The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico at 61: Closer to statehood?
As the statehood possibility grows for Puerto Rico, can the "Estado Libre Asociado" survive? Here's a brief look at the trajectory of the commonwealth.…
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25/07/13 06:21 from political status of puerto rico - Google News
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico at 61: Closer to statehood?VOXXIThe debate about the political status of Puerto Rico started decades before the commonwealth came to be. There is much unhappiness with the relationship between the island and ...
The hunger for statehood
The debate about the political status of Puerto Rico started decades before the commonwealth came to be. There is much unhappiness with the relationship between the island and the U.S. Many have highlighted the fact that Puerto Ricans can be sent to war at the president’s disposal, but they can’t vote in presidential elections. In addition, Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress can introduce legislation, but he can’t vote on anything.
These, and other factors, have led the statehood movement to grow over the years.
Today, the three main political parties on the island — instead of being divided in terms of liberals and conservatives — are divided by three different visions for Puerto Rico.
The Popular Democratic Party, commonly referred to as PPD by Puerto Ricans due to its acronym in Spanish, is the party in power, with current Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla at the helm. Founded by Muñoz Marin 75 years ago, it defends the commonwealth. When it comes to U.S. politics, it has aligned with the Democratic Party.
The New Progressive Party, commonly known as PNP, is the party for statehood. Their highest-ranking official is Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, a Democrat who has been diligently working on pushing the congressional debate on statehood for Puerto Rico. In terms of U.S. politics, the PNP has a mix of Republican and Democrat members. The most recent high-profile Republican to lead the party was former Gov. Luis Fortuño, ousted by Garcia Padilla.
The Puerto Rican Independence Party — or PIP — has, for decades, demanded independence. They call for the liberation of Puerto Rico, but they have never gotten close to beating the PPD or PNP in elections.
As time goes by, the debate between these parties has intensified. The last administration to lead the country — Fortuño’s — ran on a platform to resolve the status question once and for all. Last year, it arranged a plebiscite to ask the people what status they would prefer. However, this wasn’t the first plebiscite to propose this question, and it will most likely not be the last.
The future
Pierluisi had two victories on election night: the victory of statehood and his re-election. The challenge was dealing with Garcia Padilla, who — of course — opposes statehood and said nothing would be done to take the plebiscite results to Congress. Pierluisi went ahead and appealed to Congress, regardless.
Backed by a provision in the latest Obama budget, the resident commissioner saw an opening. The president’s budget allows for a U.S.-sanctioned plebiscite to ask people to vote on status once again. Pierluisi has introduced legislation into the House to coordinate for a plebiscite which — this time around — would be a simple matter of voting “yes” or “no” to statehood.
Although Pierluisi’s bill currently has 99 cosponsors — one of them Puerto Rican Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) — the other two Puerto Ricans serving in Congress have raised their voices to ask their colleagues to reject the resident commissioner’s bill.
Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) wrote a letter to House members this week, saying that more than 55 percent of voters rejected statehood — if the ballots left blank in protest, votes for independence and votes for a free sovereign state were added.
“Given the intentionally flawed nature of last year’s referendum, a true process of self-determination should take place in which all the available options are presented to the voters in Puerto Rico,” Gutierrez and Velazquez wrote.
It remains to be seen what will happen to Pierluisi’s bill, since it remains in committee and there has yet to be a hearing on it.
However, with all these developments, this 25th of July, the 61-year-old Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico could be closer than ever to a change.
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