June 17, 2013
7:52 a.m.
14 PDP Officials to the UN asking the Constitutional Assembly Status
They argue That the Obama plan status is not incompatible With The PDP government program
UN Decolonization Committee today debated That resolution reaffirms the right of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence. (File)
By Joseph A. Delgado / <a href="mailto:jdelgado@elnuevodia.com">jdelgado@elnuevodia.com</a>
WASHINGTON - Fourteen Elected Officials Popular Democratic Party (PPD) today claim before the Decolonization Committee of the United Nations Convening a Constitutional Assembly Status and development of the Commonwealth (ELA) to a non-territorial government formula.
Also notice the way the plebiscite That was legislated November 6, 2012 hindered the expression made by the people against the current territorial status statehood again anyway Reflect That does not Have the support of 50% of voters of the Island
UN Decolonization Committee today debated That resolution reaffirms the right of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence.
"It is important expresaron That this special Committee about the Constitutional Assembly Status" say the politicians of the ruling party in Puerto Rico, treats including Rep. Luis Vega Ramos, and the Mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz.
The group includes senators Cirilo Tirado, Ramón Luis Nieves, Mari Tere Gonzalez and Martin Vargas, the Rep. Charlie Hernandez, Luisa "Piti" Gandara, Luis Raul Torres, Carlos Vargas Ferrer and Carlos Bianchi, the autonomist group PROELA, the president of Association of Mayors and Mayor of Comerio, Jose A. Santiago, the mayor of San Germán, Isidro Negron, the mayor of Hormigueros, Pedro Garcia, and the San Juan Municipal legislator Marco Rigau.
The paper will be read before the Decolonization Committee by the representative Vega Ramos, who in January Introduced legislation to Regulate the Convening of a Constitutional Assembly Status.
The PDP government Argues That program if the U.S. president, Barack Obama, no alternative drives a status plebiscite be binding on Congress, Should then legislate in Puerto Rico in 2014 Convening a Constitutional Assembly Status.
PPD Elected Officials Indicated That the plan presented by President Obama in Puerto Rico to legislate a new status plebiscite Whose definitions are reviewed by the Department of Justice United States does not conflict With The Possibility of holding a Constitutional Assembly.
"The fate of President Obama's proposal will be announced on October 1, since it is tied to congressional budget process of the U.S. government. If approved, nothing Prevents temper to a Constitutional Assembly Status "indicate PPD Officials.
The PDP politicians Further requests the Decolonization Committee to raise the political case of Puerto Rico before the UN General Assembly and demand the release of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López.
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AGP: Estadidad convertiría a PR en un “gueto latinoamericano”
El Gobernador realizó las expresiones durante una entrevista con la cadena CNN
EL VOCERO / Archivo
El gobernador Alejandro García Padilla defendió el estatus político actual durante una entrevista en el programa Choque de Opiniones, que transmitió la cadena de noticias CNN, al catalogar a la estadidad como desastrosa para la economía local porque convertiría la Isla en un “gueto latinoamericano”.
“Yo no creo en la estadidad, sería desastrosa para la economía de Puerto Rico, convertiría a Puerto Rico en un gueto, en un país entero convertido en un gueto latinoamericano”, expresó el Gobernador.
Según el Primer Mandatario, el estatus se debe atender de manera “seria” para todo y enfatizó que se debe realizar una consulta con todas las “alternativas”.
“Como Gobernador, yo le tengo que garantizar, tanto a los estadolibristas, que creen como yo, como a los estadistas y a los independentistas que su opción va a estar ahí”, señaló a preguntas del periodista Juan Carlos López.
En tanto, García Padilla aclaró que el estatus político de la Isla no su prioridad ya que entiende que es más importante “crear empleos y combatir el crimen”.
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Lobbyists for Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and his “commonwealth” party are now suggesting to Federal officials that a new “commonwealth status” was the real victor in Puerto Rico’s political status plebiscite last November.
The results, determined by law by Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission, were 53.97% against the islands’ current territory status — which is popularly, but misleadingly, known as “commonwealth” — and 61.16% for statehood among the alternatives. Nationhood in a non-binding association with the U.S. received 33.34% and independence 5.49%.
Garcia and other “commonwealth” party leaders have been telling Federal officials that the vote on the current territory status — which they supported in the plebiscite — was 51.7% opposed, 44.1% in favor, and 3.6% not choosing. They say that the vote on the alternatives was 44.4% for statehood, 24.3% for nationhood in a non-binding association with the U.S., 4% for independence, and 26.5% not choosing.
