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PUERTO RICO'S ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE ON U.S.   Term Paper ID:18787 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Its role in domination & exploitation of women in that poor country. History, labor, wages, sexism, family relations.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Its role in domination & exploitation of women in that poor country. History, labor, wages, sexism, family relations. Paper Introduction: The island of Puerto Rico has been economically dependent on the United States since the beginning of the twentieth century. Because of this dependency, Puerto Rican workers have long experienced domination and exploitation at the hands of American bosses. This dependency has had a strong impact on the lives of the women of Puerto Rico. To the extent that male workers are exploited, Puerto Rican women workers are doubly so, because they experience severe sexual discrimination in both the workplace and at home. The struggle for equality among Puerto Rican women has been long and hard, and such equality has not yet been attained. This paper will examine the economic dependence of Puerto Rico on the United States, and will relate that dependency to the experiences of the Puerto Rican women. The dependency theory is one of many economic theories used Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Atthat time, the leaders of the United States decided to try an experiment toincrease economic development in Puerto Rico. economy" (p. Pico de Hernandez, Isabel. The island of Puerto Rico has been economically dependent on theUnited States since the beginning of the twentieth century. By the late 193 's,Puerto Rico's economic dependence on the United States was firmlyestablished. Puerto Rico's dependency upon the United States has resulted in theeconomic oppression of the Puerto Rican people as a whole. This is based on the stereotypicalview that men are stronger than women and should therefore be the providersfor the family. We, the Puerto Rican people: A story ofoppression and resistance. Rather than helping to decrease Puerto Rican dependency,"Operation Bootstrap" had the effect of creating a vicious cycle in whichPuerto Ricans needed the United States to provide them with both jobs andimported goods. However, thisobviously did not give Puerto Rican workers greater independence. As noted by one contemporary writer,Puerto Rican women today are still conditioned to accept the idea that"husbands dictate; wives submit" (Pariser, 1989, p. In fact, it is apparent that development for Puerto Ricanwomen hinges in part on the development of the nation as a whole.Increased independence and financial development of the nation as a wholewould help to gradually improve the status of women in Puerto Rico. businesses gained stronger control over the economy of PuertoRico. flag began to turn Puerto Rico into aclassic monocultural colony, directed by business interests and dominatedby capital methods of productions" (Dietz, 1986, pp. In this regard, it can be seen that traditionally femaleoccupations such as domestic service and needlework are "both very low instatus and lacking in real possibilities for occupational mobility" (Chaneyand Schmink, 198 , p. The economic dependence of Puerto Rico onthe United States has done little, if anything, to help solve this problem. Women became incorporated into the Puerto Rican labor force shortlyafter the rise of U.S. The wages received bywomen doing needlework in their own homes were even lower. Rix, ed. industries in Puerto Rico gave the women of thatnation new opportunities for employment, and thus for seeking theirindependence. Sex and Class in Latin America: women'sPerspectives on Politics, Economics and the Family in the Third World.June Nash and Helen Icken Safa, eds. 38). (198 ). In the home, either thehusband or father typically dominates over the lives of wives anddaughters. 8-24). At the end of that war, the United States came intopossession of Puerto Rico as one of its overseas territories. Theend result of this process was increased U.S. Thus,the operation is seen today as "a monument not to economic progress but tothe costs and dangers inherent in a development program based upon capital-intensive, foreign-owned, vertically integrated, and export-orientedcorporate expansion" (Dietz, 1986, p. Thus, despite the noble anddemocratic aims which are contained in most modernization efforts, the endresult of such efforts is usually that women are "systematically excludedfrom the tools of progress and their benefits" (Chaney and Schmink, 198 ,p. The adventure guide to Puerto Rico.Edison, N.J.: Hunter Publishing. 176). New York: Harper and Row. Therefore, the United States government decided to set up its ownenterprises on the island in order to profit from the sugar trade.American businesses were given tax breaks in return for setting up branchesin Puerto Rico. This larger problem is an important factor in determining the futurefor Puerto Rican women in their struggle for equality. Pariser, Harry S. This paperwill examine the economic dependence of Puerto Rico on the United States,and will relate that dependency to the experiences of the Puerto Ricanwomen. For example, even theeducational policies of Puerto Rico have been geared toward perpetuatingthe oppressive economic system which has existed since the turn of thecentury. Researchers Elsa M. 31). 11). 