Statehood For Puerto Rico
An interesting set of arguments pro and con. There is bill in Congress to make Puerto Rico the 51st State.
From station
WESH in Orlando Florida:
Bill Could Lead To Statehood For Puerto Rico
A bill has been introduced to the U.S. Congress that could make Puerto Rico the 51st state.
For almost 50 years, the U.S. has been made up of 50 states. In 1959, Hawaii was the last state added to the Union, but that could change.
Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States for more than a century, and some people think it's time for the commonwealth to become a state. The topic has sparked a heated debate.
"Statehood would go against that sense of uniqueness, culture, identity that we do have under commonwealth," Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila said.
"As a U.S. citizen, if you live in Puerto Rico, you are stripped of your rights," Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's only non-voting congressman, said.
Acevedo-Vila believes his people are better off the way they are now.
"We are U.S. citizens, we are a commonwealth of the U.S., but we are a nation sociologically. We call ourselves Puerto Ricans. We don't call ourselves Puerto Rican-Americans," Acevedo-Vila said.
I have been there twice and loved it each time - the last time was on the trip that Jen and my Dad took earlier this year.
Posted by DaveH at November 27, 2007 7:07 PM