The Governor and other party leaders campaigned for the current territory status option, although they said that they did not really support it because they insist that the status is not territory – contrary to statements of all three branches of the Federal government.
The “commonwealth” party leaders also urged voters to not choose among the alternatives to territory status, saying that their proposed new “commonwealth status” was wrongly left off the ballot.
They, additionally, opposed the nationhood in a non-binding association with the U.S. option, accurately explaining that it was fundamentally different from their proposed “commonwealth.”
But representatives of Garcia and the “commonwealth” party are now telling Federal officials that votes for nationhood in a non-binding association with the U.S. were actually votes for their “commonwealth status” as were blank (no choice) ballots.
Using their numbers, that produces a 50.8% vote for their “commonwealth.”
Essential elements of their “commonwealth” proposal include Puerto Rico’s exemption from congressional territory governing authority without the islands becoming a State or a nation and, relatedly, Congress not being able to change a new “commonwealth” governing arrangement without Puerto Rico’s consent.
The Obama Administration, the administrations of both Presidents Bush and President Clinton, and congressional authorities have said that these fundamental provisions of the proposal are a constitutional impossibility. Congress cannot give up Congress’ constitutional power to govern a territory.
Other parts of the new “commonwealth status” would empower the islands to veto the application of Federal laws and to enter into international agreements that require national sovereignty. Additionally, the Federal government would grant the insular government a new subsidy as well as continue giving all current assistance and citizenship to Puerto Ricans.
Federal officials have also uniformly rejected the entire proposal.
The uniform Federal rejections explain why Obama Administration and congressional officials of both parties says that it was proper for Puerto Rico’s last governor and legislature to not include the “commonwealth status” proposal on the plebiscite ballot.
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English only in government in a State of Puerto Rico? Not in the U.S. Senate.
Last week, a senator, Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), delivered a major speech during a debate exclusively in Spanish.
Kaine’s remarks were the first in the Senate to be made totally in Spanish. But they were not the first time that a senator had used Spanish in debate. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), one of the Senate’s most conservative members, has used Spanish in the Senate. So did then Senator Mel Martinez (R-Florida).
And Spanish is not the only language other than English to be used in the Senate.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has used sign language. And then Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) put a statement in the Congressional Record in Lakota, a Native American language.
Leaders of Puerto Rico’s “commonwealth” party have encouraged advocates of English as the official language of the United States to propose that Puerto Rico be required to use English exclusively in government if it is granted statehood. The purpose is to discourage Puerto Ricans from seeking equality in the country since most residents of Puerto Rico primarily speak Spanish.
One of the “commonwealth” party’s closest allies in Congress, Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois), has tried to emphasize the point in the U.S. House of Representatives by proposing amendments to require that Spanish be the sole official language of a State of Puerto Rico.
Both English and Spanish are official languages in the territory.
Amendments to bills in the U.S. House that included statehood as an option for the territory which would have purportedly required a State of Puerto Rico to conduct all business in English were handily defeated by a Republican-controlled House in 1998 and a Democratic-controlled House in 2010.
The amendments were replaced by amendments stating that Federal language requirements in a State of Puerto Rico would be the same as those that apply to the other States and encouraging the teaching of English in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. has never adopted an official language despite a debate as old as the nation.
Other House members almost universally rejected Gutierrez’s amendments.
Congress has the power under the U.S. Constitution to mandate an official language in a territory —Puerto Rico’s current political status. But a State would have the authority under the Constitution to ignore a language requirement imposed upon a territory — even if it is a stated condition for the grant of statehood.
Surveys show that most Puerto Ricans want their children to learn English. The main international language of business, it is recognized as a tool for economic opportunity by most Puerto Ricans.
Puerto Ricans predominantly spoke Spanish when the United States took Puerto Rico from Spain and made the islands a U.S. territory and when the U.S. made Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens.
Their use of Spanish has not been a significant problem for the States. Many miles of ocean separate the islands from the States. Additionally, Puerto Ricans learn English — if they have not before — when they move to the States, which they can do freely since they are U.S. citizens by birth.
Hawaii, a State with many circumstances similar to Puerto Rico’s, also has two official languages. And the other State separated from the 48 continental States, Alaska, uses at least seven languages in government to communicate with its citizens.
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1:21 p.m.
