VivoMix.com walked the streets of San Juan from areas of Hato Rey and Santurce, and in areas of the city of Caguas within the center (el pueblo). We asked 50 random people of various ages what would they like for the future of Puerto Rico Independence or Statehood (we didn’t ask about the Commonwealth status, but we got too persistent individuals who insisted this was the best of both worlds)? To ensure that no one would be intimidated by the question, we didn’t asked for any names and nothing but their honest answers. This is what we found out:
Within the surveyed we asked a young man handing out flyers for special offers of a nearby fast food restaurant, “this should be a state already, I feel it will offer us the best opportunities for our future, besides you can say we are already like a state…”, he said in spanish. He said he was 20 years old and currently going to college.
Puerto Rican home in the countryside.
On the other hand one female said that she believes in the “Estado Libre Associado” or the current Commonwealth status. The 32 year woman said that she does understand that there should be some modifications made to the current alliance with United States, since the current agreement is decades old, “the ELA is the best way to maintain our association with the United States without losing our identity as Puerto Ricans”, she said. She spoke in spanish, but stated that she was also fluent in english. She said she works in a hospital, but didn’t share any more specifics about herself.
A barbershop owner stated, “I love my island and I don’t think Statehood is going to make us lose our identity”. He also said that “if you think about it, there are more Puerto Ricans living in the states than in the island”. The gentleman who didn’t disclose his age, joked that his 50 plus, but the plus will be left to the imagination. The man humorously said he has seen many things throughout his life and his largest concern is the abundant corruption of local politicians, “everyone is just as bad as the next, so you have to vote base on core beliefs and policies. You could put all three parties on the same bucket, they all say what you want to hear just to get elected”. He said, “the federal government serves as check against local corruption, if it wasn’t for this additional balance of power we would be like any other 3rd world country if not worse”. The gentleman said he would love to see the island become a state so that the political discussion could turn to other more important things, like developing the economy and public safety. “The status issue is a distraction, whether its here or over there we need to work and stop thinking that the government is going to be the one to make things better”, he stated in a more serious tone. He definitely had quite a lot to say, so we asked what was his opinion of independence and he responded, “look to see who are the ones that believe in the independence for Puerto Rico, the ones that are in the island are typical hippies, but the first to want socialist programs like ‘los cupones’ (referring to government program often referred to as food stamps). They don’t seem to realize that someone always has to pay and that those are the ones that work. As for the rest of the really hardcore independentistas look to see they’re living in New York”, he joked.
A group of pro-statehood supporters in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The only other person during the survey that believed in the Commonwealth status was a gentleman who said he was 66 years old. He recalled having had worked in farms during his youth, and believes that industrialization changed things for the good and the worst. He said, “I remember many of my friends didn’t want to work the land anymore, they often got paid more while working in a factory than what they would otherwise make working hard labor under the sun. Who could blame them for wanting to make a better living with less effort. You would be dumb not to…”. He said times have changed and the young is not in the mind set of working the land, unless they’re the land owners and even then they most likely have to hire immigrants to work for them. “Unfortunately, our economy became to dependent on the good jobs, but the instance we lost the 936 under the Rosello administration and companies began to leave the island, it was obvious that we were heading downhill. I still believe in the Commonwealth”, he stated, noting “we are just lacking good honest leadership”.
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