Puerto Rico Independence Activists at UN Walk Out on Disgraced Former Governor

Around 18-20 independence activists walked out of a UN hearing on the decolonization of Puerto Rico Monday right before disgraced former governor Ricardo Rosselló gave a pro-statehood pitch to the panel.

Former Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló near the UN before testifying Monday at the decolonization hearing. Twitter photo courtesy of @powermalu

“One million Puertorriqueños in 2019 took to the streets and asked him to resign, and he had the nerve to appear before the UN to say he represents the majority of the people in Puerto Rico,” said Digna Sanchez, founder of the Friends of Puerto Rico Initiative, Tuesday.

Many Puerto Ricans have been outraged that Rosselló purports to represent them when popular protests on the island forced him to leave office three years ago after the disclosure of homophobic and other distasteful chats were discovered among Rosselló and his associates. At the hearing he represented a “special delegation from Puerto Rico to the United States Congress,” according to the UN.

The independence activists returned to the UN hearing room after statehood advocates testified, and around 300 demonstrators rallied for Puerto Rico’s independence that afternoon at the UN. A united front of El Frente Independista Boricua, along with other groups, organized the protest.

Independence activist Digna Sanchez of San Juan, among others, addressed the rally June 20, 2022.

In an appearance at the Skift Global Forum in New York in 2018, one year after Hurricane Maria and prior to the scandal, Rosselló said Puerto Rico is a U.S. colony. He said independence for Puerto Rico is an option, but he favored statehood first.

Others argue that Puerto Rico, which has just emerged from bankruptcy but still is subject to a U.S. Congress-appointed financial control board, should get independence soon — not decades from now. Other Puerto Ricans favor statehood or the status quo.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, has effectively been a U.S. colony since the United States invaded it in 1898 near the end of the Spanish-American war. While former colonies in Africa and Asia, including India, gained their independence over the last half century, Puerto Rico remains tied to the U.S.

The UN Special Committee on Decolonization adopted a draft resolution Monday calling on the U.S. government to end its occupation of Puerto Rico, and to return it to the Puerto Rican people. The panel started discussing the decolonization of various colonies around the world 50 years ago, and many Puerto Ricans have been advocating decolonization ever since.

Democratic legislators in the U.S. — who would likely add a couple of Democratic Senators and a House member or two if Puerto Rico became the 51st state — have called for a binding plebiscite in Puerto Rico on statehood, independence or some form of the status quo.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, serve in the U.S. armed forces, but can’t vote for President. They get some federal benefits such as Social Security and Medicare, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a few months ago that they don’t qualify for certain disability benefits. Puerto Rico has one representative in the U.S. Congress, but that representative can’t cast a vote on legislation.

In 2020, a narrow majority of Puerto Ricans voted for statehood, although many didn’t participate in that plebiscite.

Disclosure: Digna Sanchez, quoted above, is a long-time friend of this reporter.