Dice ante el Comité de Descolonización de la ONU que Puerto Rico le retiró el consentimiento al ELA
Por José A. Delgado / <a href="mailto:jdelgado@elnuevodia.com">jdelgado@elnuevodia.com</a>
WASHINGTON - Describiéndose como representante de los que portan “la bandera de Puerto Rico en una mano” y “la de Estados Unidos en la otra”, el comisionado residente en Washington, Pedro Pierluisi, advirtió hoy a las Naciones Unidas que los puertorriqueños le retiraron en noviembre pasado el consentimiento al actual status territorial.
Como el primer delegado de Puerto Rico ante el Congreso que declara sobre el caso político de la Isla ante el Comité de Descolonización, Pierluisi, presidente del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), solicitó a la comunidad internacional que respalde “un proceso de autodeterminación que resulte en un status digno y plenamente democrático para Puerto Rico, ya sea la estadidad o la soberanía”.
Pierluisi indicó que compareció ante el llamado comité de los 24 - que ahora tiene 29 miembros y debe adoptar esta tarde una resolución en apoyo a la independencia y libre determinación de la Isla -, para informar sobre los resultados del plebiscito local de noviembre pasado en Puerto Rico, en el que el 54% de los electores rechazó la “condición política territorial actual”, comúnmente denominada por el nombre de la Constitución de la Isla, el Estado Libre Asociado (ELA).
También mantuvo que el 61% de los electores favoreció la estadidad “entre las tres opciones al status actual reconocidas internacionalmente”.
El porcentaje a favor de la estadidad, sin embargo, se queda en menos del 50% si se toman en cuenta los votos en blancos solicitados por la Junta de Gobierno del Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), ahora en control del Ejecutivo y el Legislativo de Puerto Rico.
“Le he descrito el significado de esta votación al Presidente de Estados Unidos, a mis colegas en el Congreso estadounidense, y a la población americana en general—y creo que es apropiado que informe también a la comunidad de naciones”, señaló.
Al igual que los independentistas, dijo, “entendemos—y no negamos—que, aún cuando Estados Unidos aprobó una constitución para Puerto Rico en 1952 y fue relevado del requisito de informes bajo el Artículo 73 de la Carta de las Naciones Unidos de 1953, Puerto Rico sigue siendo un territorio sin un verdadero gobierno propio”.
Como único representante de Puerto Rico ante la Cámara baja federal, Pierluisi sostuvo que conoce de primera mano las limitaciones del actual status, que incluyen no permitir el voto por el presidente de Estados Unidos, no tener derecho al voto en el hemiciclo cameral ni representación en el Senado federal.
“A diario, tengo que batallar para asegurar que Puerto Rico no sea excluido de todo tipo de proyectos de ley para la creación de empleos, la salud, y la seguridad fronteriza, entre otros, que automáticamente incluyen a los estados. Mientras mis colegas en la Cámara de Representantes federal votan por legislación que afecta directamente la vida en Puerto Rico, yo sólo puedo ser un espectador aunque represento más de cinco veces la cantidad de constituyentes que mis compañeros de los estados”, sostuvo Pierluisi.
En su ponencia mencionó el plan de status del presidente Barack Obama, que persigue la convocatoria a un plebiscito en Puerto Rico – reglamentado en la Isla -, en el cual el Ejecutivo federal, por medio del Departamento de Justicia, se limitaría a revisar las definiciones de status y ayudar a financiar la consulta.
También destacó su proyecto de ley HR2000 que busca un referéndum estadidad sí o no el cual persigue vincular con un proceso de admisión de Puerto Rico como estado 51.
“Me siento esperanzado con la reacción que he visto hasta el momento”, indicó Pierluisi, quien ha pedido al Comité de Recursos Naturales de la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos que convoque a una vista pública para discutir su proyecto de ley, coauspiciado por 72 congresistas, solo ocho de ellos de la mayoría republicana.
Al explicar su comparecencia al foro internacional, Pierluisi dijo que le honra “declarar a nombre de todos los hombres y mujeres que, con orgullo, cargan la bandera de Puerto Rico en una mano y la bandera de Estados Unidos en la otra; y que saben que su amor por Puerto Rico y su amor por los Estados Unidos se complementa en vez de contradecirse”.
“Nuestro partido cree fielmente en que la estadidad es lo mejor para Puerto Rico, y buscamos perfeccionar nuestra unión con Estados Unidos, no diluir ni disolver los lazos políticos, económicos y sociales que hemos forjado—tanto en tiempos de paz como en tiempos de guerra—durante los pasados 115 años. La votación de noviembre confirma que el movimiento estadista se ha convertido en la fuerza dominante en Puerto Rico, y continúa creciendo día tras día”, subrayó Pierluisi.
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