Statehood is by far the preferred political status option among Puerto Rico voters, but although it is clear that statehood offers equal rights, permanent citizenship, and economic improvement for the territory, but some fear that it could also lead to cultural assimilation for Puerto Rico through “annexation” even though Puerto Rico is currently “annexed” to the U.S. as a U.S. territory.
What is assimilation?
Writing in The Latino Newsletter, former Illinois Congressman Luis V. Gutiérrez expressed this concern: “The question of statehood is not merely about gaining political representation and federal benefits. It involves profound considerations of national identity, cultural preservation, and self-determination,” Gutiérrez wrote. “The move towards statehood raises concerns about the potential erosion of this cultural identity. Annexation would require full integration into the United States, which could lead to the gradual assimilation of Puerto Rican culture into the broader American cultural landscape.”
“Annexation” may be an overstatement when describing statehood given Puerto Rico’s current strong connection to the U.S. as a territory, but the point is clear. The fear is that, even in an international, culturally diverse United States, Puerto Rico, upon becoming a state, could find that its unique culture would somehow disappear. English might – at least hypothetically – all of a sudden become the dominant language on the Island, cultural erasure would mean the end of distinctively Puerto Rican customs and mores, and the Island itself could be overrun by incomers without Puerto Rican heritage.
This is the set of fears sometimes described by the term “assimilation.”
The history
Puerto Rico has been under the U.S. flag for 126 years, and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens for 108 years. More people of Puerto Rican heritage now live in states than on the Island. If the culture of Puerto Rico were going to disappear under the influence of the United States, it has already had plenty of time to do so.
Instead, as former Puerto Rico Senate President Charlie Rodríguez told NBC News, “statehood does not represent the loss of our identity, nor does it represent cultural changes.”
Puerto Rico is already proudly integrated into the states. U.S. laws apply to Puerto Rico. It is where we send our children to college, and often where they choose to live upon graduation. It is where our doctors move for higher reimbursement rates. It is where we go to find greater opportunities across professions.
As a state, Puerto Rico would have greater sovereignty, greater political power, and greater influence over the United States. There is no scenario in which the state of Puerto Rico is weaker than the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico. It is not realistic to imagine that the United States government would insist on cultural changes on the Island as a condition of statehood, it is unrealistic to imagine that a state of the Union would give into such pressures more easily than a territory.
The language
If we look back a century, we can find efforts to pressure immigrants to the United States to assimilate into American culture. In the 1920s, immigrants were encouraged to learn and speak English, to attend Protestant churches, to have smaller families, and in various other ways to fit into their new communities.
These attitudes are outmoded now, but the recent executive order declaring English the national language of the United States is a reminder of those days. Could Puerto Rico be forced to give up Spanish?
42 million people in the United States currently speak Spanish. Puerto Rico uses Spanish more extensively and in more official capacities than any of the states, but the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution makes it clear that states — though not territories — are in charge of the language they choose to use. Neither the executive order nor the Constitution requires the use of English in any state.
Spanish is simply not under threat in the United States.
As a state, Puerto Rico would have the highest percentage of Spanish speakers among the states, but not the largest number.
Indeed, the greatest threat to the use of Spanish among Puerto Ricans is the population drain from the Island. The more people leave Puerto Rico for the states, the more people stop speaking Spanish.
Loss of Spanish in the Puerto Rican Diaspora
The culture
The disappearance of Puerto Rican culture seems unlikely, and certainly is not logically connected with statehood. But let’s consider, for the sake of argument, the possibility that U.S. culture could swamp Puerto Rican culture enough to displace it entirely.
What would that look like?
The United States does not have a monolithic culture. Each state and region has its own customs, sounds, artistic traditions, foods, and history. Could Puerto Rico be forced to give up reggaeton and take up jazz or bluegrass instead? Would mofongo be replaced by clam chowder or gumbo? The idea is so foreign to American life that there is no way to ask these questions without unintentional humor.
“The statehood movement has always been clear,” said Rodriguez. “Turning Puerto Rico into a state is not about ceasing to be who we are.”
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