In honor of the 250th birthday of the United States, Coca-Cola is issuing 52 mini cans with designs for all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. They call the collection “Collectible State Cans” and invite their fans to the “Collect the Country experience.” Sure, they want everyone to buy Puerto Rico Coke along with the other 51 designs, but their choices are also making a statement.
When Puerto Rico is a state
Puerto Rico is not a state. It is an unincorporated territory belonging to the United States. But it has a state quarter, issued in 2009 and usually included in collections of and discussions of state quarters.
In some federal statutes and regulations, ‘State’ is a defined term that includes Puerto Rico for that program or chapter. The law itself will refer to “states,” but the definitions section will say something like this:
- “The term ‘State’ means the several States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.”
- “For purposes of this section, ‘State’ includes Puerto Rico.”
- “The term ‘United States’ includes Puerto Rico” in a particular program context.
That kind of language is common in federal statutes and agency rules because Congress often wants Puerto Rico covered by a program without changing its political status.
President George H.W. Bush sent a memorandum to federal executive branch departments and agencies saying “I hereby direct all Federal departments, agencies, and officials, to the extent consistent with the Constitution and the laws of the United States, henceforward to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a State, except insofar as doing so with respect to an existing Federal program or activity would increase or decrease Federal receipts or expenditures, or would seriously disrupt the operation of such program or activity.” Bush, like Reagan, Ford, Biden, and many more presidents, specifically said that he favored statehood. But in this memorandum he just directed agencies to behave as though Puerto Rico already were a state.
What’s the message?
Puerto Rico isn’t making a mini-can for Guam or the Virgin Islands, Venezuela or Greenland, or even Alberta. Including Puerto Rico among the state in coins or laws or soda cans isn’t proof that the decision makers support statehood for Puerto Rico — though the majority of Americans, including Puerto Ricans, do. It shows that Puerto Rico is already integrated into American life far beyond what any previous territory achieved before statehood.
It’s high time Puerto Rico became a state. Lift a Puerto Rico Coke can to statehood, and share that news with your legislators.
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