Puerto Rico, set to become US’ 51st State?

U.S. Nilgun Salim
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The Puerto Ricans decided on Sunday to become the 51^st American state through a referendum that will require tough negotiations in Washington in order to become reality

According to the government, 97% of the voters expressed their support towards the decision of Puerto Rico to become US’s incorporated territory.

However, from 2.2 million registered voters, only 23% were present at the polls while the opposition urged the people to boycott the election.

According to the American press, in order for Puerto Rico to become America’s 51^st state, the United States’ Congress will pronounce the final word and the situation does not seem too gloomy for the ‘island country’.

More precisely, the Puerto Ricans have three options: independence, obtaining the status of an American state or maintaining the status that dates back from 1898.

The Puerto Ricans are American citizens but they don’t have the right to vote or to represented in the United States’ Congress although they are able to cross the border freely.

Despite the fact that they are US citizens, the 3.4 million Puerto Rican people cannot participate in the presidential election and their Congress delegation has no right to vote.

Governor Ricardo Rossello, an integration advocate, struggled to find the support in Washington without success.

One of the reasons for the economic difficulties faced by Puerto Rico is that the island’s debt of nearly $70 billion is currently being restructured through a bankruptcy-like procedure.