Pedro A. Malavet relies heavily on cultural theories to study the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, especially Latina/Latino Critical Race Theory. In chapter 1 he attempts to explain this theoretical framework and how it informs his writing. “Lat Crit” scholars such as the author “have identified many forms of discrimination that target Latinas/os in the United States, despite their legal U.S. citizenship. Language, for example, has often been used as a cultural marker to discriminate against Latinas/os” (p. 22). The author claims these forms of discrimination are ultimately racial; Puerto Ricans are just one of many groups who have been “racialized” as Latinos.
Chapter 2 studies the legal relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States during the Spanish and American colonial periods. The Spanish American War, ended by the Treaty of Paris, transferred sovereignty from Spain to the United States; although the treaty terminating Spanish citizenship,...
