By Nate Hoffert, Staff Writer
On Thursday, Oct. 6, the Eisenhower Institute hosted Gettysburg College’s Chief Diversity Officer Eloísa Gordon-Mora as part of their October Lunch and Learn event.
Gordon-Mora first remarked that October is Hispanic Heritage Month. She felt that starting October with a discussion on the political history and efforts in Puerto Rico is a “great way to appreciate and celebrate Hispanic heritage.”
Gordon-Mora began the policy portion of her discussion by describing how she believes democracy and policy-making go together, “Public policy affects everything we do.” She continued, “Democracy comes from a place of difference…Citizens have a right to examine, determine, and contribute to the laws that are made.”
She criticized the current relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
“The U.S. essentially treats Puerto Rico similar to…a colony—the U.S. has control of the economy, growth is debt-induced, debt, in general, is chronic, and incorporation of Puerto Rico into the global economy goes against the general interest of the United States,” she said.
Gordon-Mora then gave an overview of the territory’s history. Puerto Rico was given to the U.S. after the Spanish lost the Spanish-American War in 1898, and it is currently an “unincorporated” territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans have had the right to American citizenship since the Jones Act was passed in 1917. While Puerto Rico has always been behind the mainland U.S. in terms of economic growth, it began to catch up in the past few decades.
Gordon-Mora supported her point by providing recent examples of political actions and movements in Puerto Rico. This includes the pro-statehood movement, which she described as “constructed with a majority of conservative individuals, and corruption throughout the party is prevalent.”
If Puerto Rico achieved statehood, then “they would need five representatives as a result of the redistricting process.” Nevertheless, she said that achieving statehood would likely result in “definite economic improvements.”
She noted that in 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). While she said that the act has helped to a certain degree, “Corruption is still a prevalent force in local politics.” The PROMESA Act also does not “allow for Puerto Ricans to have much of a say in their own economy.”
Gordon-Mora continued, “Puerto Ricans…continue to leave to the mainland U.S….especially considering the toll that Hurricanes Maria and Irma took on the island, and the amount of time it took to receive federal aid.”
The discussion ended with an open question-and-answer portion.
Regarding his opinion on the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Rodrigo Cotto-Abreu ’23, a native of Puerto Rico, remarked, “It’s difficult…I support Puerto Rican independence [as a sovereign country]…but there’s no support to do it.”
The Eisenhower Institute plans to offer monthly Lunch and Learn sessions featuring experts in the various subfields of public policy throughout the academic year. The information for November’s session will be released in the near future.
