To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Support the Decolonization Process for Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States since it was ceded by the Spanish government when it lost the Spanish-American war in 1898. Its case has been brought to the United Nations almost yearly, with no response. Our economy is in shambles in part due to regressive federal tax laws, restriction to engage in commerce with other countries and the imposition of federal laws, without being able to vote for the president or voting power in congress.
Why is this important?
I just came back to live in Puerto Rico after 36 years in the continental USA. The powerlessness of Puerto Rico is oppressive. While Walmart, Walgreen's, Sam's Club, Burger King and American companies make millions of dollars from a captive audience (almost tax free), we have no money to pay for special education services and to invest in our basic education and health services. Now our government has been declared by the US dysfunctional and with the approval of PROMESA , an oversight board named by the President who will rule over own elected government, our colonial status is more evident than ever.