Rep. Analilia Mejía Withdraws Support

Rep. Analilia Mejía was one of the handful of cosponsors of Rep. Pablo Hernandez’s “Puerto Rico Democratic Self-determination” bill. There are currently eight cosponsors for the bill, all Democrats. The Puerto Rico Status Act, by contrast, had more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors. 

Hernandez’s goal

Hernandez explained to El Nuevo Dia that he didn’t expect his legislation to reach the floor for a vote. Rather, he wanted to make sure that future discussions of Puerto Rico’s status would include the option of continuing in the current colonial territorial status. Grijalva and 20 other Members of Congress said it had been “disingenuous” of the Department of Justice to insist on including territory status in the 2017 ballot.

Rep. Raul Grijalva spoke out against the idea of including continuing as a territory in status plebiscites for the simple reason that a clear majority of Puerto Rico’s voters answered “no” to the question, “Do you agree to have Puerto Rico maintain its present form of territorial status?” There is no question but that this means Puerto Rico’s territory status is no longer governed by the consent of the governed.

Other members of Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, rejected including territory status on ballots because the goal of the Puerto Rico Status Act was to decolonize the territory. This faction wanted to make sure that only non-colonial options would be included in any votes.

Many observers have also pointed out that the goal of the status legislation was to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status. Remaining a territory leaves open the possibility of becoming a state or an independent nation in the future. Territory status is by its nature temporary.

For all these reasons, there has been broad agreement that territory status should no longer be included in Puerto Rico status votes.

Is “commonwealth” status territory status?

Since the 1950s, when Puerto Rico took on the name “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,” “commonwealth” supporters like Hernandez have claimed that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth and not a “mere territory.” In the 1950s, Resident Commissioner Antonio Fernós-Isern and Governor Muñoz Marin worked very hard to get the federal government to agree that Puerto Rico was a commonwealth and therefore no longer a territory. The federal government never agreed to that.

Since that time, statements from all three branches of the federal government have continued to say that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United Starts. The current status of Puerto Rico is just that: territory status.

For Hernandez, however, the “present form of territorial status” is not the same as “commonwealth status.” His “commonwealth status” includes unconstitutional elements as well as plenty of uncertainty. In his current bill, he says that the commonwealth of Puerto Rico has roughly the same level of autonomy as the states, which is not currently true, and that residents are exempt from income taxes and can play in the Olympics (which is not a decision made by Congress or Puerto Rico). It then goes on to say, “The United States-Puerto Rico Commonwealth Development Commission shall be created to examine,  propose, and negotiate reforms to the current Commonwealth relationship. Those reforms may include measures that strengthen self-government; preserve, protect and promote Puerto Rico’s distinct cultural identity; identify ways of participation in Federal decision-making affecting Puerto Rico; and strengthen participation in Federal programs. Any change proposed by the United States-Puerto Rico Commonwealth Development Commission must be approved by the people of Puerto Rico and Congress.”

In other words, Hernandez pulls out the same old wish list commonwealth supporters have been working on for the past three quarters of a century. No clear definition of the proposed “commonwealth” status is given and there is no honest admission that Puerto Rico is currently a territory.

Why did Mejía withdraw from cosponsorship?

While Hernandez may be trying simply to get “commonwealth” back in the conversation, since it has been discredited so thoroughly before this time, but Mejia might have thought the bill was a serious proposal. She was a cosponsor for just nine days. El Nuevo Dia asked Mejia for her reasons and did not receive a response.

According to Progressive Punch, Mejia has not yet voted on any bills regarding the legal relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States government, but she has participated in Puerto Rican cultural events. She has so far given no public statement on the bill or her withdrawal, and no other Democratic lawmakers have responded to her change of heart.

Her withdrawal makes it more difficult for Hernandez to present his bill as a Democratic self-determination bill. Some Democrats in Congress favor statehood, the preferred option of the voters of Puerto Rico. Some favor independence. Some are still stuck in the “wait till Puerto Rico makes up its mind” position that makes no sense after four straight majority votes for statehood. Some, such as Reps. Bruce Westerman and Thomas Tiffany, have said that the current status — not the mythical “commonwealth” — should still be available to voters. since both are Republicans, their support, in addition to being different from Hernandez’s dream, also does not help to frame his bill as a unified Democratic position.