Puerto Rico History - 1869 Opposition to Baldorioty
Opposition to Baldorioty's campaign took several forms. First there were those liberals who continued to uphold the concept of assimilation, such as Pablo Morales Miranda, who, under the pseudonym of "a liberal reformer," had a series of articles published in the Agente in support of assimilation as the liberal position, and recommending that the partisans of autonomy found their own party. A group of assimilationist liberals from Utuado shared a similar viewpoint.
Baldorioty's convictions regarding autonomy also brought a rapid-fire reaction from conservative forces. Don Jose Perez Moris, editor of the Boletin Mercantil wrote : "La Crónica is no longer talking about reform ; it is singing the praises of the sainted autonomy of Canada, and identifying with the autonomist doctrines of El Triunfo and of Labra - in short, a partisan and defender of autonomy.
"Nevertheless, clarification of issues has strong merit, in that the parties in question may begin to act on the basis of their political positions. In other areas, however,it is a well-known fact that the Irish have been agitating for autonomy for more than a century, and England, aware of the feeble ties between itself and Canada, has denied a similar system to Ireland on the basis that Irish independence would follow immediately on the heels of autonomy.
"The democratic doctrines of liberty, of equality before the law, of inviolability of the home, and of tolerance, are very attractive, but down deep they represent a deceptive means of seducing the people. Serving to destroy the present system, they later may be used as a ladder to raise the so-called redeemers of oppression to the highest positions of power.
"The doctrine of democracy does not depend on right, but on might ; not on law, but on the majority-of-one system of voting. It is possible that the destinies of nations be entrusted to unwitting votes of a multitude so blind that a socialist who offers its distribution of the lands of the rich has a greater impact than anyone else?
"Can a family exist with many members simultaneously in charge? Impossible. Just as there are specialists in the fields of oratory, literature, the arts, warfare, commerce, agriculture, and the sciences, are there not also those with a special aptitude for government? It is undeniable that unknown talents can direct the complicated mechanism of the administration of a people ; the problem lies in the discovery of such men, and universal suffrage has a poor record on this score.
"The ability to understand the capacity of others at first sight is a divine gift granted to a privileged few. Democracy is the raw force of numbers substituted for that of justice. Was not Jesus Christ condemned by democratic acclaim?"
If the Boletin's editor did not begrudge Baldorioty an occasional word of praise, it was only as an introduction to such labels as idealist and quixotic, in an exhortation to the liberals to repudiate his doctrine.
Perez Moris wrote "That the most advanced political principles of our era are being proclaimed in this country of ardent emotions and a diverse population, is a utopia which reflects far less maturity than that which we attribute to Mr. Baldorioty. It is very clear that he has not governed nor even touched, as indeed Castelar has, the realities of practical politics. "We applaud, however, the frankness with which he again takes part in journalistic competition with a full-masted banner, the excellent style of his writing, the respect shown for ideas contrary to his own convictions ; but we do not believe that what remains of the Reformist party, instructed by past experience, will follow along his dangerous and adventurous road. His program, undoubtedly written with sincerity and care, is that of an idealist lying in the realm of fantasy, rather than of an individual dedicated to the realities of the troubled history of modern man. We are faced, then, with a Quixote of radical democracy, and it is our belief that the Puerto Rican liberals are sufficiently sensible not to follow don Baldorioty along such a precarious path."
Such courtesies were merely a prelude. Two or three days afterwards, editor Perez was requesting that the authorities suppress the writings of Baldorioty de Castro as an infringement of article 16, paragraph 4 of the printing law, attaching criminal status to any direct or indirect attack against the integrity of the country, its national unity or its basic institutions.
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