The most recent scientific poll conducted by Puerto Rico’s main newspaper El Nuevo Día about the political status of Puerto Rico shows 45% would vote for the Sovereign Commonwealth-Free Association (ELA Soberano) option. The US Statehood option is in second place (36%) while a second sovereignty option came in third: the Republic or Independence option (5%). 13% do not vote or are undecided. The poll was published last week.
The poll also shows that 51% do not want to modify the present relationship with the US while 37% want to modify the present relationship.
The poll shows a majority of puerto ricans would choose puerto rican sovereignty (Sovereign Commonwealth or Independence) over annexation to the US (US Statehood or Incorporated Territory) option.
Not only the US Statehood option is trailing behind, the present head of government who supports the annexation option is also behind in the poll. The anti US statehood candidate, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, is leading 38% vs 31%.
El Nuevo Día columnist Torres Gotay wrote recently that more people are ready to break away from the past, they are now pretty comfortable with the sovereignty option and also talks about how the US Statehood option is declining.
''pobre de los estadistas, que están viendo como la fórmula por la que tanta pasión sienten sufre un doloroso estancamiento, sin poder siquiera acercarse al ansiado 50 más uno que le permitirá ir a pedirla, y la ven, por el contrario, dando reversa, justo cuando creían que en mejor posición estaban de nutrirse de las penas de los azarosos que viven día a día las penurias del colapso del modo de vida del que habíamos disfrutado por los últimos 50 años.''
Translation: those poor ''estadistas'' (those who favor US Statehood), they are seeing how their option, option they are so passionate about, is suffering a painful stagnation, they are not even coming close to a 50 + 1 that would allow them a petition for a status change, instead the opposite is happening, they are seeing that option moving backwards, just when they thought they were in a better position to promote that option due to collapse of our quality of life every single day, quality of life we once enjoyed for the past 50 years
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2 part referendum is scheduled this year. It will be held along with Puerto Rico's general elections in November 2012.
The first part will ask voters if they want to move out of the present relationship with the US,
Estado Libre Asociado (Commonwealth), if the majority says yes then a second part will ask which non-territorial and non colonial status (as defined by the United Nations Decolonization Committee) they want.
In the second part they will find 2 political pathways: Integration/Annexation or Sovereignty. The integration option (requirements: unspecified) has only one choice: US Statehood (Estadidad), the sovereignty option has 2 choices: Sovereign Commonwealth/Free Association (ELA Soberano) (you can read the proposed treaty of Free Association between both nations
here) or Independence (Independencia).
Puerto Rico's national anthem 'La Borinqueña' played by Christian Nieves during the Cotto (Puerto Rico) vs. Margarito (Phillipines) boxing championship at the Madison Square Garden, december 2011