The Democratic Party passed a resolution calling on Congress to make Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., the 51st and 52nd states of the Union, according to El Nuevo Dia. The news outlet reports that Luis Dávila Pernas, chair of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, proposed the resolution at the DNC’s winter meeting. The wording says, “The DNC calls on the Democratic members of the 119th Congress to respond to the democratic will of the people of Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., by approving legislation on the admission of Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. as the 51st and 52nd states of the United States.”

The resolutions committee unanimously approved the resolution.

Davila Pernas was inspired to make the resolution by the results of the 2024 status plebiscite, in which statehood received 58.5% of the votes. The people have expressed their will at the polls by voting in favor of statehood in multiple plebiscites,” he said. “It is time for that mandate to be respected and for Congress to act accordingly.”

The resolution states that “Democrats recognize that Puerto Rico has rejected its current territorial status and has earned the right and deserves to be admitted as a state.”

Democrats on Puerto Rico

The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform said this about Puerto Rico’s status:”Democrats recognize that the people of Puerto Rico have earned and deserve to resolve the political status questions. For this reason, Democrats support the enactment of the Puerto Rico Status Act/H.R. 2757, and promote full civic and political representation for Puerto Ricans.”

That makes the new resolution a step forward.

Many voters and even some members of Congress believe that the question of statehood for Puerto Rico is divided along party lines, with Democrats universally supporting and Republicans universally rejecting statehood for the territory. This is not the case. Republican legislator and Republican presidents have spoken up for Puerto Rico’s admission as a state many times. Equally, Democrats have sometimes supported the impractical and unconstitutional idea of “enhanced commonwealth.”

Among voters, people with more information about the subject generally support statehood. Polls in Puerto Rico and in the United States in general consistently show a preference for statehood. In the most recent plebiscite, 58.5% of voters chose statehood, and this was the fourth referendum in a row that showed this result. Stateside polls consistently show a preference for statehood, as the chart below shows. The exception is people who are unaware that Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States.

Strong Democratic support in Congress is important for the statehood movement. Republican support is also essential. Reach out to your legislators, regardless of their party affiliation, and let them know you want them to admit Puerto Rico.

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