Exploring How Colonialism Blames Puerto Rico for its Corruption

A feature of colonialism lies in blaming the colonized for its oppression. Our study explored the role of corruption in the Puerto Rican experience. We analyzed interview data from 19 island-born Puerto Ricans living in the United States (US) to accomplish this goal. Four themes emerged that describ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Centro journal 2022-06, Vol.34 (2), p.75-94
Main Authors: Rosario, Cristalis Capielo, Adames, Hector Y, Muro-Rodriguez, Nancy J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Colonialism
Corruption
Deception
Dominance
Exploitation
Geopolitics
Internalization
Misconduct
Narratives
Negligence
Nepotism
Oppression
Political corruption
Political economy
Political power
Public finance
Public officials
Puerto Ricans
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A feature of colonialism lies in blaming the colonized for its oppression. Our study explored the role of corruption in the Puerto Rican experience. We analyzed interview data from 19 island-born Puerto Ricans living in the United States (US) to accomplish this goal. Four themes emerged that describe corruption and (anti)corruption narratives across two levels, including (a) public and (b) individual, coupled with sub-themes within each level. Public corruption was characterized as political dominance, nepotism/palas, financial negligence, and misconduct. Corruption at the individual level was classified as deviancy, deception or defrauding/meter cuentos, and overlooking corruption. At both levels, (anti)corruption narratives connoted Puerto Ricans' inability to eliminate corruption. Increased control of the US government over Puerto Rico was seen as the (anti)corruption solution to public and individual corruption. We conclude by discussing how narratives of Puerto Rican corruption is a psychological manifestation of US colonialism in Puerto Rico that fuels colonial portrayals of internalized corruption narratives. [Keywords: colonialism, internalized oppression, corruption, (anti)corruption, Puerto Ricans]
ISSN:1538-6279
2163-2960