In the Shadow of Luis Muñoz Marín: Puerto Rico’s Messianic Jíbaro

This paper examines the way Puerto Rico’s neocolonial status reverberates from the myth and political memory of its first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín. By examining the theological import of Muñoz Marín’s poetry, political rhetoric, and his party symbol this paper demonstrates how el jíbaro became synonymous with the governor and how he became a messianic figure against which Puerto Rican leaders are evaluated (whether in formal political office or not); even artists like Bad Bunny cannot escape the specter of Muñoz Marín. To imagine a future for Puerto Rico, therefore, begins by contending with the long and institutionalized shadow of its first governor. This paper deconstructs the mythology around Muñoz Marín’s history, ideology, and political project, before briefly proposing a Puerto Rican future rooted in Afro-diasporic spirituality (life in the Spirit).