The incoming chair of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, Luis Dávila Pernas, joined Martin Rivera and George Laws Garcia on the Mano a Mano podcast.
They began by discussing the meaning of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican politics don’t center around the national parties. Instead, the political parties that run campaigns for Governor of Puerto Rico and the Island’s representative in Congress are centered on the different status options for the Island: the current territory status, statehood, or independence.
The Republican and Democratic Parties can’t field candidates in Puerto Rico; they aren’t registered parties for elections. “We’re limited in what we can do,” said Luis Dávila Pernas. “That’s our colonial reality.” But that doesn’t mean that the Puerto Rico Democratic Party is not important on the national level. Puerto Rico sent 65 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. These delegates cast votes for the candidate — in 2024, Kamal Harris — and also for the party platform.
“They knew that we had more delegates than 24 other states,” Dávila Pernas said, “and all of a sudden we became really important. It just shows the value of having that representation and having that power.”
The Democratic Party Platform
Dávila Pernas proposed a successful amendment to the Democratic Party Platform. The current platform says, “Democrats recognize that the people of Puerto Rico have earned and deserve to resolve the political status question. For this reason, Democrats support the enactment of the Puerto Rico Status Act (H.R.2757/S.3231) and promote the full civic and political representation for Puerto Ricans.”
In the initial draft, Dávila Pernas explained, “it had very vague language advocating self-determination for Puerto Rico.”
“Self-determination sounds good, but by itself it has become code for doing nothing,” he continued. “It was important that the platform reflect all the accomplishments.”
“We were able to pass the Puerto Rico Status Act in the House with unanimous support,” said Dávila Pernas, going on to describe the impressive levels of support the Puerto Rico Status Act has garnered in Congress. The Senate bill has a record-setting number of cosponsors.
The Roll Call
The conversation celebrated the roll call at the Democratic National Convention, when Charlie Rodriguez said, “Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory known as the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the next state of the United States, casts its 60 votes para la primera mujer afroamericana de ascendencia asiática y caribeña que será presidenta de los estados unidos, Kamala Harris. Viva Kamala.”
Dávila Pernas explained that Rodriguez made his announcement bilingually to emphasize that a new state of Puerto Rico will not give up its language and culture, as some opponents of statehood have suggested.
Sentiment
Laws Garcia asked about the people at the convention who said they wanted to support the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, a bill which has been recycled for decades, calling for a status convention. Dávila Pernas said that very few people expressed that position, but he was familiar with them.
“Their strategy is to block every single effort to resolve the political status question, because they know that the Puerto Rican people support statehood,” said Dávila Pernas. “The moment we are given the opportunity by Congress to determine our political status, statehood is going to win in a landslide.” He described the small group of opponents as separatists who hope that if they can delay statehood for another 30 to 40 years, the public opinion might shift.
In contrast, he described the enthusiasm he met from other delegates at the convention. “Puerto Rico! We gotta make you a state!” was what he heard on the floor.
Dávila Pernas recommended that supporters of statehood and equality for Puerto Rico bring up the issue of Puerto Rico’s status “any opportunity that you have.” With limited representation in Washington, Puerto Rico must rely on allies in the states to bring the issue of Puerto Rico status to the attention of Congress and the American people. If you live in a state, contact your legislators and let them know that Puerto Rico status is important to you. If you live in Puerto Rico, ask your friends and family living in states to do so.
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