When a Puerto Rican independence publication compares Texas to Tibet and Catalonia, it signals something important: TEXIT has entered the international conversation as a serious self-determination movement.
But Puerto Rico Report’s analysis reveals how thoroughly anti-independence talking points have infected even sympathetic observers.
The outlet published “Independence Movements: Texit” on Monday, positioning Texas independence within the global framework of sovereignty struggles. The coverage matters because international recognition drives independence movements. But the article repeats federal government fallacies that deserve correction.
What They Got Right
Puerto Rico Report accurately identifies the historical foundation: Texas operated as an independent republic from 1836 to 1845, receiving diplomatic recognition from the United States, Britain, and France.
This distinguishes Texas from every other American state. Texas entered the Union not as conquered territory or purchased land, but as a sovereign nation choosing political union through treaty.
The article also acknowledges Texas’s economic weight—the second-wealthiest state in America, with an economy larger than Canada or Russia if independent. These are nation-state statistics, not regional subdivision numbers.
And Puerto Rico Report treats the Texas Nationalist Movement as an established political force rather than fringe curiosity, noting the movement’s position that “Texas is a nation with a distinct culture, economy, and government.”
The Federal Funding Fallacy
Here’s where the article stumbles: “Texas may be rich, but one reason for its wealth is that about one third of its revenue — $105 billion in 2024 — comes from the federal government.”
This talking point appears in every anti-TEXIT analysis. It’s also misleading.
That $105 billion includes Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, military spending, highway funds, and other federal programs. Most of it represents Texas tax dollars sent to Washington and returned with strings attached.
Texans pay more than $250 billion annually in federal taxes. Washington keeps $145 billion and sends back $105 billion—after bureaucrats take their cut and attach conditions.
An independent Texas wouldn’t “lose” $105 billion in federal funding. Texas would keep $250 billion in revenue that currently flows to Washington first.
The real question isn’t whether Texas can survive without federal money. The question is why Texas sends its money to Washington in the first place.
The Defense Contractor Myth
Puerto Rico Report claims that “many federal defense contractors and much of the U.S. space program” would relocate from Texas after independence, threatening the state’s economy.
This assumes that defense contractors exist because of their location rather than their capabilities.
Texas hosts major defense operations because Texas has the infrastructure, the skilled workforce, the testing ranges, and the geographic advantages. Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos) sits in Central Texas because its location and terrain support armored vehicle training, not because Congress drew a line on a map.
SpaceX operates in South Texas because Boca Chica provides optimal launch geometry for equatorial orbits, not because Elon Musk loves federal bureaucracy.
An independent Texas would maintain defense production capacity that America needs—and would negotiate contracts accordingly. The United States didn’t stop buying oil from Mexico after Mexican independence. It won’t stop buying defense systems from Texas after TEXIT.
The Citizenship Scare Tactic
“Many Texans would also leave, since a new nation of Texas could expect to lose U.S. citizenship,” the article warns.
This fallacy appears in every anti-independence argument. It ignores basic international precedent.
When Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, citizens weren’t forced to choose one nationality and abandon the other. When the Soviet Union dissolved, Russian citizens didn’t lose all connection to former Soviet states.
Dual citizenship exists. Negotiated separation includes citizenship arrangements.
The article imagines mass exodus: “Everyone who wanted to retain U.S. citizenship could simply move to Oklahoma.” This fantasy contradicts human behavior. People don’t abandon their homes, jobs, and communities over passport logistics.
The Texas v. White Deception
“Even if Texas wanted to secede, it legally can’t,” Puerto Rico Report claims, citing the 1869 Supreme Court case Texas v. White.
This misunderstands both law and history.
Texas v. White addressed whether Texas ceased to be a state during the Civil War—a case about Confederate bonds and Reconstruction, not self-determination rights. The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot unilaterally declare secession during active rebellion.
That case said nothing about negotiated independence following a referendum.
Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. The United Nations Charter recognizes the right of peoples to determine their political status. The United States itself emerged through self-determination, asserting that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
Article 1, Section 2 of the Texas Constitution explicitly reserves the right of the people to alter or abolish their government. Texas ratified that principle before joining the Union.
A 1869 Supreme Court ruling about Confederate bonds does not override the fundamental right to self-governance.
The Polling Distortion
Puerto Rico Report cites polling showing 23% of Texans support independence in a hypothetical referendum, concluding that the movement “would clearly lose if such a vote were held.”
This misreads political movements.
In 1995, Quebec’s independence referendum lost by less than one percentage point—after decades of organizing turned a fringe movement into a governing force. In 2014, Scotland’s independence referendum drew 45% support despite centuries of union with England.
Political movements build support. They don’t start with majority backing.
The Texas Nationalist Movement claims more than 600,000 registered supporters. It operates in all 254 Texas counties. It has persuaded multiple state legislators to sign the Texas First Pledge supporting the independence referendum.
Current polling reflects current organizing. The question isn’t where support stands today. The question is where support will stand after sustained political education demonstrates that Texas independence is achievable, beneficial, and consistent with American principles.
The Federal Benefits Scaremongering
The article warns that “well over a third of Texans live in households that receive at least one major federal benefit (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid/CHIP, SNAP, or TANF),” suggesting these would disappear after independence.
Texans paid into Social Security and Medicare through decades of payroll taxes. Those aren’t federal gifts. They’re earned benefits funded by Texas workers.
An independent Texas would negotiate benefit arrangements for residents who contributed to federal systems. Every independence negotiation in modern history has addressed pension and benefit continuity.
The article’s framing reveals the anti-independence assumption: that federal programs exist because Washington is generous, not because citizens paid for them.
What the Coverage Means
Puerto Rico Report’s analysis matters despite its flaws.
International coverage signals that TEXIT has moved beyond regional curiosity to global self-determination framework. When a Puerto Rican independence publication treats Texas as comparable to Catalonia and Scotland, even while disagreeing with Texas independence, it validates TEXIT as a serious political movement.
Puerto Rico faces its own sovereignty questions. Its residents are U.S. citizens without full representation. Its political status remains unresolved after decades of referendums.
Puerto Rican independence advocates understand that Texas independence would reshape American assumptions in ways that benefit all self-determination movements. If Texas can negotiate separation, what argument remains against Puerto Rican self-determination?
The coverage also reveals how deeply anti-independence talking points have penetrated international analysis. Even sympathetic observers repeat federal government fallacies without examining them.
That’s the work ahead: systematic refutation of every misleading claim, backed by evidence and international precedent.
The Comparison That Matters
Puerto Rico Report compares Texas to Palestine, Tibet, and Catalonia. Here’s the comparison they missed:
Texas has a larger economy than most recognized nations. Texas has functioning government institutions. Texas has no ethnic conflict, no history of war crimes, and no separatist violence.
Texas independence doesn’t require revolution. It requires a referendum, negotiation, and orderly transition—the same process that created the United States, dissolved the Soviet Union, and split Czechoslovakia.
The question isn’t whether Texas can survive independence. The question is whether Washington can justify holding Texas against its will when Texans have the resources, the will, and the fundamental right to govern themselves.
Puerto Rico Report opened that question to international readers. Now comes the work of answering it correctly.
