A woman leaves a voting booth as Puerto Ricans head to the polls on Sunday to decide whether they want their struggling US territory to become the 51st USA state, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"Today, we the people of Puerto Rico, are sending a strong and clear message to the world claiming our equal rights as American citizens", Governor Ricardo Rosselló said, calling it a "historic election". The Associated Press reported that almost half a million votes were cast for statehood, but the participation rate was just 23%, leading opponents to question the validity of the vote. Voter turnout was just 23 percent, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several political parties had urged their supporters to boycott.
As American citizens, often proudly so, Puerto Ricans can freely enter the U.S. - but don't have the right to vote for United States presidents or elect representatives to Congress, even though USA lawmakers have the ultimate say over the territory's affairs.
"Puerto Rico is poorer than MS by half, and Americans don't care, " Bravo said. The referendum was Puerto Rico's fifth such plebiscite since 1967, with the latest unsuccessful attempt being made in 2012. "This has all been a waste of time", said taxi driver Felix Salasarar, 54, adding that federal lawmakers will "look at the voter turnout and say, "where's the will of the people?'" Working against the governor may be a perception in Washington that Sunday's vote was not fair".
He further argued that, in a democracy, the expression of the majority that participates in the electoral processes prevails.
"He did a lot for fighting for us, for our freedom, our independence, and a lot of people don't understand that", said one parade goer.
For decades the territory enjoyed a USA federal tax exemption that attracted many American companies to set up shop - but those breaks were ended in 2006, prompting firms to leave the island en masse. The unemployment rate is 11.5% (compared to just 4.3% for the USA overall).
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Among those hoping Puerto Rico will become the 51st state is Ana Maria Garcia, a 52-year-old business administrator who arrived with her family on bicycle to vote early Sunday.
Puerto Ricans head to polls Sunday with one question in mind: Should the USA territory seek to become the country's 51st state? Residents of the island are U.S. citizens but they do not vote for president and do not pay federal taxes. Puerto Ricans are getting the chance to tell U.S. Congress on Sunday which political status they believe best benefits the U.S. territory as it remains mired in a deep economic crisis that has triggered an exodus of islanders to the U.S mainland.
Still, many Puerto Ricans see statehood as about a lot more than the economy.
Last month, Rossello said that being incorporated into the USA would allow Puerto Rico to become a "diplomatic center and a business center of the Americas", Florida's WLRN reported. But they are not allowed to vote in presidential or congressional elections unless they reside in the mainland United States.
"We have been a colony for 500 years, and we have had USA citizenship for 100 years, but it's been a second class one", Rossello said.
"This Sunday's plebiscite wastes millions of dollars and is not a good use of the time and energy we must devote to solving the fiscal and economic crisis of Puerto Rico".
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