WASHINGTON, D.C. – We’ve heard President Trump talk about making Canada or Greenland the next US state, but what about Puerto Rico? The island’s Governor is in Capitol Hill this week advocating for Puerto Rico to become the next state but the island’s congressional member believes the Governor should focus on other issues than statehood.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon is in Washington, participating in the second equality and statehood summit which advocates for Puerto Rico to become the next US state.
“The United States has been the beacon of democracy around the world and right now we’re fighting for freedom and democracy in the Middle East but still you have a colony that got 109 years waiting for the next step and that next step is becoming the state of the nation,” said the Governor. “I don’t mind if it’s after Greenland, after Canada, if it gets us to a state.”
The island is home to more than three million people. They’re US citizens but cannot vote for president, they don’t have the same benefits as people who live in the states and their congressional House member lacks voting power on the House floor.
In the latest referendum, which asked the voters to choose between statehood, free association or independence, 58 percent of voters in Puerto Rico supported statehood.
“We have been in this fight, voting four times in a row supporting statehood,” said the Governor. “So that means when 58 percent of the island is asking you repeatedly to allow us to become a state, that means we’re ready.”
But Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner, Pablo Jose Hernandez (D- Puerto Rico), said this statehood push is a waste of time.
“They’re using the public’s money on a congressional junket and instead of focusing on what the people really want them to focus on which is affordability, which is lowering the price of energy, lowering the price of housing, increasing healthcare quality and accessibility,” said the Resident Commissioner. “They’re here wasting their time on this. The question is not whether Puerto Rico should become the 51st, 52nd or 53rd state, it’s really about what will the state of our economy will be? What will the state of our healthcare be? What will the state of our income be? I think those are the questions people are asking and what we should focus on in Washington.”
It’s up to Congress to decide Puerto Rico’s status change. The Governor told us she believes there’s growing momentum for statehood after the world saw how useful Puerto Rico is for the drug cartel operations in the Caribbean and the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
