We’ve been seeing claims that politics in Puerto Rico has changed entirely. The traditional parties have had the majority of votes — and they did this year, too, with a Republican from the statehood party elected as governor and a Democrat from the “commonwealth” party securing the post of resident commissioner. The legislature transferred from the control of the “commonwealth” party to the control of the statehood party.
At the same time, 57% of voters chose statehood as their preferred political status, making this the fourth win for statehood in a row — every status vote held during this century.
What’s the change? Separatists were excited to see the independence party candidate gain close to 10% of votes and independence losing with 31% instead of the 5% or less seen in all other status votes. These are obviously still losses, but they are smaller losses than usual. Separatists are crowing over the improvement.
Freedom, not independence?
But we also see mainland news heralding a different type of change. “Now, President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans can secure for decades the vital Puerto Rican voting bloc that swung their way in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania by making Puerto Rico a state,” said the Washington Times in their article, “Puerto Rico supports freedom and U.S. statehood.”
Fox News also pointed out the republican support in Puerto Rico, beginning at about 2:31 in the video below.
This isn’t actually a change. We have pointed out many times over the years that Puerto Ricans are not the Democratic voting bloc people like Mitch McConnell claim. The Republican has repeatedly said that Puerto Rico would vote Democratic if the Island became a state. For that reason, he and other like-minded members of Congress oppose statehood for Puerto Rico.
Yet Puerto Rico reliably votes for both Republicans and Democrats. The current Governor of Puerto Rico is a Democrat. The current resident commissioner is a Republican. The incoming governor is a Republican and the incoming resident commissioner is a Democrat. This is normal for Puerto Rico.
As a state, Puerto Rico will support the candidates who make the best case for their party. The Washington Times has decided that Puerto Rico will be a Republican state and Fox News seems to agree. This is a change — not in the voting habits of the voters of Puerto Rico, but in the interpretation provided by stateside media.
Open minds
Perhaps we are beginning to see a more open-minded attitude toward Puerto Rico by Republicans in the states. The misinformed idea that Puerto Rico would automatically be a blue state may be losing ground at last. At this point, a Democratic administration could have the 51st state as their legacy before the end of this year, or a Republican administration could have that honor next year. Either way, it’s time for Congress to admit Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the union. Tell your congressional representatives that it’s time to get on the right side of history.
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