Puerto Rico's constitutional paradox : colonial subordination, democratic tension and promise of progressive transformation / Jorge M Farinacci-Fernós.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farinacci-Fernós, Jorge M, author.

Series:

Constitutionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean ; v. 2.

Constitutionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean ; Volume 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional history--Puerto Rico.

Constitutional history.

Puerto Rico--Politics and government.

Puerto Rico.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 198 pages).

Place of Publication:

Gordonsville, Virginia : Hart Publishing, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023.

Summary:

This book explains how the People of Puerto Rico managed to adopt a constitution whose content and process were both original and colonialist, participatory and undemocratic, as well as progressive and anticlimactic. It looks in detail at the rich contradictions of the Puerto Rican constitutional experience, focusing on the history and content of the 1952 Constitution. This constitution is the only constitutional document written by the Puerto Rican People themselves after more than 500 years of Spanish and US colonialism. By exploring Puerto Rico's unique history and constitutional experience the book shines a spotlight on key emerging themes of comparative constitutional studies in this area: state constitutionalism, the persistence of colonial relationships in the Caribbean, and the continued development of constitutionalism in Latin America. The book delves deep into the particular experience of Puerto Rican constitutionalism which combines elements of colonialism, democratic tensions, and progressive policies. It explains how these features converge in a constitutional project that has endured for 70 years and continues its contradictory development. It considers issues such as the island's colonial history, including its conflicting relationship with democratic values and the constant presence of social movements and their struggles. It also explores the content of the 1952 Constitution, focusing on its progressive substantive policy, particularly its rights provisions, its amendment procedures, and the governmental structure it set up.

Contents:

Intro

Acknowledgements

Contents

Table of Cases

1. Concepts and Structure

I. Overview

II. Constitutional Components

III. Conceptual Factors

IV. Integrated Analytical Structure

2. Puerto Rico before 1952

I. A History of Subordination and Authoritarian Antecedents: Spanish Colonialism and Early US Domination

II. Puerto Rico's Territorial Status Prior to 1952

III. The Unfulfilled Potential of Puerto Rico's Quest for Social Justice

3. The Constitutional Creation Process

I. In the Shadow of Colonialism

II. Democratic Mechanisms and Majoritarian Preferences

III. An Exercise in, Sometimes, Radical Politics

4. The 1952 Constitution (Structure)

I. A Colonial Constitution

II. The Direct Impact of Colonialism on the Political Structure and Amendment Mechanisms

III. Democratic Deficits: The Political Structure of the 1952 Constitution

IV. Amendment: Substantive and Procedural Limitations

5. The 1952 Constitution (Substance)

I. A Substantive, Progressive, and Social Constitution

II. Human Dignity, Equality, and Discrimination

III. Other Political Rights

IV. Criminal Procedure Guarantees

V. Socioeconomic Rights

VI. Section 19

VII. Other Substantive Policy Provisions

VIII. Congressional Anti-socialist Veto and Puerto Rican Colonial Acceptance

6. Puerto Rico under the 1952 Constitution

I. Introduction

II. A History of Judicial Underenforcement and Nominal Lip Service

III. The Illusion of Decolonisation, Autonomy, and Sort-of Equal Treatment

IV. Democratic Crisis: The New Two-party System, Political Repression, and Armed Struggle

7. Recent Developments Regarding the Puerto Rican Constitutional Project

I. Colonialism in the Twenty-first Century

II. The 1952 Constitution's Internal Democratic Blind Spots Finally Emerge.

III. The Constitution, Class Struggle, and Police Power during the Pandemic

IV. Final Thoughts

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Farinacci-Fernós, Jorge M. Puerto Rico's Constitutional Paradox

ISBN:

9781509953479

1509953477

9781509953486

1509953485

OCLC:

1368039900