2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ONE - The Commonwealth (§§ 1 — 5289) › Chapter 36 - Puerto Rican Institute for Mutual Assistance with Democratic Cuba Act (§§ 701 — 712) › § 702 - Public policy statement

The development of an integrated plan for attending to the reopening of the Republic of Cuba to the rest of the democratic nations of the world is hereby established as public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico. In seeking to concretely ensure the due implementation of said public policy, the Government of Puerto Rico, through its concerned agencies, departments, offices, public instrumentalities and others, is committed to conducting an analysis on the economic, political and social situation of Cuba and on the possible repercussions and effects the reopening of Cuba may have. To achieve this, the government dependencies shall make analyses, conduct studies and prepare individual plans to attend to the reintegration of Cuba. One of the purposes of this public policy is to guarantee that the reopening of Cuba becomes a means of creating opportunities for the growth of the local economy and that any adverse effect for Puerto Rico is minimized. This public policy likewise seeks to put at the disposal of the Cuban people such aid and assistance as may be deemed necessary and possible for its transition to democracy.
The Puerto Rican Institute for Mutual Assistance with Democratic Cuba is hereby created and constituted by citizens with specialized knowledge on the matter so they may offer advice on the economic, political and social situation of Cuba. The Institute shall study and evaluate the social, economic, recreational, sports and cultural strategic plans, among others already adopted, in the course of being adopted or to be prepared in the future by the Government of Puerto Rico, as well as the integrated strategic plan ordered pursuant to this chapter and shall offer advice as to how the resources of the Government of Puerto Rico should be channeled and the efforts of the public and private sectors including the representatives of the Cuban exile groups in Puerto Rico be combined to uphold the public policy herein adopted. The Institute shall present its findings, recommendations and suggestions to the Governor and the Legislature of Puerto Rico on the imminent reopening of the sister Island and the manner in which this new challenge is to be met. In adopting this public policy, the Government of Puerto Rico at the same time commits itself to channel the recommendations presented by the Institute, pursuant to the pertinent federal and Commonwealth legislation and regulations.
The development and implementation of contingency plans is fundamental for guaranteeing our rapid response to face the inevitable change in Cuba. This public policy is a minimal contribution as compared to the cost to Puerto Rico if it takes no action to prepare for the upcoming changes.
This chapter creates the mechanisms for urging and stimulating the enterprises in Puerto Rico to be prepared, through the development of their own contingency plans, and to take advantage of the opportunities created by the opening of Cuba.
The Government of Puerto Rico must establish coordinating mechanisms with the federal government so as to ensure that the contingency plans prepared by the federal agencies for channeling the assistance for addressing the reconstruction of Cuba take into consideration and give priority to the resources of Puerto Rico.
History —Aug. 4, 2007, No. 103, § 3.