Que Viva Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, an island just south of Florida and next to the Dominican Republic on the coast in the Caribbean Sea, is facing some major political turmoil right now. Thousands of Puerto Ricans have filled the streets of San Juan protesting the recent messages leaked on July 13 to the public. These messages, written by Governor  Ricardo Rosselló, contained some heavily homophobic, violent, and hateful words. Rosselló sent over 899 messages to his inner circle (11 people in total), joking about assassinating his political opponents and also added anti-gay comments. Before I get into more details about this scandal, I'm going to give a quick rundown on Puerto Rico. 

Puerto Rico was once under the control of Spain, before the late 1800s. Under the Spanish Empire, it was filled with the sugar and tobacco industry that brought upon the wealth of Spain. When the indigenous populations, the Taíno, were almost wiped out unfortunately by smallpox Spain began to import thousands of slaves from various places in Africa. Spain had eventually built two very large fortifications in Puerto Rico that had withstood multiple invasion attempts by the British, Dutch, and French. 

Once the 19th century hit, a wave of independence movements spread throughout South America by leaders such as Simón Bolívar, O'Higgins, and San Martín. Eventually, the waves of independence, or the ideas of it, had hit Puerto Rico. There was an attempt by the local population to revolt against Spain but it was crushed. 

Eventually, Puerto Rico received some economic autonomy from Spain but not independence. In 1898 the United States and Spain entered the brief Spanish-American War with the famous Rough Riders led by future President Teddy Roosevelt. Spain suffered a humiliating defeat and surrendered its colonies in the Caribbean and The Philippines. 

But where does Puerto Rico fit in all of this history? Once Spain pulled out, the United States entered. Much of Puerto Rico's autonomy was taken away until 1900 when the Foraker Act was established, formally instituting a civil government in Puerto Rico. Later in 1917, Congress passed the Jones-Shaforth Act which gave citizenship to all Puerto Ricans. However, Puerto Rico isn't a state, simply a territory like Guam with no electoral college to vote for the President. That's why you don't see too many presidential candidates going to Puerto Rico. With the exception of the recent political turmoil. 

The debate for Independence or official statehood in Puerto Rico is an ongoing debate. 

To get back to the turmoil happening, recent protests have been widespread in Puerto Rico as famous people such as Reggaeton singer and fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny have been seen leading protests. Even presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (one of my few favorite candidates amongst the Democrats) is there right now demanding the resignation of Rosselló. Trump himself has tweeted his disappointment of the Governor but proceeded, in Trump fashion, to slam Congress and even Puerto Rico about the supposed 90 billion dollars sent there for relief after Hurricane Maria. But Trump's got his numbers all wrong because only about $14 billion was sent for relief but some of that money was pocketed by corrupt politicians in Puerto Rico. 

Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria. 

As of now, Ricardo Rosselló isn't budging and won't step down as Governor. His reign will come to an end sooner or later. 

I am in complete support for the people of Puerto Rico, my fellow U.S. brothers, and sisters, and I demand the resignation of Rosselló. He and his inner-circle are just an example of corruption in several areas of this government. I'm also very disappointed in the Republican side and the President with their lack of support for Puerto Rico and I applaud Tulsi Gabbard for her support.  ¡Renuncia Ricky! (Resign Ricky)