E-raamat: Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know(R)

"Puerto Rico has a peculiar status among Latin American and Caribbean countries because of its dependence on the United States. On July 25, 1898, the United States invaded the Island during the Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1898, and has since dominated the Island militarily, politically, and economically. In 1901, the US Supreme Court defined Puerto Rico as "foreign to the United States in a domestic sense" because it was neither a state of the union nor an independent sovereign republic. Congress granted US citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico in 1917, but the Island remained an unincorporated territory of the United States. Puerto Rico became a US Commonwealth (or Estado Libre Asociado, in Spanish) in 1952, while the US federal government retained jurisdiction in most state affairs. Although Puerto Rico has a resident commissioner in the US Congress, it has no voting representatives and Puerto Ricans living on the Island cannot vote for the US president or vice president. Today, the Island's electorate is still almost evenly split between supporting Commonwealth status and becoming a the fifty-first 51st state of the American union; only a small minority advocates independence. US culture pervades the Island, from the influence of the English language on the Spanish vernacular to the homegrown varieties of Pentecostal churches and the proliferation of fast-food restaurants. Puerto Rico currently maintains colonial ties with the United States-as evidenced, for instance, in its reliancedependenceon massive transfer payments from the federal government and its colossal public debt to US creditors. In some respects, however, the Island does not fit the standard image of colonial societies such as the British and French overseas possessions before World War II. Contemporary Puerto Rico enjoys a greater degree of self-government than most classic colonies. The Island combines conventional elements of colonial rule with political autonomy (though restricted by the imposition of a fiscal oversight board since 2016), a relatively high standard of living (undermined by a long economic recession beginning in 2006), and a strong national culture (as expressed, for example, in the retention of the Spanish language as the primary means of communication on the Island). Puerto Rico may well be considered a "postcolonial colony" in the sense of a people with a tenacious persistent national identity but little desire for a nation-state, living in a territory that legally "belongs to but is not a part of the United States.""--

In the second edition of Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Jorge Duany provides a compendium to the island's rich history, culture, politics, economy, and diaspora. Written in an accessible question-and-answer format, Duany covers the history of the island as well as the demographic, economic, political, and cultural features of contemporary Puerto Rico. He examines the inner workings of the Commonwealth government and the island's relationship to the United States. New material examines the multiple issues affecting Puerto Rico in the last decade, including a prolonged recession, the devastating impact of two hurricanes, and the largest migrant wave ever recorded from Puerto Rico.

In the second edition of Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Jorge Duany unravels the fascinating and turbulent past and present of an island that is politically and economically tied to the United States, yet culturally distinct.

Acquired by the United States from Spain in 1898, Puerto Rico has a peculiar status among Latin American and Caribbean countries. As a US Commonwealth, the island enjoys limited autonomy over local matters, but the US has dominated it militarily, politically, and economically for much of its recent history. Though they are US citizens, Puerto Ricans do not have their own voting representatives in Congress and cannot vote in presidential elections (although they are able to participate in the primaries). In recent years, Puerto Rico's colossal public debt sparked an economic crisis that catapulted it onto the national stage and intensified the exodus to the US, bringing to the fore many of the unresolved remnants of its colonial history.

In the second edition of Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Jorge Duany provides a succinct, authoritative introduction to the island's rich history, culture, politics, and economy, as well as its diaspora. Beginning with a historical overview of Puerto Rico, Duany covers the Spanish colonial period (1493-1898) and the first five decades of the US colonial regime. He then delves into the demographic, economic, political, and cultural features of contemporary Puerto Rico--the inner workings of the Commonwealth government and the island's relationship to the United States. Moreover, the book explores the massive population displacement that has characterized Puerto Rico since the mid-twentieth century. New material examines the multiple issues affecting Puerto Rico in the last decade, including a prolonged recession, the devastating impact of two hurricanes, and the largest migrant wave ever recorded from Puerto Rico.

While a popular tourist destination, few beyond Puerto Rico's shores are familiar with its complex history and diverse culture. Duany takes on the task of educating readers on the most important facets of the unique, troubled, but much beloved isla del encanto.