José Luis González (March 8, 1926 – December 8, 1996) was a Puerto Rican essayist, novelist, short story writer, university professor, and journalist who lived most of his life in exile in Mexico due to his pro-independence political views.

He also studied in the United States, and received a master's degree and Doctorate in Philosophy and Letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

[6] The English translation, Puerto Rico: The Four-Storeyed Country was published on April 1, 1990 by Waterfront Press.The book consists of seven essays, all varying in length and focus.

José Luis González wrote The Four-Storeyed Country in response to a conversation of Puerto Ricans and their relationship with independence.

[6] González contends that the first true people to identify themselves as Puerto Ricans, omitting from consideration the aboriginal Taíno, were the enslaved Africans and their children, sold to Spanish colonists early in the island's Post-Columbian history.

The Puerto Rican working class welcomed the invaders with the hope of annexation and with it the establishment of a new social order, full of freedom, democracy and a progressive economy.

Thousands of agricultural jobs were lost after Puerto Rico industrialized and traditional companies that export sugar, tobacco, and coffee were collapsing.

[8] González suggests that democratic socialism is the only way to rebuild Puerto Rican society and embrace the English language as a step into a new and united national culture.

[8] González dismantles the myth of a dominant Spanish and racially white national culture in Puerto Rican history.

González calls the African slaves and Mestizo peasantry the first Puerto Ricans because they were the first inhabitants who had to make the island their home.

[8] José Luis González conveys the difficulties Puerto Ricans face after their displacement, as "the effort that takes adapt to another lifestyle and play another role within society to obtain sustenance daily".

[10] The stories give a representation that accounts for its geographical area and focuses on the issues of injustice and poverty, as well as to make visible the consequences in those who suffer them.

It is a moment crucial because it is time to rebuild the Puerto Rican society … but not backward, to the past … but forward, toward a future that relies on the tradition of the popular masses, rediscover and rescue the essential Caribbean of our collective identity.