Puerto Rico and the Loss of Language Rights

Rick Santorum Calls Himself 'Senador Puertorriqueño' In Puerto Rico

The Huffington Post

March 15, 2012
Citation: http://huff.to/santorumPR

 

Rick Santorum is making a splash down in Puerto Rico ahead of the island's Sunday GOP primary.

On Wednesday he told Puerto Ricans that they should make English their primary language if they want statehood, and that evening he said that Pennsylvanians called him "Senador Puertorriqueño" while he was a U.S. senator. Politico has excerpts from a town hall in San Juan.

"I was referred to by many in my state as Senador Puertorriqueño," he said. "They used to make fun of me, ‘Why are you representing Puerto Rico?’ Well, someone has to because they don’t have a voice. I felt a responsibility to the island."

Rick Santorum, the Republican (GOP) candidate nominee in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is visiting Puerto Rico and yesterday publicly claimed that in order for the island to reach statehood it needs to adopt English as its "principal" language. He also states that the bilingual, English and Spanish, system currently in operation will continue to deter Puerto Rico from achieving its "goals". Furthermore he shared during an interview that he was referred to as Senador Puertorriqueño, or the Puerto Rican Senator, as an indication of his apparent alliance with the Latino community. Yesterday the former Senator also sat down with Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's governor, who has already endorsed Romney. In regards to a referendum that is up for election November 6th, Santorum recommended that Puerto Ricans vote in favor of statehood, and confirmed that he would not support a state that did not endorse English as the official language. Santorum's statements seem rarely threatening actually. 

We often exclude Puerto Rico from the dialogue surrounding Latin American countries because this Spanish-speaking island is controlled by the United States government -- no doubt a politically charged decision. I think we should not be alarmed by Santorum but concerned about his proposal, which of course is not a new idea but one which tends to sting for Spanish-speakers and Puerto Ricans. As a long-time resident of the state of Pennsylvania, and of voting age and registered for nearly 10 years, I have never heard of Santorum referred to by this name, Senador Puertorriqueño. In regards to enforcing English as the only acceptable language for the proposed state, it should be known that the United States does not have an official language. Decisions regarding the statehood of Puerto Rico should not be determined by English-language policy, or proposition.

This is because the issues are separate, and should remain separate in my opinion, and making the shift from bilingual to monolingualism is a transition heavily affected by development, education and globalization. Development in the sense that the nation has little room to thrive and grow economically in its current world standing. Puerto Rico has but one seat in congress which is not given a vote. It would be wise to propose nationhood for a place that has been continuously robbed and oppressed culturally and linguistically for the last 500 years! Languages hold power and help define who we are as people. With the loss of Spanish in Puerto Rico, what else is lost? With statehood what is gained? How will education be affected and how would such a grandiose shift occur rapidly enough for Puerto Rico to maintain itself? It seems that there is a yearning from the United States to consistently erase any difference between it's borders that could threaten the already-established organizational patterns established to maintain power. We should reconsider the scope of international influence. Through what lens are we, as educators and people interested in development, to view Puerto Rico? I think we might also view Santorum's efforts as a way to speak to other states, since he inevitably must have known he was destined to lose the Puerto Rican vote -- was he not speaking to a difference audience through this English-only message? I think that Puerto Rico will continue to stay dependent on the United States if they move for state hood, and especially if they heed the advice of Santorum in embracing an English-only stance. I doubt that either will happen in the near future.