In an era of extreme bipartisanship, the Democrat and Republican National Conventions of 2024 appear to have uncovered at least one commonality: support for statehood among the Puerto Rico delegations.
At the Democratic National Convention, Charlie Rodríguez, Chairman of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party, took the mic and proudly called Puerto Rico “the next state of the United States.” He announced in full: “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 for the first African-American woman of Asian and Caribbean heritage who will be President of the United States.”
Rodríguez switched between English and Spanish in his remarks.
Several weeks earlier, Puerto Rico Republican Party Chairman Ángel Cintrón García made a similar reference to aspirations for statehood on the island when he described Puerto Rico as the “The great 51st Republican state” and cast his delegation’s votes for Donald Trump.
The similar statements from Democratic and Republican delegates to the national party conventions demonstrate bipartisan support for statehood among Puerto Rico’s political leaders.
Who wants commonwealth?
Puerto Rico’s political life doesn’t center around the Republican and Democratic parties. Instead, the major political parties on the island represent the choices for Puerto Rico’s political status: statehood (Partido Nuevo Progresista/PNP), commonwealth (Partido Popular Democratico/PPD), and, to a lesser extent, independence (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño/PIP). Puerto Rico’s 60 delegates at the Democratic National Convention showed a typical range of viewpoints. Forty-three of them were from the statehood party, 16 from the commonwealth party, and one isn’t affiliated with any of the parties.
The commonwealth party is often understood to be the party supporting the current territorial status. However, the word “commonwealth” frequently connotates increased powers for Puerto Rico in an arrangement historically known as “enhanced commonwealth,” with the powers of both statehood and independence simultaneously. This arrangement, jokingly referred to as “a letter to Santa Claus” by former Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), has been rejected by all three branches of the federal government as unconstitutional, unfeasible, and impractical.
The “commonwealth” option has been included on plebiscite ballots in the past but has never been accepted by the United States and is not a viable option for Puerto Rico’s future status. PPD leaders have nevertheless continued to demand that it should be on the ballot of status votes and refused to participate in referendums that do not include a “commonwealth” option.
Members of Congress have joked in the past that their states would like to have “enhanced commonwealth” if it were possible but the U.S. Constitution does not contemplate such an arrangement.
At both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the delegates banded together behind clear calls for statehood.
Who wants independence?
No DNC or RNC delegates supported Puerto Rico independence (either with our without a free association arrangement); the number of voters in Puerto Rico who do so is extremely small.
Although Independence is a viable option, Puerto Rico has never chosen independence in a plebiscite vote. The option is deeply unpopular in Puerto Rico at least in part because it would mean the loss of U.S. citizenship. As the 2011 Presidential Task Force on Puerto Rico’s status noted, ““[a]ny status option that could conceivably result in the loss of U.S. citizenship by current U.S. citizen residents of Puerto Rico would, it seems, be viewed with hostility by the vast majority of Puerto Ricans.”
The Atlantic, the L.A. Progressive, and Current Affairs have all published essays supporting independence, but these have been written by people living in states, who would not have to shoulder the responsibility of building the infrastructure of a new nation and may be taking their own U.S. citizenship for granted. Such statements have been viewed as hypocritical, with cynics countering that the authors have already voted for statehood with their feet.
The national party conventions showed the actual preferences of Puerto Rico leaders and voters, both Republican and Democratic.
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