Sixty eight years ago the Republic was established. When, in September 23th 1868 our forebears proclaimed our independence of Spain, they solemnly asserted that the revolution was not established in any complaint against our Fatherland Mother.

Puerto Rico was rich in name and in reality; our Christian homestead had created a model family and a solid society; the nation was appearing in the forefront of modern civilization.

Great men in all the fields of human conquest were making honor to their homeland; privileged mentalities as Stahl and Tanguis in the natural sciences; Morel Campos, the musical genius; Oller and Campeche, masters in painting; great thinkers as De Hostos; poets inspired of pure spirituality as Gautier Benítez; sea men with the greatness of admiral don Ramón Power; New World liberating soldiers, as marshall Valero and general Rius Rivera; statesmen and noble patriots as Betances; spiritual directors of a generous nation, hospitable and peaceful, as bishop Arizmendi.

These were distinctive figures of the great men and great women legions of a nation, that during three centuries had served as base for the expansion of the Christian civilization in the Americas.

It should not be forgotten that a Puerto Rico expedition under Ponce de Leon command, settled cross in the North American continent in 1531, hundred of years before Jamestown foundation in Virginia.

The Republic founders in the 68 fought by the principle of the fact that no nation will be owner of another nation's destination.

This principle is the base of international law and universal civilization and it can not be violated under the pretext of any convenience.

It's the principle of human dignity formulated from the modern world civilization, recognized this fundamental principle of international relationship as our 1868 forebears exposed it, and conceded to Puerto Rico the Great Autonomous Letter, by virtue of which the relationships between Spain and Puerto Rico would have to be regulated by treaties, thus recognizing our country as a sovereign, free and independent nation.

This recognition of our place among the free nations family was irrevocable and obligatory for every power, and it could never be at the mercy of our Fatherland Mother's war vicissitudes or any other war.

The Paris treaty, imposed by force by the United States to Spain, April 11th 1889, it's void and without value in what it relates to Puerto Rico. Therefore, the United States military intervention in our fatherland, it's simply one of the most brutal and abusive acts than may have been perpetuated in the contemporary history.

We demand the withdrawal of the United States armed forces of our soil as natural and legitimate defense of Puerto Rico independence .

We are not as lucky as our 1868 forebears. They combatted for the pure principle of the national sovereignty. They had no complaint against the Fatherland Mother, Spain.

We must base claims against United States of North America as compensation because of the huge damages systematically and cool-blooded perpetrated against a peaceful and defenseless nation.

Puerto Rico's favorable commercial balance during NorthAmerica's thirty-five years long military intervention throws approximately in numbers four hundred million dollars in gold . In accordance with that important quantity, Puerto Rico should be one of the richest and prosperous countries all over the planet. In fact, misery is our patrimony. That money is at the NorthAmerican citizen hands in the continent.

Conservative calculations about the financial value of the commercial monopoly United States imposed us by force, and by virtue of which we are obligated to sell our goods to the NorthAmericans at the price they like and furthermore we must pay for the NorthAmerican merchandise the price NorthAmericans want to impose us, throws a quantity near five hundred million dollars in gold.

Of course the support of that unmerciful exploitation and abuses perpetrated against our nationality, remains obvious in the universal poverty, in the diseases and in the high mortality of our population, the highest one in the Americas.

The seventy-six percent of the national wealth is at the hands of some few NorthAmerican corporations, for whose exclusive benefit is maintained the current military government.

A stupid assault has been directed against our Christian social order in a brutal effort to dissolve our family structure and to destroy the morality of a noble race, imposing through governmental agencies the diffusion of prostitution practices, under the misleading banner of birthrate control; the ridiculous effort to destroy our Hispanic civilization with a public instruction system used in United States to enslave the masses; the cloddish arrogance of intending to guide the spiritual order to a nation whose soul has wrought inside the purest christianity: those are our most serious complaints.

United States of America are directly opposite Puerto Rico with Lexington's, Zaragoza's, Ayacucho's spirit.

The current imperial politics which intends to dissolve nationalism by terror and murder, is an imperialist provocation and foolish act in order to satisfy a few NorthAmerican corporations.

The United States people, if it has not became insensitive to the principles that let it be free, must have common sense, must be exclusively guided by its national interest. That national interest remains guaranteed respecting Puerto Rico's independence.

Those are Puerto Rico's nationalism aspirations.

Taken from: "La conciencia nacional puertoriqueña". ("The puertorican national consciousness"). Don Pedro Albizu Campos Siglo XXI Editores, SA