Florida is now the state with the largest number of residents from Puerto Rico. An estimated 1,171,637 people of Puerto Rican heritage currently live in Florida — 5.6% of the total population. Florida’s Puerto Rican population grew after Hurricane Maria in 2017, but the population of Puerto Ricans near Orlando began to swell in the 1960s as retirees chose to come to the states. Florida is geographically closer to Puerto Rico than any other state.
Economic connections
One recent initiative is an effort to build connections between businesses in Jacksonville, the main port in the states serving Puerto Rico, and southwestern cities like Ponce and Mayagüez. Hector Diaz, a Puerto Rican businessman living in Jacksonville, told El Nuevo Dia that he wants to see more economic powers in the hands of fellow Puerto Ricans in his city. He’d like to see Puerto Rican groceries and hardware stores, for example.
Luis Alvarado, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Puerto Rico, would like to see the growing food and beverage industry in Ponce benefit from the large Puerto Rican market in Florida.
“There are historical links and a relationship of many decades between the two parties. The benefits for the two ports and cities of interport cooperation are that the objectives of building closer commercial relations of mutual benefit and the promotion of economic growth will be achieved,” added the director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, Joel Piza Batiz.
Last year, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, described Florida as a “gateway to the U.S. market” for Puerto Rican entrepreneurs, emphasizing that the business relationships could benefit both the state and the territory. The new initiative builds on that idea with cooperative relationships among businesses.
Historic connections
Like Puerto Rico, Florida was a colony of Spain before Spain ceded the territory to the United States. In fact, Ponce de Leon, the first Governor of Puerto Rico, is also credited with being the first European explorer in Florida. Puerto Rican soldiers were involved in the early military battles of Florida against the British. Florida had complex struggles to attain statehood, just as Puerto Rico has.
This long historical connection may have made Florida seem more like home to people arriving from Puerto Rico. The similarity of the climate and geography also helps. Transplants from Puerto Rico to the Northeast were often shocked by the winter weather, and many returned to Puerto Rico when the temperatures dropped.
Political connections
In recent election cycles, Puerto Rican voters in Central Florida have made headlines for the importance of their influence on Florida’s vote. For people coming from Puerto Rico, where they have not had the right to vote in presidential elections at all, this has been a positive change.
Voters in Florida also tend to support statehood for Puerto Rico, the majority position on the Island. Polls of Floridians show similar political views to those on the Island, including support for statehood and conservative political positions.
