The Last Colony (2015)

Juan Agustín Marquez

His mission: To explain the
status debate to the people
of the United States,
Congress and the President,
and bring the American
people up to date on this
century old question: Will
there be a change in status in
America’s Last Colony?
Taíno Tardía (1200-
American
1508)
Colonization (1898)

Spanish Colonization Commonwealth

(1508- 1898) “Estado Libre
Asociado” (1952)
● The plebiscite is too
mixed up with Puerto
Rico's internal politics

○ The general elections

and the plebiscite
were held together.

● The plebiscite did not

heavily involve the US
in the process.

○ It was non-binding.
The Case for Independence

● PR has been a
colony for so long
they have become ● Independence is the
economically only democratic
dependent and status conceivable.
conditioned to think ○ Real economic,
social and
Independence is
cultural growth
impossible. only happens
○ Statehood is just through self
another feature government
of colonialism
The Case for Statehood
● Statehood guarantees the highest quality of life and
equal representation.
○ PR could participate in decision-making.
● PR would not lose its culture and identity because the
US is already multinational.
● The US would have to accept the decision to become
a state.
The Case for Sovereign ● PR is a separate nation, but it is possible for two nations to
have a close relationship
Free Associated State ● Free association has no definition, it is completely up to the
negotiating states to decide the terms.
○ Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia have a special
negotiated status with the US.
Coloniality - Violence

● Coloniality as a
geopolitical and
geohistorical
“El encantador de serpientes” (1880) de Jean-Léon Gérôme construction.
Coloniality - Law ● Understanding the use of the law as a
dispositive means recognising the forms of
knowledge and power that make it up, and
understanding it can be studied as a
discursive-political reference articulated
according to the agent that is invoked, in a
given context, either as a hegemonic practice
or as a counter-hegemonic discursive
strategy.