Washington, Apr 20 (EFE).- Democratic and Republican congressmen reintroduced this Thursday in Congress in Washington a bill that seeks to hold a referendum next November for the citizens of Puerto Rico to choose whether they want independence, statehood or remain as a commonwealth associated with the United States.
The governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, who attended the event at the Capitol, pointed out in a press conference that despite there being 3.2 million US citizens on the island, they cannot vote for the US president, they do not have representation with a vote in Congress and do not receive the treatment “that we deserve in multiple federal government programs.”
The Democrat reiterated that what they are looking for is “equality and democracy.”
For her part, the resident commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer González, recalled that “statehood, independence or free association are the only viable options for the people of Puerto Rico.”
“This is the greatest achievement of this project, a self-executing project, an offer from the United States Congress so that Puerto Rico can vote between these options,” added the Republican.
The initiative, known as the Puerto Rico Status Act, offers “an inclusive and fair process,” said Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, a Democrat from New York. “It is the first time that these options will be presented to the people of Puerto Rico in this way.”
“The people of Puerto Rico have never had the opportunity to have a democratic mechanism,” added Velázquez, of Puerto Rican origin.
“The decolonization of the island must be among the priorities of Congress and I urge the Republican leaders in the House and the Senate to act,” he emphasized.
“We cannot give the world lessons on democracy while we maintain this situation,” Velázquez said.
The bill had already been approved last December in the House of Representatives with 233 votes in favor, including 16 Republicans, and 191 votes against, but the initiative died without a decision in the Senate.
On the Island there have been six consultations with the citizens on the definitive status of the country, and in the most recent, in November 2020, without binding character, the only question was about the admission of Puerto Rico as one more state of the country.
52.52% of those who voted answered “yes” and 47.48% answered “no”, but with the participation of only 54.72% of the citizens authorized to vote, it was not clear which solution they preferred most Puerto Ricans.
In a plebiscite in 2012, in which 78.19% of Puerto Ricans eligible to vote participated, 53.97% answered “no” to the question “Do you agree with the current territorial status.”
In that non-binding consultation, 62.16% of voters indicated their preference for statehood, 33.34% for free association, and 5.49% for independence.
