Puerto Rican Migration

In Rodriguez’s writing an important question being asked is why have so many Puerto Ricans left the island during the twentieth century? Before the twentieth century the population of Puerto Rico had been growing. Rodriguez claims that the most important element in understanding Puerto Rican migration is the historical context. Also, she states that this is the least visible element of the massive decrease in population. There are several causes for migration presented in the writing, but Rodriquez believes that the most influential force is the political relationship between Puerto Rico and the mainland. The large changes in Puerto Rican economy started when the mainland invaded. The island turned into a sugar-crop economy, but because of the lack of investment the sugar industry greatly declined. Rodriguez states, “These factors propelled the first waves of Puerto Ricans to the mainland in search of a better life”. (Rodriguez, pg. 103) This continued into the thirties until WWII boosted the economy. Operation Bootstrap was established as a means of increasing the economy by bringing industries to the island. However, this did not work. Rodriguez states, “As a result, these industries had little indirect employment …show more content…
In 1949, The Migration Division office of Chicago was established. The main job of this division was to orient migrant workers and help them acquire employment. However, promoting integration and equality in society became their main goal. The office did not want the nativist backlash seen in New York City to happen to the migrants in Chicago. The office worked with councils and confronted news sources to keep an overall positive opinion of Puerto Rican migrants. On first glace this seems as if the office was truly caring, however were they really just making sure they kept a dependable labor force readily