Should Puerto Rico be the 51st state – “Si” or “No” 

During the creation of the Equal Area Map of the USA, several of our staff had the opportunity to attend the first-ever US SOCIAL FORUM, which took place in Atlanta, GA in July of 2007. At that event we networked and met with a number of Puerto Rican activists. We imagined that they would be pleased to have PR included on a map of the USA for the first time. We were floored when the first reaction we received was that they strongly preferred to be left OFF of our new map of the USA! That news surprised us and led to a lengthy series of emails, conference calls, and exchange of position papers. One serious error we made in creating the map was that we used a star (*) to indicate state capitols, and the Independistas were properly indignant that we coded San Juan as a “State Capitol.” When we next go to press, we promised to fix that error.

The headings below link to a series of documents that provide some background of the issue of Puerto Rican independence (vs. statehood). 

Latin American voices demand Puerto Rican independence

The National Independence Movement of Puerto Rico
Presentation to the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations (UN)
June 14, 2007, New York, USA
 

FBI Witch Hunt Stokes Puerto Rican Independence Movement

Law 600 1952 of US Congress