Pablo Jose Hernandez, the resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, clarified his positions on Puerto Rico’s political status in an interview with El Nuevo Dia. Hernandez is a member of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), unconnected with the national Democratic Party. The political parties in Puerto Rico are aligned with the three most popular political status options: statehood, independence, and territorial status, which is often called “commonwealth.” The PDP is known as the “commonwealth” party.
Hernandez’s goals
One of the problems the commonwealth party has had historically is that it has not been able to agree on an enduring definition of “enhanced (improved, developed or culminated) commonwealth.” A central claim of the party is that the details of “commonwealth” will be worked out and negotiated between Puerto Rico and the United States over time. There have been lists of the characteristics the party hopes for, but no “commonwealth” definition agreed upon by party leaders. Descriptions of “commonwealth” on status vote ballots have varied significantly over time.
And Yet More Confusion over “Commonwealth”: Puerto Rico’s Plebiscite History
“I feel that the condition of the PPD is so critical that a mere reorganization, which is what is usually done after each election, is not enough,” Hernandez told El Nuevo Dia. “[R]ather, it is necessary to start almost from scratch with a new structure and a new philosophy.”
Asked whether the new definition of “commonwealth” would be within or outside the territorial clause of the United States Constitution, Hernandez responded, “This ELA will be realistic and will be what can be achieved within certain basic principles, which are greater powers of self-government, parity in federal programs, participation in the decision-making of the federal government on matters that affect us, and the search for an agreement that clearly defines the authority of each of the parties.”
Colony or sovereign?
Asked whether it was possible for a territory to be covered by the Territory Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as Puerto Rico is, without being a colony, Hernandez said that he believed that, contrary to past U.S. government statements, it would be possible to “be inside and have a unique status.”
The interviewer went on to ask whether it would be possible to be outside the territorial clause and not be a sovereign nation or a state. “That remains to be seen,” said Hernandez. “The prevailing view, right now, of a Justice Department that is more conservative than it was before, is no.”
Hernandez is the grandson of esteemed former Puerto Rico governor Rafael Hernández Colón. El Nuevo Dia asked the new Resident Commissioner about some remarks made by the former governor. Hernandez echoed his grandfather’s remarks, saying, “My (homeland and) nation is Puerto Rico” and agreeing with his grandfather’s statement that the United States is a “federation to which we are permanently united, by the free will of the Puerto Rican people through constitutional bonds of citizenship, and through ties of affection and deep understanding.”
In an earlier interview, Hernandez rejected the idea that Puerto Rico is a colony. “[T]he void of the last 20 years – in which only resident commissioners from the New Progressive Party (the statehood party) were elected – was a serious damage.”
He went on to say, “I don’t know how far back I can go and reverse and change those new positions, or if you have to create something new, almost start over with something new that starts from that premise.” He emphasized that the “commonwealth” party would need to have a renewed, unified vision of what “commonwealth” might be in order to succeed.
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