51-63. The dependency theorywhich helps to explain the relationship between the United States andPuerto Rico can be used to help explain the subjugation of Puerto Ricanwomen as well. The dependency theorywas first introduced in the late 194 's by the economist Raul Prebisch ofthe United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (Curet, 1986, p.14). In thisway, U.S. It has been noted that "women making embroideryand lace in factories generally earned only about 2 to 6 cents a day, andsince most women did not work full time, weekly wages in 1918, for example,were only about $2 to $3" (Dietz, 1986, p. In thisregard, it may be noted that the experience of Puerto Rican women workersis one of "double oppression" (Silen, 1971, p. Cortes, Sonia Rodriguez. In particular, "Operation Bootstrap"made Puerto Ricans further dependent upon the United States for the bulk oftheir trade economy. Women andmodernization: Access to tools. New York:Franklin Watts. capitalists andencouraged the establishment not only of new sugar plantations on theisland, but also of tobacco, textile, and other industrial concerns. Puerto Rico: Development by integration tothe U.S. As noted byone commentator on that period, "in the agricultural phase, more women wereemployed on tobacco farms than in the production of any other crop; in theindustrial phase of cigar production, women workers were the largest andmost rapidly growing segment of the wage-labor force in the early decadesof the century" (Dietz, 1986, p. New York: Praeger Publishers,pp. 7 ). June Nash and Helen Icken Safa, eds. The fact that "Operation Bootstrap" served merely tostrengthen U.S. As such, the economic plight of Puerto Rican women in theirown country has given them an awareness of their common subjugation insociety. Elena Vialo, trans. Before the Spaniardscame, the island of Puerto Rico consisted of an indigenous population ofTaino Indians. Thewhole purpose of this type of training was, of course, to enable Americanmanufacturers to continue to exploit the Puerto Rican women with low-paying, menial jobs. Safa, Helen Icken. The struggle for equality among Puerto Rican women has beenlong and hard, and such equality has not yet been attained. The stereotype of the submissive female was very strong in PuertoRican society until the end of the nineteenth century. As noted by one economist, "the flow ofcapital that followed the U.S. A key ideain the dependency theory is that there is an unequal relationship betweenthe central and peripheral nations. TheAmerican Woman, 1987-88: A Report in Depth. It canbe seen that this dependency theory is directly applicable to the situationwhich exists in Puerto Rico today. In thisregard, it has been noted that nearly half of the women in the Puerto Ricanlabor force have university educations, and yet "it appears that althoughhigher levels of schooling may provide more formal sector employmentopportunities, the salaries and working conditions often do not meet thehigher expectations that accompany a college degree" (p. In fact, today, women still make up approximatelyhalf of the total work force in the textile industry (Fisher, 1989, p. In the yearsfollowing the American acquisition, Puerto Rico has not been given a chancefor its own economic development, nor has it been given opportunities forindependence from foreign domination. Because thewomen are strongly subordinated in both home and work, they are limited intheir capabilities to improve their own situation. It is interesting to notethat, before the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century, the TainoIndians of Puerto Rico had a matrilineal society in which women were givenat least equal rights and opportunities as those of men (Cortes, 1986-1987,p. Thus, as a rule, "tobacco stripping andclassification of leaves were done mostly by women, while the cigars weremade by men" (Quintero, 1979, p. 143). Thus, just as a stronger nation is capable of exploiting aweaker nation, the stronger men of a society are able to dominate overtheir weaker wives and daughters. As it had done for the men, "OperationBootstrap" provided numerous new job opportunities for the women of PuertoRico. Class consciousness among working-classwomen in Latin America: Puerto Rico. In addition to the fact that most Puerto Ricans were working inexport trades, dependency on U.S. Puerto Rico: A socio-historicinterpretation. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Cultural. New York: Monthly Review Press. The subjugation of Puerto Ricanwomen in the home and in the workplace is based on the sexual stereotypesheld by Puerto Rican men and also on the economic dependence of the nationas a whole. (1989). Over the years, there have beencontinued opportunities for women in textile, domestic, tobacco, andclerical industries. In 1898, the United States and Spain engaged in the Spanish-American War. 73).Even Puerto Rican women who have obtained a college-level educationcontinue to be treated as second-class citizens in the job market. The development of capitalism inPuerto Rico and the incorporation of women into the labor force. This awareness in turn provides the foundation for working towardgreater freedom and equality. (1986). 69-85. Because ofthis dependency, Puerto Rican workers have long experienced domination andexploitation at the hands of American bosses. In fact,it perpetuated the system in which American industries were given dominanceover the lives of the Puerto Ricans. 