Vol. 3 No. 18 Para ver este documento en español, oprima aquí. ZOGBY POLL FINDS PUERTO RICAN VOTERS REJECTED COMMONWEALTH, PREFERRED STATEHOOD IN 1998 PLEBISCITE Puerto Rico Herald Calls On Congress To Pass Federal Plebiscite Legislation   PUERTO RICO VOTE NOT A FLOP [T]he recent political status vote in Puerto Rico was a necessary but obviously not decisive step on the road of self-determination leading to full self-government. Rather than giving Congress an excuse for ignoring Puerto Rico's political status dilemma, the vote of 50.2% for "None of the Above" and 46.5% for statehood raises questions that only Congress can answer. [T]he current territorial commonwealth status as it exists under federal law was decisively rejected when it received only .1% of the vote. Separate nationhood in the form of either independence or associated republic status also was rejected by all but 2.8% of the vote. The commonwealth party's support of the "None of the Above" option rather than an accurate description of the status quo only confirms its lack of a commonwealth definition acceptable to both voters and Congress within the framework of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, rather than being an endorsement of the status quo, the vote of commonwealth supporters…confronts Congress with the question of how permanent union and irrevocable citizenship can be achieved for Puerto Rico consistent with the U.S. Constitution. Since 1789 Congress has resolved the status of 33 large and populous territories in favor of separate nationhood or statehood. In each of those cases, Congress defined the choices as continued territorial status, permanent union and irrevocable citizenship through incorporation leading to statehood, or separate nationhood. Eventually it will have to do the same for Puerto Rico, by clarifying the current status and defining the options for change. Even if full equality and democracy can be delayed, the truth about Puerto Rico's real choices can not be obscured forever. Dick Thornburgh IMPLICATIONS OF THE PUERTO RICO POLITICAL STATUS PLEBISCITE, ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Congressional Sponsored Plebiscite Necessary The 1998 plebiscite confirms the need for Congress to ascertain the will of the people of Puerto Rico among options Congress is willing to consider. This can be accomplished only if Congress sponsors a referendum under Federal law and informs the voters of the terms for continuing the current status or changing to a new status. " QUOTABLES " Puerto Ricans Did Not Reject Statehood Letter to the Editor Greensboro News & Record Your April 5 editorial ("Puerto Rican Statehood Is A Wrong-Headed Idea") regarding statehood for Puerto Rico needs clarification. Puerto Ricans did not reject statehood. In fact, statehood received 46.5 percent of the vote. It was a rejection of the existing commonwealth status, which received less than 1 percent of the vote. Your editorial claims there is no colonialism in Puerto Rico because "the island's 3.8 million people are perfectly free to declare independence." You forget these people are also American citizens. Why should they be faced with independence and lose their American citizenship and constitutional guarantees? Congress must act on the results of the Dec. 13, 1998, plebiscite - in which there was no winner. Congress must help guide the people to make a decision. It must spell out the conditions under which statehood would be granted - as was done with other states. Give the people the tools and let them decide. This will bring fairness to this process. John A. Regis Jr., Santurce, PR Rejecting Commonwealth And Favoring Statehood, Island Voters Leave Status Issue Up To Washington Neftali Fuster "None Of The Above" Does Not Move Puerto Ricans Any Closer To Defining Their Future New York Times Editorial White House: "None Of The Above" Win Not A Clear Status Choice Vote Said To Give Little Guidance On Ultimate Outcome On Status: Who's Telling What To Whom? JM Garcia Passalaqua, The San Juan Star U.S.' State, Justice Departments Say Puerto Rico Remains A Territory Dangers of PDP "US" Versus "THEM" Opposition to Statehood: An Ideology Premised on Misunderstanding of What Culture Means and of What Puerto Rican and United States "Culture" Are Jaime Pieras, Jr. United States District Judge Zappa v. Cruz The Statehood Movement 100 Years of Evolution Gonzalo F. Cordova Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing On Results of the 1998 Puerto Rico Plebiscite Set for May 6th WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Following through on a promise in a Senate resolution last year, Chairman Frank H. Murkowski announced he will hold a hearing on Thursday, May 6, 1999 (9:30 a.m. - SH-216), to review the results of the December 1998 plebiscite. In September 1998, the Senate by voice vote passed S.Res. 279, which conveyed the sense of the Senate that the chamber supports the right of Puerto Rico, through referendum or other means, to communicate its desires on future political status to the federal government, and that the federal government will consider such communication. "[W]e should provide a forum for our fellow citizens in the territories when they have taken the initiative to express their views," said Murkowski, who is Chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. "Recognizing the legitimacy of their aspirations and the validity of their actions, this hearing will allow the Governor of Puerto Rico, in accordance with local law, to formally present the result of the plebiscite." The Plebiscite Was A Flop Washington Post Editorial Nation's Governors Call on Congress to Pass Puerto Rico Self-Determination Legislation THANKS TO THE PDP, PUERTO RICO'S FREE LUNCH WILL SOON BE OVER Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer Statehood Proponents Make A New Run On Washington Gutierrez Urging Independence For Puerto Rico Lives Paradox No One Has Established That There Is Any Limitation On The Power Of Congress To End Conferral Of U.S. Citizenship If It Determines That Puerto Rico's Ultimate Status Should Be Based On Separate Nationhood And Sovereignty Citizens Educational Foundation   RELATED WEBSITES: www.pnp.org www.puertoricousa.com www.puertorico51.org www.prstatehood.com     Write your Member of Congress in Support of Puerto Rico Self-Determination! House of Rep. Member Web Sites Senate Member Web Sites   Write Your Representative Write your Senator   Under Statehood All Puerto Ricans Would Have Been American Taxpayers Have Forked Over Wealthier Today, and Commonwealth is Costing Them $6,000.00 More Every Year! Subsidizing Puerto Rico Commonwealth, and It's Costing Them $22,821,918.52 More Each and Every Day of the Year! PUERTO RICO SELF-DETERMINATION Puerto Ricans Earning Their Own Way Puerto Rico Paying Its Own Way Self-Determination Legislation | Puerto Rico Herald Home Newsstand | Puerto Rico | U.S. Government | Archives Search | Mailing List | Contact Us | Feedback