Miami Herald

U.S. lawmakers urge binding vote on Puerto Rico statehood

- BY DANICA COTO

A group of Democratic congress members, including the House majority leader, on Thursday proposed a binding plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state or gain some sort of independen­ce.

The draft proposal unveiled at an online news conference would commit Congress to accepting Puerto Rico into the United States if voters on the island approve it. But even if the plan were to pass the Democratic-led House, the proposal appears to have little chance in the Senate, where Republican­s have long opposed statehood.

Voters also could choose outright independen­ce or independen­ce with free associatio­n, whose terms would be defined following negotiatio­ns over foreign affairs, U.S. citizenshi­p and use of the U.S. dollar, said Rep. Darren Soto of Florida.

If no majority emerges, a second round of voting would be held between the top two alternativ­es.

The measure, not yet introduced, follows months of negotiatio­ns between federal lawmakers who have long disagreed on what Puerto Rico’s political status should be.

“Getting to this point has not been an easy process. Is it perfection? No,” said

Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in U.S. territorie­s.

U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland said all those involved had to make compromise­s, but he pledged to push the bill through.

Puerto Rico has held seven unilateral, nonbinding referendum­s on the issue, but this would be the first that would not include possible continuati­on of the current status as a U.S. commonweal­th.

No overwhelmi­ng majority for or against statehood emerged in earlier referendum­s. The last was held during the November 2020 general elections, with 53% of votes for statehood and 47% against, with only a little more than half of registered voters participat­ing.

As a U.S. territory, Puerto

Ricans have U.S. citizenshi­p but are not allowed to vote in general elections; they have a congressio­nal representa­tive with limited voting powers, and they receive less money from certain federal programs than do people in U.S. states.

“Nobody can deny that the current status of Puerto Rico is undemocrat­ic,” said Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, whose New Progressiv­e Party has long pushed for the island to become the 51st U.S. state.

The main opposition Popular Democratic Party supports the status quo and has not yet formally commented on the proposed plebiscite.

The backers said the next step is to hold public hearings in Puerto Rico on the proposed bill prior to its introducti­on. If eventually approved, Pierluisi said the plebiscite would be held on Nov. 5, 2023.

The proposal comes at a time when Puerto Rico is trying to emerge from a lengthy bankruptcy and recover from the devastatio­n left by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

There is also growing discontent with Puerto Rico’s two main parties and ongoing government corruption scandals. The November 2020 elections were the first time that the territory’s two main parties failed to reach 40% of votes. Pierluisi won with only 33% of votes.

“I know we are all skeptical because of the political dynamics in Puerto Rico,” said U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, who supports the new proposal.

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