453). Thesubservient sex roles for Puerto Rican women are conditioned at a veryearly age. 98).At the same time, however, Puerto Rican women continue to be subjected to"the poorest and worst jobs" in all of the industries which are open tothem (Steiner, 1974, p. The tobacco industry was one area in which Puerto Rican women foundvast employment opportunities in the early twentieth century. Women in the third world. dominance over the Puerto Rican economy shows that theprogram as a whole was a failure in terms of its expressed goals. (198 ). "Operation Bootstrap" in the 194 's caused Puerto Rican women workersto become even more exploited. The relatively stable society of the Taino Indians waspermanently disrupted when Spanish conquistadors came to the New World insearch of gold and other mineral resources to support their empire. Petrovich, Janice, and Sandra Laureano. 277). Even in modern times, virginity is considered a vitalcharacteristic for unmarried Puerto Rican women. The centralnations in the dependency relationship are powerful, wealthy,industrialized nations seeking to expand their wealth on an internationallevel. 53). In fact,dependency upon Spain was simply traded for dependency upon the UnitedStates. However, the new employmentopportunities which were given to women were prone to sexualdiscrimination. 212). 2537. The sexual subordinationof women in both home and society is strongly reinforced by theconditioning which is received by both Puerto Rican boys and girls. Chaney and Marianne Schmink havepointed out that there is a tendency in modernization for men to dominatein terms of access to both tools and power. 277-287. Despite all the problems that it has caused for Puerto Rican women,it is interesting to note that the nation's dependency on the United Stateshas also opened up a unique opportunity for those women in their strugglefor equality. This situation changed somewhatfollowing the establishment of U.S. (1987). This traditional attitude has caused the men of Puerto Rico to "see womenas inferior beings - and this in spite of so-called legal equality" (Silen,1971, pp. Maldonado-Denis, Manuel. 98-99). As such, in the early 19 s, "in elementary school, girls spenthalf their time at more or less traditional studies, but the other halfthey devoted to learning needlework skills" (Dietz, 1986, pp. This has the impact offurther suppressing the women of the nation, because it emphasizes theirweakness and isolation as well as defining their role in accordance withthe wishes of men. References Chaney, Elsa M., and Marianne Schmink. dominance over the economiclives of the Puerto Rican people. In 1952, Puerto Rico became an official commonwealth of the UnitedStates, and the influence of "Operation Bootstrap" has continued to be feltsince that time. dominance in Puerto Rico. However, the program ironicallyresulted in an increased dependency on U.S. In fact, it has contributed to it in various ways. Inaddition, it may be noted that "sexual subordination in Latin America isalso masked by a female mystique, often called Marianismo, by which theideal female role is compared to the Virgin Mary, long-suffering but nevercomplaining, sheltered and protected from evil worldly influences" (Safa,198 , p. 8-24). This gave a strong incentive to many U.S. In fact, after 1898, "Puerto Rico'seconomic life became increasingly tied to and dependent on the decisions ofU.S. Even in the informal economic sector, whereboth men and women do odd-jobs and under-the-table work, women continue tobe segregated into the lower-paying jobs that are stereotypicallyconsidered to be their domain (Petrovich and Laureano, 1986-1987, p. Edna Acosta-Belen, ed. The dependency of Puerto Rican women in their work reflects the lowerstatus of women in the Puerto Rican family. Women workers in Puerto Rico are thuseconomically dependent upon both American bosses and Puerto Rican men. The United States serves as the centralnation in the relationship, with the people of Puerto Rico receiving thebrunt of the oppression which is typically felt by peripheral nations. capitalists and on the U.S. The islands: The worlds of the PuertoRicans. 8-24. In fact, therewas an impressive increase in the number of Puerto Rican women employed byAmerican businesses at that time. Furthermore, the very nature of the jobswhich are available to the women is such that it keeps them at a lowerlevel in society. (1979). Massachusetts: Bergin &Garvey Publishers, pp. In this regard, "capitalism opened thelabor market to women and offered a somewhat wider spectrum of employmentpossibilities, but at the same time it increased their exploitation as wageearners" Quintero, 1979, p. 78). As a result of this life-longconditioning, "females in Puerto Rico tend to have their roles more clearlymarked than does the male" (Christensen, 1979, p. However, under Spanish rulership, Puerto Rican women becameincreasingly subordinated to men, as was the norm of the Western model inSpain. Homines 1 (2): pp. Even modernizationhas done little to help ease the situation for women in Puerto Rico. It is clearly understood that the basic sex role forPuerto Rican women is a domestic one. Whenever acentral nation establishes power in a peripheral nation, a one-sidedeconomic relationship develops in which the center gets increasinglystronger and richer and the periphery becomes increasingly neglected. (1986-1987). Thus, "by 1939, all but 2 percent ofPuerto Rican exports were sold to the United