Puerto Rico’s Paradiplomacy at the End of the 20th Century: Between Pragmatism and Identity Showcasing

Puerto Rico is a subnational entity in a particular relationship of free assocation with the US. Like many other subnational governments, it has ventured into the international arena through various channels. The 80s and 90s were a particularly active period for Puerto Rico in the context of the Second Cold War, movements towards market liberalization and regionalization and, thus, in general, the increasingly interconnected networks of commerce, production, collaboration, and even conflict. Puerto Rico’s paradiplomacy during this period involved some pragmatic continuities across the various government teams in power, but also showed different nuances in terms identitarian projection and access channels to the world stage, taking into account the relationship with the US. Attention is focused on three of Puerto Rico’s paradiplomatic strategies during the time: (1) leadership in economic development collaboration with the Greater Caribbean, (2) an identitarian project to insert the Island in international organizations within the specialized UN circuit and the growing Iberoamerican world community, (3) alignment with the US hemispheric initiatives by strengthening the possibilities to serve as an intercultural continental bridge for commerce, production, and collaboration, and (4) the exploration of tax paradiplomacy by looking for a viable way to reach double-tax avoidance agreements with other countries taking into account the restrictions imposed by US jurisdiction over Puerto Rican international affairs and keeping in mind the context of PR and the US being two separate entities for tax purposes.