I’ve heard two different thoughts from Puerto Ricans.
Some want full statehood, and to be treated as any other state.
Others want full independance as it’s own country.
Now opinions on which are back and forth, person to person. However EVERYONE agrees on one thing. The current system of being a territory only benefits tourists and capitolists. EVERYBODY hates the idea of being a territory.
Now, statehood or independance, which one is better for the people living there? Well, I feel like a middle aged white dude from Ohio shouldn’t have a horse in that race. Especially since I’ve never even been there.
All that being said, I hope they find a better life through a better system. However that may come. Because the current system for them is clearly intentionally broken.
They have regular referendums about this, in 2020 52% wanted to be a state, against 48% that didn’t.
This year they will get another one with 3 options Statehood, Independence, or Free Association like the Marshall Islands or Micronesia (i.e. technically independent enough to have a UN seat, but dependent on the US for defense and things like social security).
Yeah there’s a lot of popularity with independence these days and I think it’s ironically because they’ve voted several times internally to become a state but Congress will not allow it. So they’re basically like ok if we can’t join we’ll just go off on our own.
When people demonize arguments for Puerto Rican independence by claiming its unpopular you can’t separate this from the decades of FBI terror and murder of independence activists which was successful in killing and jailing an actual movement and the poverty which forces massive flights of citizens to survive affecting the poor skewing the vote even more.
Complex topic. John Oliver does a good video on it https://youtu.be/Tt-mpuR_QHQ?si=_3KUtwkcnX-lbBWQ
The same link
https://youtu.be/Tt-mpuR_QHQwithout this tracking bit.
?si=_3KUtwkcnX-lbBWQI did not know about that thank you
Unexpected side effect of Trump might be a huge boost for pro-independence parties
Wasn’t there something about Americans not liking taxation without representation? Yet they do it to PR
Referendums on statehood have never passed in PR.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum
Yes 655,505 52.52%
so what do you mean?
Uhh in PR or certainly has. It just hasn’t been put up for vote in Congress.
I feel this is pushing an idea that the people in question don’t even agree with. My understanding is that PR has voted a slim majority on joining the US as a state, with a lot of controversy on the wording. So why bring it up if they don’t want it? Otherwise, yeah If they want
citizenshiprepresentation in US government, they should get the appropriate reps and senators. EDITEDThey are US citizens already.
You’re right thats incorrect verbage, I meant to see representation in us government.
No TaXaTiOn WiThOuT rEpReSeNtAtIoN
They don’t pay federal income tax.
That’s so they can be a tax shelter for wealthy Americans. They want representation and an income tax. They’re the poorest people in the US because they can’t tax.