States and 91" percent of itsimports were purchased from the United States" (pp. Research has shown that between theyears 1899 and 191 , female employment on Puerto Rico increased by 61.2percent, whereas male employment increased by only 17.7 percent during thesame period (Quintero, 1979, p. 14). In the last few decades, an increasing numberof professional jobs have also opened up for Puerto Rican women. Thus, in America, such women still find it difficult to findgood paying jobs while at the same time continuing to be subjugated to asecondary role within their own homes (Zambrana, 1987, p. Theseprofessions caused the women to find themselves "holding the lowest-paidjobs and working under sordid conditions" (p. Steiner, Stan. TheIndians were put to work as slave labor, thus beginning the system of ThirdWorld exploitation which has continued to characterize Puerto Rico to thepresent day. Edna Acosta-Belen,ed. When the United States gained control of the island, the sugarcrop had already been established as a powerful export industry in PuertoRico. (1971). This dependency has had astrong impact on the lives of the women of Puerto Rico. Infact, if anything, modernization has actually made sexual discrimination inthe job market worse. 11). Towards ananalysis of Puerto Rican women and the informal economy. However, economic dependence on the United States alsocaused women to be subjugated to a lower level than that which the malePuerto Rican worker underwent. Because of this, there was little domestic production and thePuerto Rican people were thereby forced to depend upon U.S. The history of women's strugglefor equality in Puerto Rico. 16 -176. New York: Praeger Publishers, pp. The main reason why this system of sexual subjugation continuedto exist in Puerto Rico's job market at that time can be seen in the factthat women workers were still expected to work at the most menial jobs.Thus, the low salaries of Puerto Rican women following the implementationof "Operation Bootstrap" "reflected the fact that women are concentrated inthe manufacture of nondurable consumer goods, such as textiles, clothing,leather goods, and tobacco, where pay is considerably lower than in suchdurable goods as metal, stone, or glass products, where men predominate"(Safa, 198 , p. During the first decade following the implementationof the "Operation Bootstrap" program, there was a dramatic increase interms of Puerto Rican employment in American-owned firms. As noted by one Puerto Rican writer, theeconomic conditions of that nation have caused women to become acutelyaware of their shared inferior status: "For the first time in our history,women recognized a collective experience for members of their sex anddefined that experience as a position of subjugation. Becauselocal agriculture was de-emphasized in favor of American industry, thePuerto Rican people even became dependent upon the United States for theirfood. 118). (1974). 72). 14-15). 1 6-1 7). Sara E. imports inorder to meet their basic needs. imports continued to increase in theyears following "Operation Bootstrap." Thus, "in conjunction with theexpansion of manufacturing industries after the 194 s, there was anincrease in Puerto Rico's dependency on the import of foodstuffs and otherconsumer goods from the United States" (Quintero, 1979, pp. For this reason, Puerto Rican women were given jobs asdomestic servants, tobacco strippers, and home needleworkers. Since the 196 s, there have been an increasing number of Puerto Ricanwomen who have become engaged in a struggle for equality. economic domination. Even Puerto Rican women who migrate with theirfamilies to the United States continue to experience the problems of doubleoppression. 117). The idealistic goal ofAmerica's "Operation Bootstrap" was to relieve some of the economicdependency of the Puerto Rican people. However, women workers in PuertoRico, in addition to being subjugated by American employers, experiencesevere sexual discrimination from the men of their own society. As aresult, the people of the peripheral nation experience increasedexploitation and poverty in contrast to the dominant nation's gain. As noted by one commentator, the end result of "OperationBootstrap" was to create a system of economic dependence with Puerto Ricoserving the United States "as one of her captive markets" (Maldonado-Denis,1972, p. (1972). Dietz, James L. This increase inU.S. industries. In fact, the woman is seen as a financial burden to the family;completely useless except for her housekeeping and child-rearing abilities. Homine (2): pp.7 -8 . 99). This newconsciousness was based on the new roles of women as producers, introducedby the process of industrialization" (Hernandez, 1979, p. Theincreased number of jobs provided by American industry at that time gavePuerto Rican women many new opportunities for employment. Puerto Rico's dependency on the United States can be traced back tothe late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 1 5). Sex and Class in Latin America:Women's Perspectives on Politics, Economics and the Family in the ThirdWorld. Until that time, itwas clearly understood that the woman's only role in life was to take careof the home and to raise children. Socio-cultural-religiousbackground of Puerto Rican women. However, as in the earlier period of U.S. There were various reasons why home needlework brought in lowsalaries for Puerto Rican women. Economic history of Puerto Rico:Institutional change and capitalist development. 