Puerto Rico at a crossroads as Congress mulls statehood

NEW YORK — As more than 1 million Puerto Ricans returned to Fifth Avenue on Sunday for the pageantry and pride of their annual parade, their beloved homeland could soon face a grave choice about its future relationship with the United States.

The swirling celebration comes as the Caribbean island where the revelers trace their roots could soon face a once-in-a-lifetime choice between becoming the 51st state or an independent nation — or something in between.

A recent breakthrough agreement has united both supporters and opponents of Puerto Rico statehood in the U.S. Congress behind a push by a Democratic-led House of Representatives vote to authorize a binding referendum on Puerto Rico’s status.

The three choices would be statehood, independence or a hybrid known as independence with free association, whose terms would be negotiated.

Puerto Rican legislators in the U.S. Congress, and particularly New York City, are deeply divided about which option is best for the U.S. territory and the 5-millionstrong diaspora on the mainland.

One option that would not be on the ballot: keeping the current territorial status. It gives Puerto Rico’s more than 3 million residents U.S. citizenship, but does not allow them to vote in presidential elections, denies them many federal benefits and allows them one representative in Congress with limited voting powers. Puerto Rico became a commonwealth in 1952.

Despite the hunger for change, it’s very possible that nothing will happen any time soon. If the House does pass the measure it will go to the Senate where it faces a very uncertain future.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., support statehood, but GOP leaders fear the political impact of admitting Puerto Rico as a state.

Puerto Rico would have two senators and four House representatives. Although the island’s political parties don’t completely align with the two major ones on the mainland, Republicans fear Democrats would have a big edge, potentially shifting the balance of an evenly split Congress.

The next step is hearings in the House, followed by a vote possibly this summer.