While half of our U.S. citizens on the island of Puerto Rico still have no electricity and many are without potable water, the politics of the U.S. colonial relationship to Puerto Rico are being called to account by members of the Puerto Rico Statehood Commission.
The status of Puerto Rico is a major issue on the island and among Puerto Ricans on the mainland, and has been since the U.S. seized it in 1898, though the approximately 5 million mainland Puerto Ricans are excluded from voting in island status plebiscites.
I am not going to go into depth about the varied status issues or positions here. For more detail and background see: The status of Puerto Rico: debate, discussion, and the impact of Hurricane Maria
Suffice it to say that the Statehood Commission is now taking steps to once again place their position in front of Congress.
Their website describes their history and who they are:
Tennessee, the first territory to join the Union, repeatedly petitioned for statehood despite the absence of federal support. They had fought in the Revolutionary War and wanted to become a state, but Congress was being too slow.
Tired of delays and Congress's lack of interest, Tennessee decided to act. They held votes where a clear majority of the electorate favored statehood, established a constitutional government as a State of the Union, and boldly selected Senators and Representatives to the U.S. Congress before their formal admission into the Union, and sent them to Washington to demand their seats and the admission of their territory into the Union as a state.
After pressure from the delegation and the territorial government, Congress had no choice but to admit Tennessee as the 16th State of the Union. Since then, six territories have pursued the same Tennessee strategy and became U.S. states. Now, Puerto Rico seeks to join the Union by way of its first Statehood Commission (Commission).
The Commission was announced by Governor Ricardo Rosselló on July 10th, 2017 and is a committee of 7 representatives of the Government of Puerto Rico created to execute the “Tennessee Plan” in order facilitate Puerto Rico’s admittance into United States statehood. The Commission will serve as the “Congressional Delegation” from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Congress (2 Senators and 5 Representatives) and will increase U.S. support for statehood through educating Congress, the Executive Branch and White House, and the national public.
The Commission is comprised of 7 members: 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats, and 1 independent.
The Republican members of the Commission are former Governor Luis Fortuño, National Committeewoman Zoraida Fonalledas, and retired Maj. Gen. Félix Santoni.
The Democratic members of the commission are former Governors Pedro Rosselló González and Carlos Romero Barceló, and former state Senate President Charlie Rodríguez.
The independent member of the commission is Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.
Caribbean Business reported
During her speech before members of Congress, González emphasized that after almost 120 years as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico remains a colony under a territorial clause.
“Our residents are treated as second-class citizens. For all these years, the federal government has denied equal rights to Puerto Ricans who, in turn, both in times of war and peace, have made countless contributions to our nation,” the resident commissioner denounced.
“Men and women who have bravely fought in every conflict of this country since the great war, defending our democratic values are however denied the right to vote for the commander in chief and to have full representation in Congress,” she added during her speech.
González pointed out that Puerto Rico has experienced long-term inequity under federal laws, which, she said, were revealed to the entire world after the devastation wrought by Hurricane María on the island.
“Prior to that, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have already rejected that discrimination, choosing to buy their equallity through a one-way ticket to the state of Florida or changing state zip codes. Without equitable rights and responsibilities, which are only available through statehood, Puerto Rico will never be able to rise and prosper from the effects of that hurricane,” the New Progressive Party leader said.
González demanded statehood for Puerto Rico by using the victories of this status ideology during the 2012 plebiscite, in which statehood surpassed the other status options with 61% of the votes, and the controversial results of the. 2016 referendum, in which statehood was chosen with 97% of the votes, but whose voter participation was the lowest in the history of the island with a little more than 20% of the electorate registered in the State Elections Commission.
Though there are elected officials in support
not everyone is in accord. See this piece
which raises several issues, among them:
In the next few days, a lot will be said about this vote. Here are few things you should know:
Not a lot of Puerto Ricans voted.
According to the Puerto Rico’s official electoral commission, just 23% of Puerto Ricans voted. In a place known for high voter turnouts (50-80%), the official 23% number is low. Really low. A big part of the reason had to do with boycotts from the island’s commonwealth and independence parties. Pro-statehooder supporters will tell you that this a democracy and the will of the people spoke. Others will say this is just another expensive farce during a time the island is suffering from massive problems. In other words, get ready to see the political spin from the island.
I doubt we will see action on this from this Congress in the foreseeable future. Especially since this Republican controlled Congress and the POTUS are ignoring the plight of Puerto Rico as it continues to suffer.