5 ms·

Arecibo is part of a bigger story of the Puerto Rican decline: basically a US state with no voting rights and no chance of getting more equity. A vestige of Ame

by anonu 6y ago

Arecibo is part of a bigger story of the Puerto Rican decline: basically a US state with no voting rights and no chance of getting more equity. A vestige of American colonialism.

Alupis 6y ago
They vote on becoming a state with pretty frequent regularity. All have failed[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum#:~:text=Puerto%20Rico%20has%20had%20five,had%20only%20a%2023%25%20turnout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_refer....
- anonu 6y ago
  The 2020 referendum - less than 6 months ago - was pretty clearly aligned with statehood [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_refer...
  - Alupis 6y ago
    Article points out that referendum had less than a 25% turnout.
    - anonu 6y ago
      That was 2017 - 2020 had more than 50%
      - throw_away 6y ago
        The last 3 out of 6 total (every one since 2012) have had > 50% of the votes for statehood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_political_status_plebiscites#Table_summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_political_status_p.... A fourth, in 1998, lost by only a couple percentage points to a 'none of the above' option.
        rovr138 6y ago
        > had > 50% of the votes for statehood And how many people voted? Compare the people that voted on the referendum with the general elections held and you’ll see people boycott it.
    - gelert 6y ago
      An aspect of the low turnout in these referendums is Peurto Ricans choosing to boycott them. In this case, they don't necessarily mean that there is a lack of engagement.
      - ajmurmann 6y ago
        Why are they boycotting it? Is it because they don't want statehood or because they keep voting but nothing happens?
        Alupis 6y ago
        Well, seeing how a couple of the votes are shrouded in deep controversy, even allegations of rigging the results, I can see why people would just blow it off as yet another attempt to re-invent their society by a very vocal minority.
- rsj_hn 6y ago
  They not only vote on, but had an active left-wing terrorist group, FALN, that planted bombs and murdered American citizens in order to win Puerto Rican Independence from the U.S. The idea was that America was just holding them back from a socialist paradise. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_de_Liberación_Nacional_Puertorriqueña https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_de_Liberación_... https://www.navycthistory.com/sabana_seca_bus_tragedy_1979_1.html https://www.navycthistory.com/sabana_seca_bus_tragedy_1979_1... In 1999, Bill Clinton offered pardons to some of the terrorists but it was conditional on their promising to renounce violence. Oscar Lopez Rivera refused to do so, but was pardoned by Obama. Rivera, who planted bombs that killed two Americans, is friends with Lin Manuel Miranda, who has no problem publicly praising Rivera, even today.
  - rovr138 6y ago
    US citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not vote on the presidential elections.
    - Alupis 6y ago
      > US citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not vote on the presidential elections Do you have a source for this? As far as I'm aware, US Citizens can absentee vote from out of the country without issue.
      - rovr138 6y ago
        Of course. Residents Puerto Rico can’t vote in presidential elections. It’s not out of the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_voting_rights_in_Puerto_Rico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_voting_rights_in_Puert... >Voting rights of United States citizens in Puerto Rico, like the voting rights of residents of other United States territories, differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Residents of Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories do not have voting representation in the United States Congress, and are not entitled to electoral votes for president. The United States Constitution grants congressional voting representation to U.S. states, which Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are not, specifying that members of Congress shall be elected by direct popular vote and that the president and the vice president shall be elected by electors chosen by the states.[Note 1]

by anonu 6y ago

Arecibo is part of a bigger story of the Puerto Rican decline: basically a US state with no voting rights and no chance of getting more equity. A vestige of American colonialism.

Alupis 6y ago

They vote on becoming a state with pretty frequent regularity. All have failed[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum#:~:text=Puerto%20Rico%20has%20had%20five,had%20only%20a%2023%25%20turnout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_refer....

anonu 6y ago
The 2020 referendum - less than 6 months ago - was pretty clearly aligned with statehood [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_refer...
- Alupis 6y ago
  Article points out that referendum had less than a 25% turnout.
  - anonu 6y ago
    That was 2017 - 2020 had more than 50%
    - throw_away 6y ago
      The last 3 out of 6 total (every one since 2012) have had > 50% of the votes for statehood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_political_status_plebiscites#Table_summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_political_status_p.... A fourth, in 1998, lost by only a couple percentage points to a 'none of the above' option.
      - rovr138 6y ago
        > had > 50% of the votes for statehood And how many people voted? Compare the people that voted on the referendum with the general elections held and you’ll see people boycott it.
  - gelert 6y ago
    An aspect of the low turnout in these referendums is Peurto Ricans choosing to boycott them. In this case, they don't necessarily mean that there is a lack of engagement.
    - ajmurmann 6y ago
      Why are they boycotting it? Is it because they don't want statehood or because they keep voting but nothing happens?
      - Alupis 6y ago
        Well, seeing how a couple of the votes are shrouded in deep controversy, even allegations of rigging the results, I can see why people would just blow it off as yet another attempt to re-invent their society by a very vocal minority.
rsj_hn 6y ago
They not only vote on, but had an active left-wing terrorist group, FALN, that planted bombs and murdered American citizens in order to win Puerto Rican Independence from the U.S. The idea was that America was just holding them back from a socialist paradise. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_de_Liberación_Nacional_Puertorriqueña https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_de_Liberación_... https://www.navycthistory.com/sabana_seca_bus_tragedy_1979_1.html https://www.navycthistory.com/sabana_seca_bus_tragedy_1979_1... In 1999, Bill Clinton offered pardons to some of the terrorists but it was conditional on their promising to renounce violence. Oscar Lopez Rivera refused to do so, but was pardoned by Obama. Rivera, who planted bombs that killed two Americans, is friends with Lin Manuel Miranda, who has no problem publicly praising Rivera, even today.
- rovr138 6y ago
  US citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not vote on the presidential elections.
  - Alupis 6y ago
    > US citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not vote on the presidential elections Do you have a source for this? As far as I'm aware, US Citizens can absentee vote from out of the country without issue.
    - rovr138 6y ago
      Of course. Residents Puerto Rico can’t vote in presidential elections. It’s not out of the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_voting_rights_in_Puerto_Rico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_voting_rights_in_Puert... >Voting rights of United States citizens in Puerto Rico, like the voting rights of residents of other United States territories, differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Residents of Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories do not have voting representation in the United States Congress, and are not entitled to electoral votes for president. The United States Constitution grants congressional voting representation to U.S. states, which Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are not, specifying that members of Congress shall be elected by direct popular vote and that the president and the vice president shall be elected by electors chosen by the states.[Note 1]