Sunday, April 08, 2007

Acevedo: Puerto Ricans in U.S. Should Have a Voice

Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá Speaking at the 2005 NCLR Conference

Puerto Rico's Governor, Anibal Acevedo, today called for open and public discussions about the status of Puerto Rico and the proposals under discussion in Congress Through out the U.S. According to the Governor's spokesperson, Eduardo Bhatia, the communities of New York, Chicago, and Orlando should be included in the discussion along with Puerto Rico itself through public hearings held in each city.

The Governor's opinion should add another dimension to the ongoing debate about whether Puerto Ricans in the United States should have a vote in the proposed referendums to decide a permanent status for the island. With about 3 to 4 million Puerto Ricans living in the United States and 4 million living on the island, the Puerto Rican diaspora could easily amount to close to 50% of the total eligible electorate, though no actual data has yet to be made available.

Should Puerto Ricans outside of the island be able to help determine the island's future? Let us know what you think in the comments.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

YEs, I Think Puerto ricans outside the island should have vote to determine if Puerto rico should become s state of united or independance.. I can guarantee that would choose indipendant. Because of what is going on in the United States of America, and United States interests.....

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. P'rricans in the state should have the option of participating in the process. We moved for different reasons out of the island...but we remain Puertorriqueños 100% and our island is our life.

Now, see examples of this even for the USA when citizens living abroad can vote in different events.

However, I differ from the previous "Anonymous" post...I think that P'rricans in the state may vote heavily on the pro-Statehood option. There is NO way that living conditions in PR at the moment represent a high standard of living. Statehood should bring stronger options to the island.

Me.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. P'rricans in the state should have the option of participating in the process. We moved for different reasons out of the island...but we remain Puertorriqueños 100% and our island is our life.

Now, see examples of this even for the USA when citizens living abroad can vote in different events.

However, I differ from the previous "Anonymous" post...I think that P'rricans in the state may vote heavily on the pro-Statehood option. There is NO way that living conditions in PR at the moment represent a high standard of living. Statehood should bring stronger options to the island.

Me.

Anonymous said...

I believe that they should not. Take in consideration the fact that once you move from a city, you need to wait a period of time in order for you to vote for the mayoral elections of said city. In this case the Puerto Ricans living outside should take the time to adjust to their newly found state and vote for that governor, unless, as stated, they had just moved into the state.

P.S. P'rricans is slander it is not the right pronunciation.