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At-large Representative José “Che” Pérez Cordero from the New Progressive Party (NPP) urged U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) on Monday to honor and advocate for the outcomes of the Election Day status consultation, where the statehood option won convincingly with 57% of the vote.
“Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez needs to acknowledge that the majority of the citizens of Puerto Rico have reaffirmed, freely and democratically, their desire for a permanent union with the United States, which is attainable solely through statehood,” Pérez Cordero stated in a written comment. “Fifty-seven percent of island voters supported Puerto Rico’s admission as a state in the union.”
The representative’s remarks followed Velázquez’s comments during an interview suggesting that it falls to the governor-elect, Jenniffer González Colón, to advocate for the consultation results in Congress.
“The citizens of Puerto Rico have issued a mandate through their vote to advocate for statehood,” Pérez Cordero remarked. “All elected representatives in Puerto Rico, without exception, need to strive to uphold the people’s will as indicated at the polls. Statehood won with over 541,000 votes on election night; there are still many early votes to be counted that we are confident will predominantly favor statehood. What we are discussing here is the decision of the sovereign, the People, and the Congresswoman must honor and work towards it.”
In a press conference leading up to the general elections, Velázquez publicly endorsed Juan Dalmau Ramírez of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, who advocates for Puerto Rico’s independence, for governor.
“The status consultation was based on HR 2757 (‘Puerto Rico Admission Act’), a bipartisan initiative introduced in the federal House of Representatives, which has garnered 100 co-authors from both party lines, including Velázquez,” Pérez Cordero noted. “A comparable measure in the federal Senate has the backing of 27 senators. I urge the Congresswoman to advocate for the consultation results since she was a co-author of the bill that it was grounded upon. I will continue to push for the will of the People of Puerto Rico to be honored so that we can finally break free from the colonial governance that inhibits our social, political, and economic advancement. The pathways for collaboration are always open to advance Puerto Rico.”
