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Going it Alone: Puerto Rico’s Olympic Moment

By mdavis

Late night Olympics-watchers may have noticed that Puerto Rico marches and competes in the Olympics under its own flag, even though Puerto Rico’s athletes are citizens of the United States.  A fascinating blog by Michael McCann explains why the International Olympic Committee considers Puerto Rico to be an independent nation, and why the argument for Washington, D.C.’s participation as an independent Olympic team is weaker.

Puerto Rico’s independent Olympic status might be viewed as a harbinger of things to come on the international stage.   On June 20, a special UN Committee approved a draft resolution calling on the US to expedite a process for Puerto Rico’s self-determination and independence.  A few months earlier, Puerto Rico’s Public Affairs Secretary, Jesus Manuel Ortiz, characterized the fiscal issues facing Puerto Rico as a humanitarian crisis.  Testifying before the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, Ortiz asked the body to put continued diplomatic pressure on the US to address the economic and social rights issues facing Puerto Rico, including basic issues of education, healthcare and security.

In the near term, however, these fiscal developments have led to further limitations on Puerto Rico’s autonomy.  In a rare (these days) bipartisan act, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law a debt bill designed to allow Puerto Rico to get out from under its $70 billion in debt through a restructuring process.   Yet, as pointed out by Senator Bernie Sanders and others, the restructuring process usurps some of Puerto Rico’s independence while doing nothing to resolve the underlying fiscal issues that led to the humanitarian impacts.

Puerto Rico has won 8 Olympic medals over the years, all silver or bronze.  Another medal in the Rio Olympics would undoubtedly lift spirits on the island.  But — as US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew noted during a visit last spring — the humanitarian situation is looming, and even high profile sports victories claimed by an independent Puerto Rico team will do little to relieve the ongoing challenges facing its citizens.