Puerto Rican views on new statehood bill reflect differing positions in the Island’s diaspora

Statehood has been a contentious topic for Puerto Rico and its diaspora for decades. The debate about whether or not “the Island”–as many Puerto Ricans refer to it–should become the 51st state has seemingly intensified since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last fall. On June 27, U.S. Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R) filed a bill that would make Puerto Rico a state by 2021. The bill has received bipartisan support in Congress. The current governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, who ran on a pro-statehood platform, called statehood a “civil rights” issue for the people of Puerto Rico.

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