Like many others, I’ve been grieving the results of the recent presidential election. I’m scared for the future and for what is to come. I’m hoping the local communities and the American people will stand up to any wrongdoings the next president makes. However, this isn’t the only election I’ve been grieving about. Puerto Rico also had its gubernatorial polls on Nov. 5, and their result was disappointing — but not shocking.
The political system in Puerto Rico, for those who don’t know, is not divided between the lines of Democrats and Republicans, but rather the island’s territorial status. There are three major parties on the island: Partido Nuevo Progresista (the pro-statehood party known as PNP), Partido Popular Democratico (advocates for remaining an unincorporated territory of the United States, known as PPD) and Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (the pro- independence party, known as PIP). The island has flip- flopped between PNP and PPD for all my life — a fight between being a future state and growing ever closer to the United States, or keeping our limbo status that many of us, including me, call a colony — and for the past 8 years PNP has been in control. However, this year was different. Growing resentment between the current administration and its inability to lead the island in any direction, allowed PIP to grow in popularity. In this recent election, PIP gained enough votes for the first time in the island’s history to achieve second place. PNP will continue to be the party in power which is disappointing.
Puerto Rico will likely not achieve statehood in the upcoming years. The presidential and senate elections going to Republicans will mean it won’t even be discussed in Congress. Puerto Rico’s status will likely remain the same for years to come. Thus, the island will be forced to endure whatever comes from the new Trump administration. Similarly, I’ve been forced — I’ve been forced to reckon with what is to come, I’ve been forced to wait out for policies I think are helpful, and I’ve been forced to question what it means to be a Puerto Rican living in the U.S. right now.
I’ve long questioned my identity of being Puerto Rican long before this election, but not to the extent I have now. I was talking to one of my high school friends, Angel Ortiz, who now goes to the University of Pennsylvania studying history and political science. We talked about our connection to the U.S., and he had this to say about the election: “I’m still very hurt and sad and scared of course, but I don’t see this as ‘my country,’ really, so I don’t see it as my country’s mistake.” Frankly, I agree with him. We both have had to live with this “double identity” of being American and Puerto Rican throughout our lives — an identity that was put upon us since the Spanish-American War in 1898. I had often felt that living in the United States was a betrayal to the people Ihadleftbackhome—a betrayal I will live with for the rest of my life, though I know I’m not alone.
With this election, I feel like my voice is going to be dismissed. My country’s long struggle for a new status will continue to be ignored. However, I’m not alone in this struggle. Many of the people living in the U.S. immigrated due to the geopolitical decisions the U.S. has participated in, thus they also most likely struggle with a double identity in their lives. Likely, their voices will also be suppressed at the hands of this upcoming administration, as well as other minorities. We will all be redefining what it means to live in the U.S. I will most likely continue living in the U.S., and I do not doubt a great deal of people will work together to create a better future — where all voices are heard.
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