A Look at Farm Workers in Puerto Rico

During class, we are often lectured by guest speakers that specialize on specific topics of interest. I personally found a recent guest speaker's analysis on the farm worker's situation in Puerto Rico to be an interesting scenario. In particular, I was surprised about the conclusion that he came to regarding the misguided sentiment of most Puerto Ricans with their bitterness against America for the practical colonization of their land.

Where it was easy to cast the blame upon the imperialist nation for the reduction of the role of the small farmer in Puerto Rico, the speaker's conclusion was that America's direct involvement was not the root cause for the devolved land ownership concentration and increasingly capitalistic labor conditions. Instead, the main fault laid in the inevitable economic realignment from the system formed through the previous Spanish colonization development. The use of the example of the game monopoly was an enlightening demonstration of the scenario that occurred in Puerto Rico regarding the shift from formerly more-equal asset distribution that over time consolidated amongst itself into the development of medium-sized farmers.

I never really understood the background of Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States either. I was surprised to find out that America had given Puerto Rico rights that it had not given to the Dominican Republic and Cuba, both which essentially had been in a similar colonization-like scenario with the United States. By allowing Puerto Rico to be unaffected by the tariffs that were placed on imports, the United States gave Puerto Rico a decisive advantage over its Latin American neighbors economically. It becomes understandable therefore why the sugar industry became so popular in Puerto Rico in respects to Cuba and the Dominican Republic where the amount of sugar farming far outpaced what should be considered normal for a land the size of Puerto Rico.