The island of Puerto Rico suffers from a stagnant economy, devastating unemployment, and severely limited political autonomy. In this book, Collado- Schwarz addresses Puerto Rico’s more than a century-old relationship with the United States and presents compelling strategies for gaining independence. Through a series of interviews and newspaper columns, the author examines six countries similar in size to Puerto Rico that have all successfully navigated a course to sovereignty: Singapore, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Estonia, and Slovenia. Collado-Schwarz chronicles the political history of each country, the ways in which each achieved independence, and what lessons can be applied to Puerto Rico. With cogent analysis and carefully reasoned arguments, this book will reopen the national dialogue in the United States about the future of Puerto Rico.

Ángel Collado-Schwarz is the founder and chairman of the Fundación Voz del Centro, a cultural NGO, and the producer and host of the radio program La Voz del Centro, which has aired more than 400 episodes since 2002, in Puerto Rico, New York, and Chicago, over Univision Radio (www.vozdelcentro.org). Collado-Schwarz has published four books: Voces de la Cultura 1, Voces de la Cultura 2, Voces de la Cultura 3, and Soberanías Exitosas. All four have been presented at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, as well as in San Juan. Some have also been presented in New York, Madrid, Santo Domingo, and La Habana. Born in Puerto Rico, Collado-Schwarz holds a doctorate in contemporary Latin American history from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.