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Puerto Rico, USA: Reactions to Sotomayor's Nomination

Categories: Latin America, Middle East & North Africa, North America, Puerto Rico (U.S.), U.S.A., Ethnicity & Race, Governance, History, Law, Media & Journalism, Migration & Immigration, Politics, Women & Gender

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor [1] for the Supreme Court of the United States [2] has brought mixed reactions from diverse sectors. Being of Puerto Rican [3] descent, blogger reactions from the island [4] have been mostly full of joy and pride. Traditional press sources have given the issue wide coverage [5], partly due to the fact that this is the first time a Puerto Rican has achieved this type of status – but while the mainstream media focused their articles on Sotomayor's qualifications [6] for the post, a funny thing happened in the blogosphere.

sotomayor

Before her nomination, Myrisa, who blogs at En el país de los ciegos… [10] [ES], wrote a post entitled: ¿Una puertorriqueña al Tribunal Supremo de EEUU?

A Puertorican for the Supreme Court?

…in response to which some visitors posted positive comments and Hiram Perez [11] cautiously reminded everyone that she was still a nominee [12]:

Nada, que habrá que esperar y estar pendiente e diversas fuentes. A veces los periódicos en PR están más interesados en presentar la noticia más interesante que la noticia más balanceada.

We have to wait and be alert to diverse sources [of information]. Sometimes the papers in Puerto Rico are more interested in presenting the most interesting story instead of the more balanced one.

Speaking Boricua, in the post Sotomayor!! Sotomayor!! [4], said:

Anyways, I'm sure we've all heard quite a bit now on Sotomayor, some of it disturbing, and some really inspiring…it's pretty interesting that Sotomayor apparently supported secession, at least back in her undergrad days. I doubt though that anyone will hold that against her now, unlike some of her rulings.

Neffers [13], a visitor to the blog, commented:

Although I appreciate the way that she holds on to her Puerto Rican identity, the US celebrating the first Hispanic in the Supreme Court in the 21st century is as ridiculous as celebrating their first black president…

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for both of them and it's about damn time the US behaved like they were not in the 19th century.

My fear, just as when Sila [Calderón] became PR's fist woman governor, is that as soon as one of them makes a mistake, or even does nothing bad but nothing good, they will blame it on the fact of their ‘condition’ : black, woman, hispanic…

Poder 5 [14] [ES] took a different view:

Obama ha decepcionado a muchos, y las encuestas de aprobación están hundiendo su imágen. Entonces llega la hora de escoger al juez que llenará la vacante en el Tribunal Supremo y de todos los candidatos Obama escoge a una puertorriqueña diabética criada en el bronx.

Obama has disappointed many, and aproval ratings are sinking his image. Then comes the time to nominate someone to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court and of all the candidates Obama picks a Puerto Rican diabetic raised in the Bronx.

This post generated an intense debate in the comments section. The main issue? Whether or not Sonia Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican, based on her place of birth.

Coloquiando con Don Segundo and Doña Bianca [14] [ES] wrote:

La nacionalidad no se determina en donde naces, sino de donde vienes. Vasta ya con la discriminacion de puertorriqueños contra puertorriqueños.

La seleccion de Sotomayor fue la seleccion de una mujer puertorriqueña, de origen pobre, lo cual realza lo que los americanos tanto nos quieren negar…

Nationality is not determined by your place of birth but from where you come from. Enough with the discrimination of Puerto Ricans against Puerto Ricans. Sotomayor's nomination was the selection of a puertorican woman of humble origins, which highlights what the Americans have denied us…

Digizen [15] [ES] added:

Para mi lo más importante de la nominación de Sotomayor es que es una persona que a pesar de haber crecido en un ambiente poco privilegiado pudo superarse y llegar a donde está en estos momentos. Además, tiene un historial de lucha por los derechos humanos y una vida profesional caracterizada por la integridad.

To me the most important thing about Sotomayor's nomination is that she is a person that despite having been raised in an underprivileged environment she could step up and arrive to where she is now. She also has history of fighting for human rights and a professional life characterized by integrity.