Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced Monday that Puerto Rico’s political status will be on the ballot in the general elections this November, and for the first time the island’s current status as a U.S. territory will not be an option in the non-binding plebiscite.
Voters on the island of 3.2 million people will choose between statehood, independence, or independence with free association, the terms of which would be negotiated regarding foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship, and the use of the U.S. dollar.
“In this way, we assert our rights as American citizens to demand our self-determination through direct voting without intermediaries and to require the federal government to address the grievance represented by our colonial status,” Pierluisi said.
The governor, leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, will activate a 2020 law that allows the current governor to call for a status referendum.
The executive order follows approval of a bill by the U.S. House in 2022, aimed at helping Puerto Rico move towards changing its territorial status. The Puerto Rico Status Act, spearheaded by Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, would exclude the island’s current territorial status as an option. (https://apnews.com/article/puerto-rico-status-plebiscite-election-e763c4d11e10a42fb557bd1bbd722614)
