Puerto Rico’s Constitutional Paradox: Colonial Subordination, Democratic Tension, and Promise of Progressive Transformation (Constitutionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean) - Softcover

Farinacci-Fernós, Jorge M

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1509953507 ISBN 13: 9781509953509

Publisher: Hart Publishing, 2024

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Authors

Jorge M Farinacci-Fernós is Associate Professor at the School of Law, Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

Richard Albert is Director of Constitutional Studies, William Stamps Farish Professor in Law and Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Carlos Bernal is Professor of Law at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

Catarina Santos Botelho is Professor of Law and Chair of Constitutional Law at Porto Faculty of Law, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal. She is also a member of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509953507
• ISBN 13: 9781509953509
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216