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Nearly all of media focus has been on the U.S. mainland and the disastrous outcomes of convicted felon Donald Trump profitable the presidential election. The governor’s race in Puerto Rico, nonetheless, continues to be ready for the outcome regardless of a declaration of a win by Republican Trump supporter Jenniffer González-Colón.
The second-place candidate, Juan Dalmau, of the Puerto Rican Independence Get together can be celebrating. His occasion and the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (in English the Residents’ Victory Motion) have fashioned an alliance dubbed “La Alianza,” and they’re thrilled with their main transfer “up” within the political occasion rankings on the island.
No matter who wins, it will make historical past. If González wins, will probably be the primary time her New Progressive Get together will get three consecutive wins. If Dalmau wins, will probably be the primary time a candidate exterior of the 2 fundamental events has gained.
And let’s not overlook the age-old query of Puerto Rican statehood.
We’ve got been following the progress of the electionin Puerto Rico in prior tales.
Slightly background on the election from economist Francisco A. Català Oliveras for the newspaper Claridad:
Within the case of Puerto Rico, we should acknowledge the extraordinary advance of hope represented by the electoral outcomes of the PIP-MVC Alliance. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore that the bipartisan PNP-PPD system, more and more conservative and right-wing, continues to be alive. Its new stage will likely be headed by the elected governor and resident commissioner.
The premise of the various issues going through Puerto Rican society might be summed up in two types of degradation: political subordination and dependence. Given this, each the brand new governor and the brand new resident commissioner appear like two peas in a pod. What can we count on from them? On the one hand, ridiculous chants of statehood; then again, pure immobility. On either side, humiliating requests for entry to federal funds. In different phrases, we should always not count on an answer to any drawback, however quite the other.
Journalist Carlos Berríos Polanco wrote this replace for The Latino E-newsletter:
González, a Republican, would be the fourth PNP governor since 2017, persevering with what will likely be an 8-year streak of PNP-led governments in Puerto Rico. She will likely be changing the present Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, a Democrat, who was defeated in a shock upset in the course of the occasion’s major election in June.
In the meantime, Dalmau Ramírez stated, “we triumphed, we redrew the history of this country on this day” on Election Evening. Nevertheless, he refused to concede defeat till each vote was licensed.
Votes are nonetheless being counted. On the time of publication, solely 91% of the vote has been tabulated, and normal scrutiny will start subsequent week. Write-in ballots haven’t been counted but.
It’s the first time a candidate for governor from the PIP has positioned second in a gubernatorial race, exhibiting that many individuals within the archipelago are giving up on the bipartisan management lengthy held by the PNP and the pro-status quo Well-liked Democratic Get together.
Dalmau and supporters are proven right here celebrating:
Dalmau’s “loss” in Puerto Rico is clearly seen as a win. René Pérez, higher referred to as “Residente” from the Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13, defined to the Latin Occasions why the expansion of the PIP occasion, getting about 31% of the vote, was so necessary.
“I grew up seeing the PIP get 3, 4, 5%, sometimes 14%, but now it’s at 31%. It’s an upward trend while other parties decline. There’s an awakening among young people; I feel that the youth who are now 15 or 16, who lived through 2019, understand what’s possible when people unite. They are Puerto Rico’s future, the future voters who will drive a generational shift,” Residente stated.
The vote for Puerto Rican statehood was additionally notable, as La Perla del Sur reported:
With 91 p.c of the polls counted, statehood had 528,379 votes, equal to 56.8 p.c.In second place was independence, 286,923 votes, representing 30.8 p.c, the best proportion ever obtained by this ideology in a plebiscite within the trendy period.
[…]
In the meantime, a complete of 165,521 ballots had been left clean, exceeding the whole votes for Sovereignty in Free Affiliation. One other 12,737 ballots have been “damaged”.
It’s value mentioning that the present Commonwealth standing was excluded from the choices and in view of this, the Well-liked Democratic Get together (PDP) urged its followers to not take part within the dynamics, leaving their ballots clean.
The article factors out that the Well-liked Democratic Get together urged its members to depart their ballots clean, and that the plebiscite was ridiculed by PIP, MVC, and Proyecto Dignidad as a ploy by the statehood occasion to prove its members.
Fascinating how shortly Minority Chief Mitch McConnell went on document rejecting the concept of recent states:
Editorial cartoonist Kike Estrada drew a right away response:
“Did you hear this, Jenniffer?
We aren’t going to confess new states.”
For Puerto Rico, it can imply coping with the challenges of rebuilding with a brand new Trump presidency, after in his first four-year time period he stopped emergency appropriations, strongly opposed statehood and claimed that each one Puerto Rican politicians are corrupt.
Trump, who has stated he desires to be dictator “for a day,” will once more enter the White Home amid robust rejection by Puerto Ricans on the island, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of Kamala Harris (74% to 26%) in a symbolic presidential vote engineered by the New Progressive Get together (PNP). In 2016, island Republicans rejected him in primaries, with solely 13% help.
[…]
Together with Puerto Rico’s normal election and the symbolic vote during which three out of 4 voters rejected Trump, a plebiscite was held between statehood, independence and sovereignty in free affiliation. Just like the invoice handed by the Democratic majority within the decrease Home on December 15, 2022, Puerto Rico’s non-binding referendum excluded the present territorial standing.
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