Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show brought much-needed attention to Puerto Rico’s need to achieve a permanent political status after more than a century as an unincorporated territory. For some people, the show caused confusion — is Puerto Rico part of the United States or not? Thousands of people came here to PR51st by searching for very basic questions including “Who is the President of Puerto Rico?” and “Are Puerto Ricans really U.S. citizens?” But the show was also interpreted by some viewers as a call for independence.
That doesn’t come out of nowhere. Bad Bunny carried a flag symbolizing independence for Puerto Rico. The magazine Current Affairs used that to remind readers of their article arguing for decolonization from last year.
A Couple of Caveats
Not to quibble, but we do need to make a couple of notes. One is that Puerto Rico’s official flag was the one chosen for the parade of flags at the end of the halftime show. Statehood supporters choose this flag, the one that will be the official flag of the state of Puerto Rico. Maybe Bad Bunny is calling for decoloniztion and a permanent political status.
The other is that decolonization is not equal to independence. Current Affairs knows this, as evidenced by this paragraph from the article linked above: “Unless U.S. voters and constituents take a position and push legislators to take action, elected leaders will continue passing the buck. Remember that, in practice, these leaders’ unwillingness to support statehood or independence becomes de facto support for the colonial status quo. And Americans’ unwillingness to push these leaders on the issue also amounts to support for the status quo. If you’re against colonialism, you have to be in favor of ending it.”
Both U.S. states and foreign nations are sovereign. Both statehood and independence are viable choices for Puerto Rico’s permanent political status, and both are sovereign.
The big difference is that statehood is the option that Puerto Rico voters have chosen in four plebiscites, while independence is the option that voters have never chosen.
Puerto Rico wants statehood
Responses to Current Affairs‘s post on X show this truth.
A self-defined conservative accuses liberals of using Bad Bunny to support their position. Statehood for Puerto Rico is not a liberal position, but it is certainly true that Bad Bunny does not actually represent Puerto Rico. The majority of people actually living on the Island want statehood.
Numerous commenters made this point, often by showing the results of the most recent plebiscite. This one also makes the point that someone living in a state and advocating for a status that is contrary to the wishes of the people actually living on the Island is not a good example of support for self-determination.
Many suggested that the Current Affairs author, who lives in a state, is demonstrating colonialism by attemtpting to force an unwanted political status on Puerto Rico.
Now what?
Only Congress can make the decision to admit Puerto Rico as a state, and Puerto Rico has no voting representatives in Congress. Members of Congress and Senators also have a lot on their plates right now, and are hearing about a lot of issues from their constituents. It’s hard to capture their attention. If you live in a state, your representatives need to hear that you care about equal rights and justice for Puerto Rico. Right now, the Island is in the news. This ius a good time to make hay while the sun shines. Reach out to your representatives now.
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