What are the options in the referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico?
Pedro Pierluisi, governor of Puerto Rico, has called for a referendum on the political status of the island. These are the options that voters will have.
Puerto Rico debates its future with the US Government. The governor of the island, Pedro Pierluisi, has called for a referendum on the political status of the territory for next November 5, the same day on which they will be held the presidential elections in the United States.
“We will have a plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s status! I signed an Executive Order and an Official Proclamation calling all voters in Puerto Rico to a status referendum on the day of the General Election on November 5 of this year and the people will exercise their right, assert their will and be part of the decolonization of Puerto Rico,” Pierluisi wrote via social networks.
“Puerto Rico has the right, and I would say the moral obligation, to continue to exert pressure, reiterating its right to self-determination and demanding that Congress respond satisfactorily to the will of our people. Therefore, as many times as we have to vote to end the colony, we must do so,” he added.
What are the options in the referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico?
The plebiscite will be carried out at the local level and be non-binding, given that it does not have authorization from the US Government. Through this referendum, Puerto Ricans will be able to vote between three options: statehood, that is, for the island to become another state of the United States; independence from the United States or sovereignty with free association.
During a press conference, Pierluisi pointed out that the referendum is the best option to let the United States know the feelings of the Puerto Rican people. Likewise, he announced that, in the event that the US Congress does not take actions based on the results of the vote, “Puerto Rico has the right and moral obligation to continue exerting pressure, reiterating its right to self-determination”; which suggests that the plebiscites will continue until action is seen from Washington.
“As many times as we have to vote to end the colony, we must do so. Enough of the inequality. Our people deserve more. The colonies cannot have a place in the United States,” he ruled.
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What is the current political status of Puerto Rico?
Currently, Puerto Rico is a territory not incorporated into the United States. The island has been in the possession of the US since December 10, 1898, thanks to the Treaty of Paris, a result of the Spanish-American War. This means that Puerto Rico has only a certain level of autonomy, such as its own Government and Constitution. However, issues of foreign relations, borders and defense depend purely on the US government.
That said, support for the referendum is ambivalent. The New Progressive Party (NPP), which is currently in charge, inclines towards the option of statehood, while the position of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) is with the current status and that of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) is with independence.
Puerto Rico has held five previous plebiscites on its status since 1967, none of them congressionally mandated. The last one was held in 2020 as a yes-or-no vote on statehood. The option to seek joining the US as a state won with 52.5% of the vote.