Posted on 12/08/2020 10:48:33 AM PST by Ebenezer
(Translation)
Many independence supporters [in Puerto Rico] have argued that they have not been given the chance to administer public affairs in the island so as to demonstrate that they are different from the [the two main parties] the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).
What most resembles the central government in size and complexity is the Municipality of San Juan, which has been run for the past 8 years by a pro-independence political leader. The result? The same as, or worse than, what is said of the PNP and PPD, with every reason. It's not that the PNP and the PPD are great administering the people's resources. The point is that the left is not necessarily a panacea of public administration. It can be just as bad. Obviously, there are good PNP and PPD administrators, and there have to be among the left. But of the three I remember in modern times, out of three out to bat, two have struck out.
When he was Governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá gave former Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Representative Hiram Meléndez the opportunity to head the Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA). [Meléndez] ended up charged with negligence and other grave offenses, living a life of luxury, eating at fine restaurants, and traveling with public funds. Part of the accusations included requesting reimbursement from the agency even for [expenses] that had nothing to do with it. He ended up pleading guilty.
Later, Alejandro García Padilla nominated Vance Thomas Secretary of Labor. [The latter] was candidate for San Juan Mayor under the PIP several times. Ironically, the PIP voted against [confirming him for] the Department of Labor, but he spent his tenure there without any scandal or controversy. He came out clean.
Now then, what has happened with the financial and administrative situation in the Municipality of San Juan under Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is no surprise, at least to me. Under her incumbency, the municipality owes everyone big-time as things show. Even her comrades in the union that helped pay for part of her political campaign in return for unionizing municipal employees ended up in conflict with her.
Why should it be a surprise? She was an absentee mayor this entire 4-year term. So said Rafael Jaume, former Vice Mayor of San Juan under Cruz who, before being sworn into her second term, had already stated that the capital was not her priority and that she had other aspirations.
San Juan started to fall to pieces, while the mayor traveled throughout the mainland giving speeches, receiving "recognitions", and engaging in the political elbow-rubbing she criticizes so much. She has a right to it and to the contradictions as well. Carmen Yulín Cruz did an awful favor to the idea that, under the left, things can go better for us. Again, I'm not indicating that there are no pro-independence leaders who are capable of doing things right. That capability is not defined by a leader being in favor of independence, the Commonwealth, or statehood. There are capable people in all sectors, but Carmen Yulín Cruz was the worst business card for independence supporters to make the people understand that they can administer well.
You can argue that the left in Puerto Rico has never had as much controversy or as many scandals as those from the PNP and PPD. And that is true, but it's no less true that it probably is because the people have not given them the same chance to administer.
Puerto Rico ping
Thank You for the ping and post.
Independence.
I lived in Puerto Rico for several years in the Sixties. During that time they had a plebiscite and the DNC supported party had the largest number of votes and the Republican favored party second. The Independistas came in at less than but almost one percent. However, the Independistas were supported by Castro and engaged in quite a bit of violence. They dynamited several communication towers and the police (POPR) discovered a huge shipment of arms and explosives hidden on an out-of-the-way beach sent by Castro to his Independista friends.
The DNC favored party advocated keeping the political status as it was. The Republicans favored statehood. This was in the mid-sixties.
If Puerto Rico becomes independent you can be sure that within weeks of “Independence Day” China will make them an offer they can’t refuse. Chinese naval bases and air bases in exchange for cash given to crooked politicians.
Statehood should not be up to the Puerto Ricans. The rest of the U.S. should have final say. I don’t think we need another s—thole. The Chicoms could try to fish in troubled waters but we have much more to offer them as they don’t hate us.
Whether or not a territory becomes a state is ultimately up to Congress in any event.
Is it a simple majority or 2/3rds like amending the Constitution? Or is that detail a procedural issue like the filibuster?
I’m not sure.
Washington, DC has been trying to become a state for many years. Currently the city population is greater than Vermont and Wyoming. The link below was written in 2016 for a local news outlet. It was decided to follow the Tennessee plan.
Since then there has been a constitution redrafted and approved by approximately 80% of the residents. The next step was to have a vote in Congress to approve the matter. With Trump in office and Mayor Bowser fighting hard for Black Lives Matter, it did not go to Congress, but there is talk of maybe this presidency could get the job done. Since DC taxpayers contribute 3 or 4 times the tax dollars to the Federal Govt. than they get back in Federal payments, the DC situation is quite different from the PR case since PR residents DO NOT pay Federal taxes. I would say DC has a stronger likelihood of becoming the 51st state first as it pays for itself, and the population is becoming richer and whiter every year. There is a principle I think enshrined in the Constitution that there be NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. I believe that is why we went to war with England. To preserve the DC initials rather than confuse things with North Carolina, the decision was made to call it the Douglas Commonwealth, after the well know DC activist, Frederick Douglas.
Simple majority.
https://www.thoughtco.com/us-statehood-process-3322311
The Typical Process
Historically, Congress has applied the following general procedure when granting territories statehood:
- The territory holds a referendum vote to determine the people’s desire for or against statehood.
- Should a majority vote to seek statehood, the territory petitions the U.S. Congress for statehood.
- The territory, if it has not already done so, is required to adopt a form of government and constitution that are in compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
- The U.S. Congress—both House and Senate—pass, by a simple majority vote, a joint resolution accepting the territory as a state.
- The President of the United States signs the joint resolution and the territory is acknowledged as a U.S. state.
The process of attaining statehood can literally take decades.
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