Jenniffer Gonzalez to Seek Puerto Rico’s Annexation to the U.S.
Governor Jennifer Gonzalez. X/ @ManeTuiter
January 2, 2025 Hour: 1:27 pm
The island’s new governor says that Puerto Ricans will achieve ‘equality’ through annexation.
On Thursday, Puerto Rico’s new governor, Jenniffer Gonzalez, vowed to fight for the annexation of her country to the United States to achieve “full equality” for all Puerto Ricans.
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“The inequality experienced by the people of Puerto Rico will be fought with all my strength,” she said in her first speech following the official inauguration ceremony held in front of the Capitol.
Gonzalez, a member of the New Progressive Party (PNP), is a champion of the so-called ‘Statehood’ movement, advocating for Puerto Rico’s annexation as a full-fledged state of the United States. Currently, the island is a U.S. Commonwealth.
“Statehood means equality, and I want us to have access to those opportunities,” Gonzalez emphasized, asserting that this option received support in the non-binding status referendum held in Nov. 5.
In that referendum, 56.87% of voters chose statehood over options for independence or free association sovereignty. However, the number of blank ballots was significant, as other political parties had urged the population not to participate in the referendum.
During her term, the governor will seek to secure U.S. approval for holding a binding referendum in Puerto Rico on its political status, although Republicans have historically been reluctant to support such an initiative. Gonzalez, who won the November elections with 41% of the vote, also stated her intention to “build a new Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rico of opportunities.”
“I am confident we can achieve this. I believe in a Puerto Rico that rises. And you know what? I’m not going to govern just for those who voted for me; I will be the governor for all Puerto Ricans,” she affirmed.
Regarding the massive blackout that affected the island just two days ago, Gonzalez limited her comments to promising to work towards “an electrical grid that works.”
“We will have a government that listens to you, takes care of you, and delivers solutions,” assured the governor, who had previously served as Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in Washington. Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, elected in last November’s elections, as well as Cabinet members nominated by Gonzalez, were also sworn into office on this day.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE