Puerto Rico in the Presidential Debates

Both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have had multiple debates, and we’ve been waiting for Puerto Rico to be mentioned.

The status of Puerto Rico is not important only to the people of Puerto Rico. It is not important only to people whose families came from Puerto Rico. It is important for all Americans, because Puerto Rico belongs to the United States. If the current debt crisis leads to greater hardship for the 3.7 millions U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico, this will be a problem for the United States, not just for Puerto Rico.

And it is a problem for the United States every time other nations look at Puerto Rico and see that the United States, champion of freedom, owns a colony… and ignores that colony’s demands for statehood and for help in the current debt crisis.

But we haven’t heard any questions about Puerto Rico in the debates. In the most recent Democratic presidential debate, however, we did hear Martin O’Malley, former Governor of Maryland, speak up about Puerto Rico when asked if there were things he would like to say.

O’Malley said, “We haven’t discussed the shameful treatment that the people of Puerto Rico, our fellow Americans, are being treated with by these hedge funds that are working them over.”

The audience in South Carolina cheered.

Maybe questions about Puerto Rico will be asked in future debates. If not, we are not powerless. We can ask these questions ourselves.

Send a tweet, send an email, send a letter. Ask your representatives in Congress to take responsibility and take action on Puerto Rico.