What Should Be Done with Puerto Rico?
Abstract
Puerto Rico has been classified as one of the world’s most beautiful islands. Its sandy, white beaches entertain thousands of tourists each year. It is commonly known as the “Hawaii of the East Coast.†Statehood arguably should be a simple issue, but it is not. Because the political future of millions of Puerto Ricans is at stake, this decision cannot be taken lightly. This essay attempts to answer some of the political and economic questions that surround the future status of the island. Is there a way that the island can preserve its Latin-American culture and still be part of the United States? Could Puerto Rico survive as an independent country? Are the islanders content as a stagnant commonwealth? The answers to these difficult questions reveal possible solutions to the century-old question of “what should be done with Puerto Rico?â€Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright over their work, while allowing the conference to place this unpublished work under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to freely access, use, and share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and its initial presentation at this conference.
b) Authors are able to waive the terms of the CC license and enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution and subsequent publication of this work (e.g., publish a revised version in a journal, post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial presentation at this conference.
c) In addition, authors are encouraged to post and share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) at any point before and after the conference.
d) The Author grants Marriott Library the nonexclusive, perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, display, publish, archive, preserve, digitize, transcribe, translate, provide access and transmit their work (in whole or in part) for any non-commercial purpose including but not limited to archiving, academic research, and marketing in such tangible electronic formats as may be in existence now or hereafter developed.
e) Marriott Library may elect, in its sole discretion, not to exercise the rights granted herein.
f) Author shall retain copyright in and to the Work and Marriott Library shall provide proper attribution in its exercise of the rights granted herein.
g) Author is solely responsible and will indemnify and hold Marriott Library and/or the University of Utah harmless for any third party claims related to the Work as submitted for publication.