8 ). It may be noted that tobaccostrippers received a much lower salary than other workers in the industry.Many Puerto Rican women at the turn of the century also became employed inthe Americandominated clothing and textile industries. 118-119). The Puerto Rican Woman. The Puerto Rican woman: A profile.The Puerto Rican Woman. 35). 159). (1979). However, the wages received by women in thisindustry were very low. However, despite the large numbersof women working in the tobacco industry, the wages and working conditionsfor women were much worse than those for the men in the same profession.The respective jobs for men and women in the Puerto Rican tobacco industrywere sharply divided by sex. According to this theory, industrialized nations are considered to becentral nations and the Third World nations which are exploited by theindustrialized nations are considered to be peripheral nations. 262-266.----------------------- 1 (1986-1987). The peripheral nations, on the other hand, are the underdeveloped,non-industrialized Third World nations which possess mineral and humanlabor resources which the central nations wish to exploit. However,even there, "the increase has been practically absorbed by teaching andnursing, which have traditionally been seen as 'female' occupations"(Quintero, 1979, pp. Even if a woman works at a job in Puerto Rico, she isexpected to come home and do housework as well. domination, the womenworkers continued to receive lower wages and poorer working conditions thanthe men. In order to earn a living, nearly all Puerto Rican citizensfound themselves working at jobs which involved manufacturing for Americanmarkets. (1979). 159-16 ). However, thetransfer of power from Spain to the United States did little to encouragefurther development of the Puerto Rican people themselves. Silen, Juan Angel. New York: PraegerPublishers, pp. Thus, the dependency and subjugation of Puerto Rican women areclearly seen in their status in work. 262). To the extent thatmale workers are exploited, Puerto Rican women workers are doubly so,because they experience severe sexual discrimination in both the workplaceand at home. (1986). 3 9). Itcannot be denied that Puerto Rico's current difficulties with economicdevelopment are "intimately connected to its colonial relation with theUnited States, which has delimited in large measure the developmentpossibilities and the acceptable strategies for growth" (Dietz, 1986, p.281). In this regard, it has been noted that"this theory claimed that there is a tendency for international trade andthe structure of the world capitalist system to concentrate income in thecountries with a more advanced form of social organization, therebywidening the inequalities between countries" (pp. Numerous sewing andneedlework jobs were given out to women, who were able to work either infactories or at home. Norton and Company, pp. 174). This new economic program,known as "Operation Bootstrap," involved "the promotion of direct privatecapital investment and the establishment of private manufacturingenterprises for export to the U.S." (Curet, 1986, p. The dependency theory is one of many economic theories used toexplain relations between industrialized nations such as the United Stateswith the underdeveloped nations of the Third World. Zambrana, Ruth E. The Spanish conquest of PuertoRico did not begin until the early sixteenth century. Massachusetts: Bergin & GarveyPublishers, pp. ThePuerto Rican Woman. By the 194 's, this system of dependency was causing the people ofPuerto Rico to experience extreme poverty as well as social oppression. Quintero, Marcia Rivera. Edna Acosta-Belen, ed. Thus, "the traditionalsubordination of women in the patriarchal family, found at all class levelsin Latin American society, limits her autonomy, freedom, and self-confidence" (Safa, 198 , p. Curet, Eliezer. Latinas in the United States. In this regard,home needleworkers usually averaged as low as 2 cents per hour or less (pp.142-143). Fisher, Maxine P. dominance on the island. Prior to that time, theisland nation had experienced four hundred years of colonization andexploitation under the domination of Spain. In one sense, theestablishment of U.S. New York: W.W. Even in modern times, the women of Puerto Ricocontinue to experience the type of sexual discrimination which hastraditionally been forced upon them. Christensen, Edward W. New York: Vintage Books. However, astate of equality for women in Puerto Rico has not yet been attained.Therefore, the struggle of that nation's women will continue to be animportant factor in the future as well. One reason is because the women were paidonly a small amount of money for each piece of clothing that they sewed.In addition, the textile industry was dominated by exploitativesubcontractors who received commissions for each article of clothing.These subcontractors were only willing to give a small percentage of theiroverall commissions to the women who actually did all the work (p. commercial dominance was coupled with a dramatic decrease in thenumber of locally-owned firms on the island (Dietz, 1986, p. (1989). Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press. As little girls, they are taught that their role in life ismuch more limited than that of boys. 13). In this regard,both male and female workers have been harshly exploited and underpaid bytheir employment in U.S. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.