The U.S. Senate is expected to oppose the consideration and approval of House Resolution 8393, legislation that provides for a plebiscite to be held on Nov. 5, 2023, to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status.
By THE STAR STAFF
A sector in the pro-statehood movement will propose to the U.S. Senate to make Puerto Rico an incorporated territory instead of a full-fledged state because the latter does not have senators’ majority support, the STAR has learned.
The Senate is expected to oppose the consideration and approval of House Resolution (HR) 8393, legislation that provides for a plebiscite to be held on Nov. 5, 2023, to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status. Specifically, such a plebiscite will offer eligible voters a choice of independence, sovereignty in free association with the United States, or statehood.
For that reason, a sector in the pro-statehood movement is drafting a document that they will send to the senators proposing to make Puerto Rico an incorporated territory.
Pro-statehood lawyer Gregorio Igartúa said the battle for statehood is in a stalemate in part because the Popular Democratic Party continues to influence Congress for a status alternative that promotes inequality.
He said that while Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón have the best of intentions in pushing for a binding plebiscite, the statehood movement needs to be more active.
“We have to take a more definitive road,” Igartúa said. “The territorial incorporation would get independence and other status options out of the way and pave the way for statehood.”
He also urged the governor to create a statehood commission that can create a plan as to the steps it should follow.
The document, which the pro-statehooders plan to publish in local newspapers, provides background on the different status-related bills and court cases.
On Dec. 15, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 8393, with 233 votes in favor and 191 against. Shortly before the consideration of the bill, U.S. President Joe Biden gave his support to the legislation, stating that “For too long, the residents of Puerto Rico -- more than 3 million U.S. citizens -- have been deprived of the opportunity to determine their political future and have not received the full rights and benefits of their citizenship by residing in a United States territory,” the document notes.
Although the House passed the bill, then-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer acknowledged that there was no chance of the Senate passing the bill as Republicans have expressed their opposition for various reasons ranging from prejudice and misinformation to fear that Puerto Rico will become a Democratic state. Such a position has been influenced by lobbyists of economic interests that benefit from Puerto Rico being treated as a foreign jurisdiction for tax purposes.
“Those of us who believe in American liberal democracy, economic freedom and citizens’ rights cannot -- must not -- assume a passive attitude,” the document notes. “We have to come together and get ready to act. The immediate option, given this situation that makes it essential to end the current limiting and denigrating status, is to insist that Congress put an end to the racist jurisprudence that invented a territorial status called ‘unincorporated’ and that through a Congressional Resolution it puts an end to said status and recognizes us as an incorporated territory.”
“Congress must exercise its constitutional authority over the territories as provided in the Constitution,” the document adds. “And we must organize and activate ourselves to achieve it.”
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