Sunday, November 08, 2020

Puerto Rico votes in favor of statehood. But what does it mean for the island?

As Puerto Ricans voted on Tuesday for their local leaders, there was another decision they had to make: Whether or not the island nation should be admitted as the newest U.S. state.
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE
 In this June 30, 2015, file photo, an American flag and Puerto Rican flag fly next to each other in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The non-binding referendum was not expected to change Puerto Rico's status anytime soon but was still seen as a barometer of Puerto Ricans' appetite for statehood.

At Tuesday’s plebiscite, residents narrowly favored statehood with 52% of the vote while about 47% of voters were against it, according to the election commission's website.

This was actually the sixth time Puerto Ricans had a choice to make on statehood.

In past plebiscites, independence and Commonwealth have been included as options for Puerto Rican voters to choose.

Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898. In 1952, the island's governor at the time, Luis Muñoz Marín, proclaimed the establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with the idea that the island would have a relationship with the U.S., while still having some independence.

For years, groups in favor of breaking the relationship with the U.S. have tried to push for Puerto Rico to become independent and self-sufficient without success.

Puerto Rico has been unincorporated territory since then, something that will likely not change, experts say.

“It is unlikely that the question of Puerto Rico as a state will be taken up by the Congress,” says political scientist and researcher Carlos Vargas Rsamos.

Although the U.S. mainland still sees Puerto Rico as a commonwealth, many Puerto Ricans, including the island's Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González, a Republican, say the island is constantly treated as a colony.

"Sometimes it's a little bit ironic that the beacon of democracy in the world, which is the United States, is fighting for equality and fighting for democracy and yet you get it in your own backyard -- the oldest colony, with more than 120 years without allowing Puerto Ricans to vote for president, to vote in Congress or to even have federal laws apply equally to American citizens on the island," said González, who was reelected as commissioner last Tuesday.

The resident commissioner is Puerto Rico's sole representative in Congress, but does not have a vote.

In the 2012 and 2017 referendums, statehood prevailed. But the legitimacy of the results were questioned due to the confusing configuration of the status question and voter turnout.

The Republican commissioner said she is ready to take this year's referendum results to Congress.

"We're gonna push for this now, but we're gonna push for this in January, as well. ... It doesn't matter who is the president-elect," Gonzalez told ABC News on Wednesday. "We're gonna move with Republicans and Democrats as well, because it's a bipartisan issue in law."

The commissioner, who actively supported Donald Trump for reelection, recently reacted on Twitter to Joe Biden's victory as President Elect of the United States saying that she is ready to work with him and "find common goals & reach bipartisan solutions" for Puerto Rico.

Although González said she is ready to start working with Congress to push statehood forward, Ramos Vargas is sure Congress will not act on this referendum.

"Congress is just looking for any pretext not to have to take up the question of the status for Puerto Rico," said political scientist and researcher Carlos Vargas Rsamos.

Aside from being a nonbinding referendum, Ramos said voter turnout in this referendum could still be an issue for Congress.

As of September 2020, there were around 2.3 million eligible voters on the island, according to the election commission's website. From those eligible voters, nearly 1.2 million people answered the statehood plebiscite.

"It's gonna be difficult for advocates of statehood to argue that this is a clear mandate to push for statehood, particularly when you have a Congress that is reluctant to take up the question," added Vargas Ramos.

Democratic New York Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez recently raised the issue of Puerto Rican statehood in Congress. In August 2020, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act 2020 was introduced in the House of Representatives.

This bill would allow Puerto Ricans to "exercise their natural right to self-determination" through a status convention created by the island's legislature and with delegates chosen by residents.

Some Puerto Ricans believe that becoming a state should be the No. 1 priority on island politicians' agenda. But it's still an open debate as Puerto Rico grapples with several internal issues: the recovery from Hurricane Maria, devastating earthquakes on the island's southern coast and the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have to solve our internal issues first," said 26-year-old voter Natasha Doble, who was driven to the polls not for the referendum, but looking for a change at a local level. "This referendum is not valid. ... It doesn't matter if we vote it's not going to be taken into consideration."

While the final decision of adding Puerto Rico as a state resides in Congress, Ramos Vargas said that until there is clear proof that a vast majority supports statehood it is unlikely there will be a change.

"Because there hasn't been a conclusive plebiscite in Puerto Rico, that indicates convincingly that Puerto Ricans favor one option over another, the Congress of the United States can continue kicking the can down the road," Vargas Ramos said.

Pedro Pierluisi wins gubernatorial race in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico’s 
pro-statehood New Progressive Party won a majority of votes to become the U.S. territory’s next governor, according to official preliminary results released late Saturday.
© Provided by The Canadian Press

Pierluisi received nearly 33% of votes compared with nearly 32% obtained by Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the current territorial status, with 100% of precincts reporting.

The results come four days after Puerto Rico held general elections, an unusual delay blamed on a record number of early and absentee votes that overwhelmed officials. It's also the first time that Puerto Rico's two main parties fail to reach 40% of votes.

“These are times to unite wills and purposes,” Pierluisi said in a statement.

Pierluisi had claimed victory the night of the election as Delgado refused to concede, noting that his opponent was leading by a very slim margin and that thousands of votes still had not been counted.

On Saturday, he congratulated Pierluisi: “The island needs consensus, dialogue and convergence so that we can face the great challenges of the future.”

Saturday's results were released hours after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden won the election in the U.S. mainland, a victory that Pierluisi said would help Puerto Rico finally gain statehood. He congratulated Biden and said he looked forward to working with him and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris “for the benefit of all Puerto Ricans in their fight for progress and equality.”

Voters in Puerto Rico participated in a non-binding referendum the day of the local general election that asked, “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the union as a state?” More than 52% of voters approved, but any changes to the island’s political status needs approval from U.S. Congress. It is the island's sixth such referendum.

Biden has promised to work with local government officials who support a variety of political status for Puerto Rico to “initiate a just and binding process” for the island to determine its own status.


Biden also promised to fight against austerity measures sought by a federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances amid an economic crisis; accelerate the disbursement of federal funds for hurricane and earthquake reconstruction; and push for equal funding of Medicaid, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income, since Puerto Rico receives less than U.S. states.


Other results released late Saturday included those of a tight race for the mayor of Puerto Rico's capital. New Progressive Miguel Romero received more than 36% of votes, compared with more than 34% obtained by third-party candidate Manuel Natal of the Citizen Victory Movement. Natal rejected the results and said not all votes have been counted.

DáNica Coto, The Associated Press

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