The nature of Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States may soon change, as a majority of citizens from the Caribbean island territory ostensibly supported U.S. statehood in a referendum last Tuesday.
As it stands, Puerto Rico is currently a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S. Its people are considered U.S. citizens, but they are unable to vote in our presidential election and they do not have representation in Congress.
Although Puerto Ricans may technically be U.S. citizens, Puerto Rico possesses a primarily rural, Spanish-speaking culture with an economy radically unlike that of America.
If Puerto Rico did assimilate into the U.S. via statehood, this transition would ultimately destroy the Caribbean island’s culture and heritage.
Throughout the past century and up until last week, Puerto Ricans have indicated an inherent understanding regarding the dire societal implications associated with statehood, as they have voted against becoming a state three times in the past 45 years.
If that’s the case, why did 61 percent of Puerto Ricans cast their ballots last week in favor of statehood, effectively changing their long-standing, 114-year commonwealth status with the U.S.?
Is it finally time for you to sew that 51st star on your American flag?
Before you start designing your new flag, I’d suggest taking a closer look at the actual vote.
For one, the referendum itself was not a simple yes/no question on statehood. Instead, it was a two-part ballot that first asked voters if they favor the current status as a U.S. territory.
With their passionate statehood advocacy, the Progressive-controlled executive branch of Puerto Rico knew their best chance at achieving statehood would be to design the ballot eliminating the status quo as an option.
As expected, dissatisfaction regarding Puerto Rico’s commonwealth status reigned supreme with 52 percent of voters expressing disapproval.
The referendum then asked voters who answered no if they wanted the island to become a U.S. state, an independent country or a “sovereign free association” designation that would grant more autonomy to the territory of 4 million people.
In doing so, the Progressive party of Puerto Rico essentially restricts the second question only to proponents of defeating the status quo — most of whom advocate for Puerto Rican statehood.
Put simply, the referendum is designed so statehood will win, regardless of the majority will of the people.
And sure enough, the 61 percent of Puerto Ricans who voted for statehood was not the majority. In fact, 470,000 voters intentionally left the second question blank, meaning that only 45 percent of voters supported statehood.
To be sure, though, even if Puerto Ricans did want to be admitted as a state, they would have to seek approval from both houses of Congress.
With Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s unsuccessful bid for the presidency, you can bet your bottom dollar that House Republicans would not support action adding approximately four million new voters predisposed to support the Democratic Party.
Additionally, the facts say the U.S. cannot afford the 51st state of Puerto Rico. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, the cost of Puerto Rican statehood would be $9.4 billion in the first 4 years.
This is simply a no-nonsense issue: Puerto Rican statehood should not be granted, for it’s in neither country’s best interest to do so and the grand majority of citizens oppose it, as well.
Let’s maintain the status quo, and focus on the real issues facing this country.
Jay Meyers is a 19-year-old economics sophomore from Shreveport.
