While U.S. citizens at home and abroad held their collective breaths as Presidential election results came in Tuesday night, the media paid little attention to another potentially important election decision that was being made in the Caribbean. The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico voted by a margin of 61% to become the 51st state in the union.
How Puerto Rico moves from here is still unknown, the Governor elect Alejandro Garcia Padilla is a member of the Popular Democratic Party, which favors the status quo. So he may not push the process.
Ultimately the final decision concerning statehood is in the hands of Congress. Historically speaking,they have never denied an application for joining the union, nor with the exception of Texas have they delayed entry.
Although there is no major precedent for denying statehood, I think it is entirely possible during our current national financial situation, that Congress may delay or deny statehood to Puerto Rico. Take into account the fact that the territory has an upwards of 13.6% unemployment rate, almost 2% higher than Nevada the highest in the nation. And add to that a new state would also require congressional redistricting, potentially shifting the balance of power, it may not be a bet that either side of the aisle is willing to place. Puerto Rico would also acquire federal funding. It may very well be a hit to the budget that Congress can’t handle until they have stabilized the national economy, if and when they do.
There are also other cultural and political potentials to consider. Puerto Rico is a spanish speaking territory; and in a time of increased anti-latino sentiment when states like Alabama are drafting tougher latino targeting anti-immigration laws, it’s foreseeable that anti-latino sentiment may rear it’s head and have a negative impact on the territory’s attempt at statehood.
Then there is the fact that Puerto Rico’s party structure is not the same as the mainland, while the current belief that it would become a blue state is a reasonable assumption. It should be noted that the current parties in the territory tend to focus on smaller issues such as working conditions and environmentalism, and neither could be described as solely left or right leaning.
While I personally would like to see Puerto Rico join the Union, and become the 51st state. I don’t think the road ahead will be an easy one, for the Congress or Puerto Rico, but it should prove to be an interesting component to an interesting year.
