor with the cases of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico; Fish market Pink v. Lozada, 116 DPR 474 (1985) and Reece v. Ariela, 122 DPR 270 (1988). CONCEPT OF MERCANTILE RIGHT Mercantile right is the negotiation or traffic that applies to commerce for the purpose of making a profit. This right is protected by laws that give a person or business entity the right to engage in commerce. According to Tulane University Professor Vernon V. Palmer (2001), Puerto Rico's mercantile law stems from various sources (primarily Spanish and US) and has different statutes for different areas that are relative to commercial and industry. In 1995, Puerto Rico adopted Articles 5, 7, 8, and 9 of the United States' Uniform Commercial Code and as such, greatly affected by legal changes and decisions in the US. APPLICATION TO THE CASES FISH MARKET PINK, INC. v. OSVALDO LOZADA CREEK In June 1980, Lozado bought a boat that had been registered as a fishing vessel. In July 1980, Lozada (not a fisherman) sold a boat to Rosas. The sale included a loan amount for repairs necessary. In 1981, Rosas founded the Pink Company/Signature Fishing Market (???) and transferred the debt from a personal one to one of the business. In 1983 Lozada began collection attempts on the loan amount. The loan amount was being disputed by Rosas as not a valid...
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...Should Puerto Rico Become a State? Why Puerto Rico should become a state? This topic has been controversial for a while not only for the residents of Puerto Rico, but also for the residents of the United States. All coins have two faces and stories have two sides, and this is the case of this controversy. In this essay, I will discuss pros and cons of Puerto Rico becoming a state, I will also present my point of view. It will take a careful analysis and serious discussion, may be even national consensus before the moment of admission of a new state into the United States. Becoming a state is not something that happens just because the residents of Puerto Rico agree with, but understanding the history and agreeing with the U.S. terms, Puerto Rico should become the fifty first state of the United States. The Puerto Rican government should encourage the citizens and work harder for the statehood. As a Puerto Rican living in the United States and having my love ones in the Island, I feel the government in Puerto Rico need to make progress and give more encouragement to Puerto Rico to become a state. Puerto Rico became United States territory in 1889 during the Spanish-American war. The first year of the 20th century were marked as the struggle to obtain grater democratic rights from the United States. In 1950, the president Truman signed what is known as a Public Act 600, which allowed Puerto Rico to draft their own constitution, establishing the commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the...
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...Impacts of Imperialism in Puerto Rico On May 12, 1898, a fleet of twelve American ships attached San Juan. Shortly after on June 25, the U.S.S. Yosemite blockaded San Juan’s port; it prevented goods and people from leaving and entering the port. One month later on July 25, General Nelson A. Miles led 3,300 American troops into Guánica, a southwestern town in Puerto Rico. They were meet with little to no resistance. Spain and some Puerto Rican volunteers put up a small fight against the 6th Massachusetts in the Battle of Yauco. The only casualties were two Spanish soldiers. Overall, the United States was well accepted into Puerto Rico by the people. In the whole invasion, only seven American soldiers died. The Spanish-American War...
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