This episode of La Brega talks about the broken promises of the government of the United States. Starting with the ELA, the ELA was a commonwealth status that gave Puerto Rico some degree of autonomy while still being under the sovereignty of the United States. The ELA was established in 1952, and for many years, it was considered a symbol of Puerto Rican identity and self-determination. After the breaking of the ELA people quickly realized that the US did not care about Puerto Rico and only considered them a colony. This caused an economic crisis in Puerto Rico in which they were neck deep in debt. The uncertainty surrounding the future of Puerto Rico’s political status has created significant anxiety and tension for many Puerto Ricans. Those who advocate for statehood believe that it would provide more economic opportunities and greater political representation. However, others worry that statehood would mean losing some of Puerto Rico’s cultural identity and could lead to greater exploitation by the United States. The ongoing debt crisis has led to school and hospital closures, job losses, and cuts to social services, impacting the quality of life for many Puerto Ricans. Overall, the breaking of the ELA has had a complex and significant impact on the people of Puerto Rico, both in terms of their cultural identity and their daily lives.
My initial reaction to this episode was sort of a moment where I said to myself “of course they did”, It didn’t surprise me that the US had broken a promise in which they did not intend to keep in which created so many people to suffer not only economically but emotionally as well. The stories told in the episode touched my heart and kind of made me emotional. Coming from a family that had left their country to come to the US to live a better life I can understand the hurt and impact that the Puerto Ricans had felt.
My question is: Do you think that Puerto Rico is the only place in which the US has directly and indirectly destroyed? Why or Why not?
I don’t think Puerto Rico is the only place in which the US has indirectly destroyed. The US has had many instances where they chose not to act which resulted in more damage, such as the Rwandan Genocide. They’ve also had a heavy impact on Japan and Native American reservations.
The U.S. has destroyed a good amount of countries throughout history like Japan, Vietnam, and etc. I think these all has to do with getting benefits and profiting off other countries.
The USA has both directly and indirectly destroyed every single place on this planet. When the USA is mentioned mostly in a third world country it is said to be hopeful and dreamy but when people come here for safe haven and opportunity they are met with discriminatory actions and fear. The USA inaction and denial towards their own responsibility and their own decisions destroys and doesn’t help that the ignorance towards this gives them the privilege to continue destroying everything it touches.
I think that PR is not the only place that the USA has directly destroyed, because there many examples of countries that have been destroyed by the US, countries as Mexico, Irak, Japan, and even the US itself by colonizing the country when they destroyed the original US by getting rid of the native americans.
I don’t think that Puerto Rico is the only place the U.S has directly/indirectly Destroyed. for example, although Hawaii became a state the native people of the island have been cut off by this economic boom in the island and in return these major industries have begun making a profit without including or providing opportunities for the people who were there before them.