Can the Federal Government Sell Puerto Rico? [View all]

The New York Times published a claim last weekend that has resurfaced with some frequency over the years, drawing outrage each time: the notion that the U.S. has the power to sell Puerto Rico or otherwise “divest” its most populous territory, home to over three million U.S. citizens.

New York Councilman and congressional candidate Ritchie Torres responded with an op-ed piece, in the New York Daily News, reviving a popular Puerto Rican slogan from the past: “Puerto Rico Is Not for Sale.”

“How can the United States claim to be fully democratic when it openly denies equal representation to 3 million people who are citizens according to its own laws?” Torres asked. “There are two alternatives to the status quo of colonialism: independence and statehood. I am squarely on the side of statehood. Puerto Ricans are and have long been American citizens. Instead of depriving them of citizenship entirely, make Puerto Ricans equal under the law.”

Equal under the law

Torres points to the reality underlying the comments: the federal government does indeed have the legal right to “dispose of” Puerto Rico. As at least one commenter has pointed out, this is a problem because it’s true, not because the president mentioned it.

Read more: https://www.puertoricoreport.com/can-the-federal-government-sell-puerto-rico/#.XxQD0uHPzIU