On September 14, 2023, the Puerto Rico Advisory Committee held a virtual briefing to receive testimony on economic perspectives concerning the Insular Cases and the Doctrine of Unincorporated Territory and their effects on the civil rights of Puerto Rico residents. This was a continuation of the in-person briefing held on May 10, 2023, which resulted in the Committee’s first memorandum.1 This memorandum is the second and final part of the “General Overview” phase of this study.
The Committee plans to continue organizing briefings to receive input on the following subtopics approved in July 2022: (1) voting rights/lack of political representation, (2) racial/national discrimination, and (3) access to public programs. The Committee will publish memoranda on these subtopics throughout its term, culminating in a final report with the recommendations developed by the Committee.
This memorandum is organized to share the main findings identified in the testimony directly described by the panelists and includes external sources where necessary. It begins with historical context, and the final sections focus on recommendations shared in the testimony along with the Committee’s preliminary recommendations regarding the “General Overview” phase. The Committee’s final recommendations will be included in the final report of this study.