Puerto Rico’s political climate is very complicated in part because of its non-incorporated territory status. Every election year we hear the same debate about statehood, independence, and our current colonial relationship with the United States of America. For the past 50+ years, there have been two parties in power, the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). The remaining third party in the running has never won a gubernatorial election, and that would be the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP). In recent years, there has been the emergence of two parties in the running: the Citizens Victory Movement (MVC) and the Dignity Project (PD).
Puerto Rico’s political parties represent diverse views on the island’s future. The PNP advocates for statehood, seeking full U.S. integration and equal rights. The PPD supports maintaining Commonwealth status with greater local autonomy. The PIP pushes for complete independence and to establish Puerto Rico as a sovereign nation. MVC prioritizes social justice, government transparency, and reform, while PD focuses on conservative Christian values, ethics, and moral governance. Though divided on Puerto Rico’s political status, all parties aim to address the island’s social and economic challenges.
However, this is all pretty irrelevant due to the island’s relationship with the United States. Considering that no party’s election will outright determine a change in its status, as shown during the 30+ years under the PNP’s governorship and statehood has not arrived nor has there been a change in our commonwealth status when the PPD has been in charge. Reason for this being that Puerto Rico’s status is not up to political parties, and barely even the people of Puerto Rico, it is all up to the United States Congress. While Puerto Ricans can vote in referendums to express their preference, whether for statehood, independence, or maintaining the current Commonwealth status, these votes are non-binding. Congress holds the final authority to approve any change to Puerto Rico’s status. The island’s government and its people can advocate for a particular path, but without Congressional action, no change can be made to Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States. Finally, as of 2016, there is also a Financial Oversight and Management Board that was put in place to oversee Puerto Rico’s financial restructuring and manage its massive debt crisis, but in actuality it has deepened poverty, reduced local governance autonomy, and prioritized creditors over the well-being of the population, exacerbating social and economic challenges on the island.
“I don’t celebrate my colonizers independence” Instagram
With all this information, you may be thinking, why even elect a governor if they will not change Puerto Rico’s status and won’t even have autonomy over its own government? The answer is because there are still things to be done on the ground. What voters should focus on is not political status but instead the problems they face every day. The major ones are the electricity failures and the education system. The controversies surrounding both LUMA Energy and Genera PR are interconnected, as they both play crucial roles in Puerto Rico’s privatized energy sector. Together, they have been criticized for failing to provide reliable electricity, leading to frequent power outages and rising costs for residents. Many Puerto Ricans feel that the privatization of these essential services has not yielded the anticipated improvements, with both companies facing scrutiny for a lack of transparency and accountability in their operations, further exacerbating public frustration and distrust in the energy management system.
The controversy surrounding Puerto Rico’s education system centers on funding cuts, school closures, and corruption which have led to inadequate resources and diminished educational opportunities. Critics argue that privatization efforts, such as charter schools, divert essential funds from public schools, while systemic corruption further exacerbates these issues, fueling public outcry and calls for reform to ensure quality education for all students, all this while having the biggest education budget in island history.
If this all makes you feel hopeless, same, but for the first time in my life, I can say that I saw a glimmer of hope. Hope that came in the form of an alliance of two political parties, the PIP and MVC, together named “La Alianza” (The Alliance). In the 2020 elections, the PIP and MVC achieved historic results, prompting them to consider uniting and not split the “independent” vote, and so they created “La Alianza de País” (The Country’s Alliance) to strengthen their proposals for the 2024 elections which would have brought much needed change to and for Puerto Rico’s government. The Alliance Agreements included two forms of collaboration: mutual support for shared candidates and friendly competition with multiple candidacies for the same position. The joint goals of the Alliance emphasize inclusion and equity, aiming to build a fully democratic government that respects human rights and responds to the people’s needs on key issues like an honest and efficient government to eliminate corruption, rescuing the energy system, universal healthcare, defense of the island’s resources, and more.
There here has been an uproar in the younger generation and in famous artists. For months, college students had been urging people to get registered and informed to exercise their votes this past election year. One of, if not the most, famous Puerto Rican today, Bad Bunny, did an interview where he indirectly supported the Alliance, and even mock-singed a song that had gone viral on TikTok, calling Jennnifer Gonzalez, the governor candidate for the PNP, a liar, calling for the death of the political party, and stating that Puerto Rico deserves better. This urged even more people to get their electoral card.
Another TikTok trend of people showing their electoral cards with the song “Sácala” by Hector el Father, Don Omar, and Wisin y Yandel, specifically using the part that translates to “Get it, go ahead and use it, don’t be afraid of it; if it’s a matter of dying, let them die first.” Use it (the electoral card) on November 5th, they urged, and as if it’s a matter of dying, let political parties that have failed the island so many times die first. This is no real threat to the lives of the people from these political parties, but an expression of the people’s frustrations. The fact that they have lied to and been responsible for the death of so many because of their inadequate administrations, and even went as far as to laugh at the death of more than 4,000 Puerto Ricans after hurricane Maria, has caused great animosity in the public.
Bad Bunny later went on to release a song, “La Velita,” explaining all of this and urging Boricuas (Puerto Ricans) to wake up. Moreover, Kany Garcia, another Puerto Rican artist declared her support for the youth through Instagram and even went to supply food and water to those waiting in line the last few days of inscription, and Juan Dalmau, governor candidate for PIP and the Alliance went on the show El Influencer with another very outspoken Puerto Rican artist, Residente, to speak about his personal experience with the decaying health system and urging his country to believe in him because a change is possible.
The elections have come and gone. The PNP won again, shocker. However, what was truly surprising about last year’s elections was the second place. Where in years past, if the PNP won, then the PPD would come second and vice versa. However, although last year’s elections didn’t have the result I so desperately wanted, and that the island desperately needed, there was a shift. For the first time ever, Juan Dalmau, a candidate not from a bipartisan party, came in second. While I was never happy with second place, and am not all too content now, it continues to be a glimmer of hope, hope for change, for a transparent government, and a brighter future. For the next four years, we’re not only going to have to deal with the PNP, but also Trump. However, if there is anything I have learned about my island, it’s that the phrase “small but mighty” doesn’t even begin to cover it because, beyond our music, food, and scenic beaches, resilience is a part of our culture.