Puerto Rican Self-Determination Is Win For Democracy, Not Democrats

This interesting new article is from Roll Call by Tom Perriello and Karina Claudio Betancourt:

House lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation that would make Puerto Rico a state. Later this month, Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are expected to introduce legislation that would create a process to determine the political status of Puerto Rico binding.

Whether Puerto Rico’s future is as a state or an independent nation, Congress’ commitment to self-determination reflects both the principles and, contrary to some conventional wisdom, the political interests of both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

The future of Puerto Rico has become caught up with whether to grant statehood to Washington, D.C. After all, the city of Washington lacks political representation and, as many Americans witnessed for the first time, its mayor lacked the executive authority to call up the National Guard when a violent mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. It was, perhaps, the most glaring example of a deficit of democracy imposed on our nation’s capital.

Read the full opinion here.