Panel Discussion

Nationalism is primarily associated with xenophobia and exclusionary politics in the world today. My presentation examines how and why the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party practiced a very different understanding of nationalism. For them, nationalism meant national sovereignty and an end to U.S. colonial rule of the island. But it simultaneously signified Puerto Rico's reincorporation with its sister republics across the Caribbean and Latin America. The meaning they gave to nationalism aligned with that of anti-imperialist governments, organizations, and individuals throughout the region.