Many readers will dismiss this book out of hand as a traditional biography that relies all too heavily on participant accounts of political events, in this case from the last decades of the nineteenth century to the 1930s. Luis Sánchez Morales, a key figure in Puerto Rico’s Republican party, appears as an idealistic young man during the colony’s fitful last years as a Spanish possession; as interpreter of island affairs for U.S. insular officials and politicians at the turn of the century; and as a veteran power broker in the Puerto Rican senate in the 1920s and early 1930s. While some may find this chronological organization troublesome, they must also recognize that Córdova’s work will have a long-lasting impact on political writing by Puerto Ricans.
Córdova touches on several issues of continuing import at a critical moment. The 1991 plebiscite that was definitely to determine Puerto Rico’s status in relation to the United States was called off. That same year, island voters showed vast disagreement, if not indifference, over the elements (including cultural ones) that define Puerto Rico politically vis-à-vis the United States—at least as constructed for the referendum by the party that favors commonwealth status. The 1992 election once more shaped up as a struggle among charismatic figures, who identified themselves and were identified by the public with status options but who chose to de-emphasize their political views and focus instead on social and economic concerns. Within this time frame, Córdova suggests that the status preferences and party lines that seem so familiar to Puerto Ricans today began to take shape in the early decades of this century; that arguments linking cultural loyalties to political preferences were as common then as they are now; and that politics remains unchanged in its personalistic, ideological, and practical manifestations.
Córdova delineates the development of what culminated in the statehood option. He argues that the proponents of joining the Union on an equal footing believed—as they do now—that this political option offered the island the most autonomy in its internal affairs. This group considered independence an impossible dream, and anything less than full protection under the constitution and laws of the United States an inferior alternative (p. 97). The concept of estadidad jíbara (Puerto Rican-defined statehood), Córdova shows, first made its appearance in the 1920s, when the Republican party was accused of favoring an extended colonial status because of the accommodating nature of its proposals (p. 108). Since then, the concept has gained popularity as a means of separating the status issue from cultural considerations.
Córdova also traces the origins of the often-misunderstood and highly polemical issue of culture. Sánchez Morales, like statehood supporters today, did not find Americanization incompatible with patriotism (p. 51). He saw no connection between the loss of language and Hispanic tradition and the dominant U.S. cultural presence on the island, as proponents of commonwealth and independence have repeatedly warned (p. 125). Whether the reader agrees with one group or the other, the issue is a burning and complicated one, and it owes its existence to debates almost a century old.
Finally, Córdova portrays politics as the arena of committed individuals, who attracted their followings with a healthy mix of ideas, personal traits, and practical decisions. Sánchez Morales, the author emphasizes, moved with ease in mixed political circles, as befits a dedicated public servant. Among his friends and associates were Lola Rodríguez de Tío, the well-known pro-independence poet; the Muñoz Rivera family, staunch supporters of autonomy; and Pedro Albizu Campos, a fiery nationalist and socialist. Sánchez Morales, the reader concludes, was a respected politician whose personality, beliefs, and common sense won him the admiration of many. Córdova—perhaps inadvertently, but nonetheless fortunately—denies the popular belief that charismatic appeal is the sine qua non of Latin American politics, and defends Puerto Rican voters against the even more common accusation of indiscriminately and passionately identifying with status options, thereby allowing themselves to be manipulated by self-serving politicians.
I must also point out that those who search for analysis grounded in theoretical considerations will be sadly disappointed. Córdova is not interested in exploring the vast literature on the social context in which bureaucracies operate, which perhaps could explain Sánchez Morales’ political actions better than his own personality and his individual experiences can. The book also suffers from the all-too-common treatment of Puerto Rico as an isolated and perhaps exceptional case of colonialism, so that the comparative perspective that could be obtained by examining the larger social and economic forces of this period is lost altogether. The work is also weak in drawing connections between economic concerns and political decisions, especially as they pertain to the often-mentioned but vaguely defined “fusions,” “coalitions,” “alliances,” “pacts,” and “understandings” (entendidos). Despite these shortcomings, however, this book is mandatory reading for those who wish to ground Puerto Rico’s current political scene in history. It is a welcome addition to the many fine books that have been published on the political situation of the island in those early years.
