The Status of Puerto Rico | Inside America with Ghida Fakhry - a podcast by TRT World

Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean has been fighting for autonomy and full citizenship rights for more than a century. Earlier this month, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives.

It would grant the island’s 3 million US citizens the right to full representation in the US Congress: two Senators and as many as four or five seats in the House of Representatives. Statehood would also allow eligible Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico to vote in US elections and get seven votes in the Electoral Colleg e which determines the outcome of US presidential elections. Puerto Rico would also have greater access to federal funding.The bill has the support of at least 49 House members: 13 Republicans and 36 Democrats. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Americans support admitting Puerto Rico as a state —66% are in favor of statehood; that’s two in three Americans.

In a non-binding referendum held in Puerto Rico last November, almost 53% of Puerto Rican participants voted in favor of statehood and almost 48% were against.Meanwhile, two Democratic Representatives from New York —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velazquez —both of Puerto Rican descent, introduced their own legislation: The Puerto Rican Self-Determination Act, which would allow Puerto Ricans to ‘exercise their natural right to self-determination’ by electing a group of delegates to study the issue and come up with a plan for the island’s status —including statehood, free-association or even independence.


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