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Puerto Rico is under the jurisdiction of Washington but is not a formal part of the 50 states that make up the United States of America. Therefore, its inhabitants are not represented in the U.S. Electoral College. They do participate in the presidential primary elections, where the governor and local legislature are elected. But they cannot vote for president, nor can they elect senators and representatives to Congress in Washington.
On the same Tuesday, November 5 that the U.S. presidential elections were held, Puerto Rico held its own general elections, where they elected the island's governor, resident commissioner, senators, representatives and the mayors of its 78 municipalities. And the results could change the course of the Island.
Jennifer González, of the ruling New Progressive Party, won the majority of the votes and, according to Ángel Carrión Tavárez, Director of Research and Public Policy of the Institute for Economic Liberty, whom we consulted for this special edition of Mirada Sur, “It was not a surprise”. His party also won the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Angel told us that “This result represents an opportunity for economic freedom on the Island, given that the incoming administration committed in writing in its government program to ‘reduce and eliminate excessive regulations and bureaucratic processes, to allow the private sector and the free market to dictate the pattern and direction’ of Puerto Rico's economic future. This is important, as the Island has been subject for decades to state control over production assets and heavy government intervention in the market. This situation has generated economic distortions that have discouraged private investment, reduced entrepreneurship, and limited competitiveness and innovation. Puerto Rico has historically had a weak labor market, low labor force participation, high dependence on U.S. federal transfers, and substantial migration that has led to more Puerto Ricans in the U.S. than in Puerto Rico today, something that could change if the new government fulfills its commitment.”
We asked Angel what Trump's victory means for Puerto Rico.
“The meaning is unclear at this point. On the one hand, the governor-elect, Jennifer González, is affiliated with the Republican Party and supported Trump's candidacy. In addition, she has been Puerto Rico's resident commissioner to the U.S. Congress for the past eight years; consequently, she is known and has political allies in Washington, D.C.”
“On the other hand, Trump's movement slogan is Make America Great Again, and his speech emphasizes putting America first. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory that belongs to the United States but is not part of it. If, regardless of this legal reality, Trump were to consider Puerto Rico as part of the United States, the fact that the Island's new government is Republican and has supported him could prove favorable for the Island in the federal capital. In any case, what Puerto Rico needs is a historic public policy change that unleashes the potential of its people, giving each person the opportunity to prosper and contribute to the development of Puerto Rican society. Fortunately, this does not depend on U.S. industrial policy or tax incentives; it is an action that the Island's elected government will have in its hands.”
This article was originally published in Spanish in Mirada Sur.
