Opinion: GOP Insults Puerto Rico, Democrats Fall Short

_{Originally published in The Latino Newsletter–reprinted with permission.}

Opinion for The Latino Newsletter

Puerto Rico has been all over the U.S. news cycle since Sunday afternoon, so you know something strange or terrible must’ve happened.

First, it was “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe, who warmed up the crowd at a Donald Trump rally in New York City with a series of “jokes” that included this zinger: “I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

A racist comment at a Trump event should hardly be news at this point, but this one was too brazen and overt to ignore, no matter how much Hinchcliffe wants to take it back.

It sent shockwaves through both Puerto Rico and the U.S., eliciting reactions from Vice President Harris, VP candidate Tim Walz and AOC, U.S. Senators, as well as every major political figure in Puerto Rico.

Pro-statehood gubernatorial candidate Jenniffer González tweeted her condemnation. Though, as pro-independence opposition candidate Juan Dalmau noted in his own statement, González’s outrage is perhaps undercut by the fact that she is herself a Republican Trump supporter.

The racist joke also earned Harris the support of Bad Bunny.

The New Paper Towels Trope

Elsewhere online, many Americans compared it to that other infamous MAGA moment: Trump throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans during his visit to the island after Hurricane María. But then, as now, the stunts and jokes are merely the most visible manifestations of the profound contempt Republicans seem to feel for Puerto Rico.

After all, the Trump administration downplayed the death toll after the hurricane. It blocked billions in critical aid—then tried to suppress an investigation into its failures. A U.S. commission found that, given disparities in aid and response after Hurricane María, the federal government likely violated Puerto Ricans’ civil rights. Oh, and then Trump asked whether he could trade Puerto Rico for Greenland.

After the latest insult on Sunday, Democrats weren’t shy about reminding Puerto Ricans of that ignominious history. And Harris made a point to contrast it with her own Sunday statement on Puerto Rico: a four-page document of economic proposals for the island.

That’s certainly better than calling Puerto Ricans trash. But we have a saying in Puerto Rico: “el papel aguanta todo lo que le pongan.” The meaning is, roughly: everything sounds good on paper, and you can write down anything even if you don’t intend to follow through with it.

On that score, the Democrats' recent record has been dreadful. For decades now, the party’s leaders have been promising (as Harris does again now) parity in federal programs like Medicaid. Puerto Ricans are still waiting. They have promised to accelerate aid for reconstruction after Hurricane Maria, but as of earlier this year, less than 10% of promised funds had been disbursed.

Puerto Rico’s inclusion in the SNAP program? Hasn’t happened. Extending Supplemental Security Income benefits to Puerto Rico? Not only did it not happen, but President Biden instructed the Justice Department to defend Puerto Rico’s exclusion from the program at the Supreme Court—directly breaking a campaign promise to boot.

Even the current administration’s most high-profile moves to support Puerto Rico come with an asterisk. Yes, the U.S. is funding solar energy projects on the island. But much of that money is going to U.S. companies that are building massive solar farms in places where they harm the environment and threaten entire communities.

Moreover, with far less publicity, the U.S. is set to spend billions more to build out natural gas infrastructure in Puerto Rico. (I am sure it is just a coincidence that the United States is the biggest natural gas exporter in the world.)

No Movement on Status

Most importantly, on the issue of Puerto Rico’s status, Harris and the Democrats’ negligence is unforgivable. Her proposal vaguely references “self-determination,” as does the Democratic Party platform. But that has become a euphemism and a prelude to inaction: a way to signal that it’s all up to Puerto Ricans even as it’s Congress that has failed to pass any legislation on Puerto Rico’s status and refused to make any status vote binding.

Harris also says she’ll create a new task force to focus on Puerto Rico’s economy. But there’s already a White House Task Force on Puerto Rico, and at the start of his term President Biden instructed it to ignore the status issue entirely.

That’s a mistake morally and economically; “thriving colony” is an oxymoron. And there is a growing body of research showing that one thing has helped spur economic growth in Latin American and Caribbean colonies: sovereignty.

That “status issue”—meaning, the 126-year-old colonial subordination of Puerto Rico—merits more than committees and buzzwords. It certainly merited at least a single mention in Harris’ video about her Puerto Rico proposals, but not one of the video’s 150 seconds is dedicated to decolonization.

Throughout my career, I’ve always fought for the people of Puerto Rico. Every chance he got, Donald Trump abandoned and insulted them.
As president, I will invest in Puerto Rico's future so that Puerto Ricans can not just get by, but get ahead.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris)
5:13 PM • Oct 27, 2024

None of this is to say that Harris’ Democrats wouldn’t be better on Puerto Rico than Trump’s racist Republicans. But it is to say this: the fact that Puerto Rico remains a colony, and that nobody in American politics seems particularly concerned, upset, or ready to do anything about it, is far more offensive and harmful than some hack’s joke at a rally.

Imperialism in the 21st century is garbage. So too is the long list of broken policy promises on Puerto Rico. And if whoever wins next week’s election isn’t willing to take out the trash, the ongoing insult of colonialism and neglect will continue regardless.

_{The Latino Newsletter welcomes opinion pieces in English and/or Spanish from community voices. You can email them to our publisher, Julio Ricardo Varela. The views expressed by outside opinion contributors do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this outlet.}