* Plebiscite will be the fourth held since 1967
* Voters to choose if they want a change in political status
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Puerto Ricans, long
divided over the U.S. Caribbean territory’s political status,
head to the polls on Tuesday in a vote that will help determine
whether the island seeks to become the 51st U.S. state.
Debate over the island’s status has long dominated politics
in Puerto Rico, where political parties are formed around the
preference for statehood, independence or its current status as
a self-governing commonwealth.
Puerto Ricans have voted to remain a U.S. territory in four
previous votes held since 1967, but the margin of victory has
decreased over the years.
The plebiscite was proposed by Republican Governor Luis
Fortuno, president of the New Progressive Party, which supports
statehood. It is alternately viewed by Puerto Ricans as an
opportunity to improve the island’s economic future, a chance to
shake off the vestiges of its colonial past or a ploy by Fortuno
to win a second term.
The vote coincides with gubernatorial and municipal
elections.
Supporters of the current status describe it as a bilateral
pact that allows the island some autonomy while enjoying being a
part of the United States. But critics say it means Puerto Rico
is in effect a colony under the complete authority of the U.S.
Congress.
Under its current commonwealth status, Puerto Ricans living
on the island are U.S. citizens but they cannot vote in
presidential elections and their only representation in Congress
is a non-voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Most Puerto Ricans pay no federal income tax, but they
contribute to the Social Security retirement program, are
eligible to receive federal welfare benefits and have long
served in the armed forces.
Some statehood supporters like Ingrid Reyes, a 41-year-old
unemployed personnel manager, argue the status issue has been a
lengthy distraction for the island, diverting attention from
more pressing issues like a stagnant economy and a stubborn
unemployment rate of 13.6 percent.
“Until status is resolved, we won’t be able to focus on the
real issues,” said Reyes. “Nothing has changed for the last
decade, and keeping with the status quo won’t improve things.”
TWO QUESTIONS
Voters will be asked two questions in the plebiscite about
the political status of Puerto Rico, an island of nearly 4
million people.
The first, a yes-or-no question, asks if voters agree that
Puerto Rico should continue with its current status.
The second calls on voters, regardless of their answer to
the first question, to choose their preference among three
non-territorial options – U.S. statehood, independence or
sovereign free association with ties to the United States.
A poll conducted two weeks ago by the ASISA Research Group
showed 48 percent favored statehood, 41 percent wanted sovereign
free association and 6 percent backed independence. The margin
of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Any change in Puerto Rico’s status would ultimately have to
be approved by the U.S. Congress.
Senator Alejandro Garcia Padilla, the president of the
Popular Democratic Party, or PDP, which favors keeping Puerto
Rico’s current status, has criticized the vote as an attempt by
Fortuno to boost voter turnout and possibly his chances for
re-election.
Garcia Padilla is challenging Fortuno for the job of
governor.
Some in the PDP have called for an “improved commonwealth”
status that would grant the island more autonomy over its
affairs while maintaining a “permanent” relationship with the
United States, which would continue to guarantee U.S.
citizenship for Puerto Rico’s residents.
Critics say such an arrangement is not possible under the
U.S. Constitution.
Other prominent PDP members back sovereign free association,
where the terms of the relationship between a sovereign Puerto
Rico and the United States would be detailed in a new pact.
Garcia Padilla has equated free association with
independence and is calling on PDP supporters to vote “yes” on
the first question to maintain the political status quo, while
leaving the second part of the ballot blank.
Other prominent PDP members, however, are openly supporting
the sovereign free association, which is defined on the ballot
as a “free and voluntary political association, the specific
terms of which shall be agreed upon between the United States
and Puerto Rico.”
Marcos Mirabal, a 44-year-old psychologist, said he will
likely vote for free association.
“My preference is we have as many powers as possible to run
our own show but without avoiding the reality of our political
and historic relationship with the U.S.,” he said.
In 1998, the last time voters were asked to choose their
status preference, just over 50 percent chose a “none of the
above” option that was backed by the pro-commonwealth PDP.
The party opted not to support a “commonwealth option” on
the ballot because it was defined as a territorial status
subject to congressional authority.
The United States seized Puerto Rico as war booty from Spain
following the Spanish-American War in 1898. The island was
granted a larger degree of autonomous rule under commonwealth
status in 1952.
