Puerto Rico governor’s plan for a ‘shadow delegation’ draws criticism amid pandemic

A plan by Puerto Rico’s governor to fund elections for a new group of shadow representatives in Washington requires the elected officials to support statehood — and opponents are declaring the proposed election an unconstitutional waste of money amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Newly elected Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, a Democrat and president of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, told reporters Tuesday that funding the special election for a mostly symbolic group of shadow representatives lobbying for statehood is “the best investment” of public funds because the island will receive much more federal funding if it were to become a U.S. state.

But Pierluisi’s party lost its majority in the Puerto Rican legislature after the 2020 election in November, and now his plan is drawing criticism from opponents who say it is “insensitive” to advance a political cause and spend an estimated

$8.9 million on a special election amid the coronavirus pandemic. To guarantee the election could take place, Pierluisi’s New Progressive Party passed two laws three days before losing power in December to require the new delegates to speak both English and Spanish and swear under oath that they will defend statehood.

“This person has an obligation to believe in statehood. So if a person wins with the endorsement of the Puerto Rican people to be part of that committee and that person believes in independence, they will exclude that person,” said Puerto Rico House of Representatives President Rafael Hernández Montañez. “So there you have yet another element of illegality.”

The controversy is the latest wrinkle in an ongoing statehood debate that is receiving renewed attention after President Joe Biden, who said on the campaign trail that he personally supported statehood, assumed office on Jan. 20. Statehood opponents on the island, which is a U.S. territory, say they are considering legal action against the last-minute laws. And the statehood cause among Republicans has lost popularity in Washington, with key figures like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declaring Puerto Rico statehood “socialism” as Democrats push for statehood for the District of Columbia, an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Hernández Montañez, a member of the pro-status quo Popular Democratic Party (PPD), said the legislation to elect shadow delegates with conditions is unconstitutional. The laws also give Pierluisi the authority to call an election relating to Puerto Rico’s status and establish the options on the ballot through executive order, which Hernández argues exceeds the scope of Pierluisi’s powers.

Candidates must speak English, he added, which is discriminatory on an island where Spanish is the predominant language.

“They’re creating a mechanism to choose some shadow delegation of lawmakers, who, in order to seek election [to the delegation], they must know English,” Hernández Montañez said. “Which means that they’re excluding about 70% of the population. Not even in the U.S. can one do something this arbitrary and discriminatory.”

The initiative Pierluisi is seeking to finance is a vote that would elect six “special delegates” or shadow representatives — which the Puerto Rico Elections Commission has estimated could cost up to $8.9 million — to head to Washington, D.C., and push for statehood. It is Puerto Rico’s latest attempt to be admitted into the U.S., after a November 2020 referendum where 52% of voters supported statehood.

Despite the controversy and lack of details of where the money for the vote will come from, the odds appear to be on Pierluisi’s side. While he must first get the approval from the federally appointed fiscal management board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances, the board cannot legally interfere with any efforts from political leaders to define the U.S. territory’s political status — all but assuring Pierluisi will succeed in holding the special vote, slated for May 16.

Matthias Rieker, a spokesman for the federal board, said it has yet to receive Pierluisi’s proposal and will evaluate the merits once it is submitted.

Sheila Angleró, the governor’s press secretary, dismissed accusations that the vote would be funded by federal COVID grants and said the governor’s proposal to reorganize the local budget will not affect federal funding that has already been allocated to address the island’s fight against the pandemic.

Puerto Rico has reported about 92,000 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases and 1,800 COVIDrelated deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The island has vaccinated close to 188,700 people, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is slightly below the rate of vaccination for the state of Florida. The vaccination process largely depends on the dose distribution of the federal government, and has not been without controversy.

“Again, the amount of money we’re talking about is not significant when we evaluate it from the point of view of what’s at stake here,” Pierluisi said, according to a video published by local media outlet NotiCel. “The best investment we can make at the public funds level is to advocate for equality.”

This time around, supporters argue, the delegation will be elected through a popular vote and will take place under the Biden administration. The president said on the campaign trail last year that he personally supported statehood, although he also said the island should choose its own political path.

“We’re going to be lobbying in Congress intensely to create awareness, and for our will to be respected,” said Charlie Rodriguez, chairman of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico. “Not recognizing statehood for Puerto Rico is an attack against democracy.”

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has represented the District of Columbia in Congress for 30 years, said elected shadow representatives from Puerto Rico would be “useful” for the territory’s statehood push.

Washington, D.C., has elected two shadow senators and one shadow representative since 1990, though they mostly serve as symbolic advocates for D.C. statehood. But Norton said Puerto Rico’s shadow representation, if elected, would be similar to the efforts of U.S. territories in the 19th and 20th centuries who sent representatives to Washington even though they had no formal power.

“What I think they’re hoping for is somebody who would probably be dispatched to Washington but could be an advocate for Puerto Rico and do what shadow representatives have typically done that were far from Washington,” Norton said. “It’s really to have a presence here that can help the elected officials as they proceed to try to get statehood.”

Washington, D.C., shadow senator Paul Strauss said electing representatives to push for statehood and other issues gives a degree of transparency and accountability that unelected lobbyists don’t have.

“Senators like to talk to their colleagues,” Strauss said, adding that he frequently speaks with U.S. senators who consider him an equal. “There’s a simplicity to the process and more transparency when you’re directly elected by folks.”

But at least two political parties on the island, the pro-status quo party PPD and the pro-independence party PIP, say they are working to repeal the laws that would allow Pierluisi to move forward with the special election. If the governor does not heed the wishes of the new legislative body to eliminate the laws and their intended purpose, Hernández Montañez said his party would challenge the laws’ constitutionality in the island’s courts.

“If the governor does not really address the intentions and desires of the new majority in the legislative assembly, then going to the courts will be the next step,” Hernández Montañez said. “This great controversy shows the governor is insensitive toward this moment.”

Puerto Rico Senator María de Lourdes Santiago, a member of the anti-statehood Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), said Pierluisi’s effort to push a statehood referendum without buy-in from other parties is “doomed to fail.”

“It is something that hurts the sensibilities of anyone seeing the situation the country is in, using that amount of public money to promote a single formula, when it is clear that any unilateral initiative in Washington is doomed to fail,” Santiago said.