Puerto Rico announces future
referendum on whether to become a US State
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| A woman waves a Puerto Rican flag in San Juan, Puerto Rico |
Puerto Rico will hold a Referendum on whether to become a US
State. Eventual US Statehood would bring substantially more funding from
Washington and other umbrella benefits, to stave off hard times.
By James Blears
Puerto Rico's Governor Wanda Vazquez announced that there
will be a non binding single question Referendum during the November
3rd General Elections, asking if it should become a State of the
United States of America. At present Puerto Rico is a US Territory. If
the vote was YES, then it would be up to the US Congress to
decide. Statehood would mean two Senators and five members of the House of
Representatives for Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are already US Citizens,
but can't vote in Presidential Elections, and the Island receives less US
funding than a fully fledged State. Full Statehood would mean significantly
more US Federal funds for capital works projects and disasters, which
Puerto Rico has recently suffered including earthquakes and hurricanes. Then
there's the Covid 19 Pandemic.
In a 2017 Referendum, more than half a million Puerto Ricans
voted for US Statehood. Governor Wanda Vazquez says: "It's
never too be late to be treated as equals."
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