Puerto Rico’s New Governor and New Representative to Congress Both Working for Statehood

On November 8, 2016, Puerto Rico voters elected Ricardo Rossello as Governor, and elected Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon as Resident Commissioner. “Resident Commissioner” is the Puerto Rico term for the delegate sent to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Both are nominees of the New Progressive Party, which favors statehood. Governor Rossello plans to work for legislation that would enable Puerto Rico voters to hold elections for two U.S. Senate seats and five U.S. House seats. That would probably involve a districting plan to create five U.S. House districts. Puerto Rico’s population would entitle it to five seats if it were a state.

Commissioner Gonzalez-Colon, the first woman to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. House, has already introduced HR 260, to begin the process for statehood. The text of the measure is still not on the web page for Congress. The bill was introduced January 4, 2017.


Comments

Puerto Rico’s New Governor and New Representative to Congress Both Working for Statehood — 14 Comments

  1. I wonder if this will require another referendum. That usually doesn’t work out so well for either statehood or independence.

  2. I still think that the statehood movement in Guam which has been steadily picking up steam is more likely to succeed before the Puerto Rican statehood movement does. Guam too has a pro-statehood governor.

  3. Agree. Guam wants to be part of the USA more than Puerto Rico. Also, I read there’s a move toward a fourth option to go on the ballot–going back to Spain.

  4. Given the state of things in Spain, i doubt the Spanish would be interested very much in rebuilding their overseas empire considering they can barely hold on to Catalonia.

  5. Just getting way from Economical crisis, No if American Goverment to bailed them out from Debt they sould put no get stupid austerity section to stuck like this for decade. Put would ether supported terrority as Associated state for American goverment like Marshall Islands or Federate States of Micronesia or Becoming as Latino nation like Cuba due of their culture is completely differnet from Mainland its like other Latino nation have their own ways. And beside we already got Hawaii or Alaska for its nature landscape.

  6. And 2012 status referendum is kinda needs be question due of seems probable sign of rigging by how much of blank vote are just higher of 515,115 than its previous status referendums (according to referendum page from wikipedia).

    PS I could possibly supported Guam as State or other Associated state like its former terroritial islands, Put need promoted as Incorpated terrority first if they want leave terrorital status to Associated state or as only Oceanic State far from Mainland.

  7. Guam seems rather small to be a state by itself. But, if Guam could get the Commonwealth of the North Marianas, and the Associated States of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau to all make a joint petition for statehood as the State of Micronesia, they might have a chance.

  8. Will be interesting to see what territory becomes the 51st state — Puerto Rico, Guam/Micronesia, or Washington DC…

  9. States are creations of the People. Congress can not accept an application from a territorial government that is a creation of Congress. Congress could recognize a process by which a constitutional convention was organized and promulgated a State Constitution, which would be considered in a referendum.

    It gets messy in the case of Puerto Rico, because nationhood presumably rests in Puerto Rican citizenship that is not based on residency in Puerto Rico. This is unlike State citizenship that is based on US Citizenship and current recidency.

  10. Casual Bystander/Casual Observer… VI needs to join with Puerto Rico, become it’s own country, or merge with the British VI. It’s kind of a pointless territory for the US to continue holding on to as an independent territory. Hopefully they’ll seek union with Puerto Rico.

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