In November, the people of Puerto Rico will have the opportunity to vote on the issue of their status. They will have two questions: first, they must choose between making a change and maintaining their current status as a territory of the United States.
Bilingualism: Is It Really a Problem?
Updated 7/30/2020 If Puerto Rico chooses statehood in the November Plebiscite, it will be one of only three states to have two official languages (Hawaii’s official languages are English and Hawaiian, while Alaska’s are English plus 20 languages indigenous to Alaska). Some discussion of the plebiscite has focused on the possible ramifications of this fact…. Read more »
Platform of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP)
Source: “The new agenda of status of the PDP,” by Jose Delgado, El Nuevo Dia, June 7, 2012 “The PDP reaffirms that the Commonwealth is the option of status that best represents the aspirations of the People of Puerto Rico. Well-governed by those who recognize its potential, the Commonwealth offers the greatest opportunities for progress… Read more »
Puerto Ricans in Florida Urged to Vote
Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, visited Florida and urged the many Puerto Ricans who live there to go to the polls in November. Caribbean Business reported that Pierluisi exhorted Floridians from Puerto Rico to be “a voice for the island.” Residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections, though they vote in presidential… Read more »
PDP Divided Between Territory and Free Association Options
Puerto Rico’s “Commonwealth” (Popular Democratic) Party (PDP) leadership reinforced its preference for Puerto Rico’s current status as a territory of the United States while a group of PDP members continued their break from the party leadership in favor of nationhood in free association with the U.S. at the May 18th meeting of Puerto Rico’s State… Read more »
Pierluisi Calls for Equal Treatment for All American Citizens Regardless of Residency
Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, took to the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on May 17 to call for “equal treatment for all American citizens, regardless of where they reside.” Citing the territory’s ineligibility for core components of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Pierluisi asserted that the unequal… Read more »
Medicaid Cuts in the U.S. Territories
The Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives voted on April 25 to cut Medicaid funding in the U.S. territories by 65% while leaving Medicaid funding in the fifty states intact, providing a real life example of what it means to lack representation in Congress.
Groups Support Territories in Medicaid Fight
Christensen Rallies Advocacy Groups To Support Territories in Medicaid Fight _ Representative Donna Christensen U.S. House of Representatives Delegate Donna Christensen, the representative of the U.S. Virgin Islands, listed the groups below as having supported fair treatment of the U.S. territories under Medicaid. Families USA First Focus The Prevention Institute AIDS Action Committee AIDS United… Read more »
Puerto Rico’s Status: What the Polls Say
Polls by Puerto Rico’s major TV and newspaper last December showed that statehood was the most popular option — but that fewer than half of those polled would choose it.
The Rum Wars
Since 1917, Puerto Rican rum has had an excise tax imposed when sold in the U.S., and the U.S. government has sent roughly the same amount of money back to Puerto Rico. In recent years, this “cover-over,” as it’s called, has amounted to about half a billion dollars a year for Puerto Rico. The U.S…. Read more »
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