U.S. Army recruiters target working-class youth by selling empty promises. The youth in colonized Puerto Rico are proving that they are not interested.
According to Pentagon data, only around 120 people per 100,000 Puerto Ricans enlisted in the Army or Reserves between 2003 and 2006. The average number of enlistees in states like Alabama, Kansas, Montana and Oklahoma was approximately 200 people per 100,000 residents.
This phenomenon is largely due to the opt-out rates in the island.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all schools receiving U.S. federal funding must provide students’ names, addresses and phone numbers to the military unless a parent signs an opt-out form. Puerto Rico has received $1.88 billion in U.S. education funds this year.
For five years, organizations like the Puerto Rican Independence Party have issued opt-out forms to 120,000 students and encouraged their parents to sign. Independence activists expect this year to mark their most successful effort yet.
In the United States, only 10 percent of students fill out opt-out forms.
In Puerto Rico, the number is an astonishing 60 percent. It reflects the fact that an overwhelming majority Puerto Ricans—75 percent—oppose the occupation of Iraq.
More anti-war sentiment has been spurred by the growing number of Puerto Ricans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers’ deaths have been widely publicized and publicly mourned. This too has deterred potential recruits from enlisting.
A strong anti-war movement is sweeping through Puerto Rico. Activists and organizers have vowed to continue the struggle to keep as many Puerto Ricans out of the armed forces as possible.
