House Passes Puerto Rico Status Act

On Thursday the House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, which received a floor vote after its approval by a House committee on Wednesday. Now, the race is on to get approval from the Senate before a new Republican-controlled House is sworn in on January 3.

  • Dec 15, 2022
  • 2:47 PM

BUDPR, CASA Issue Joint Statement on Opposition to Puerto Rico Status Act

The Puerto Rico Status Act is “the product of an our-way-or-the-highway approach from pro-statehood House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that has backed advocates of a fair and just decolonization process for Puerto Rico into a corner,” the two groups said in a joint statement.

  • Aug 19, 2022
  • 4:36 PM

Puerto Rico Status Act Stalls in House Due to ‘Outside Interests’

The legislative clock is running out on the Puerto Rico Status Act, and according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), votes have yet to be counted due to what he says are “outside interests” delaying progress on the bill.

  • Aug 17, 2022
  • 5:27 PM

Puerto Rico Status Act Loses Momentum in House

Rep. Grijalva, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, says the sudden increase in lobbying against the Puerto Rico Status Act is not about process but instead about maintaining the island’s current colonial status.

  • Jul 28, 2022
  • 2:41 PM

All Eyes on AOC to Decide Puerto Rico Status Act

After the Natural Resources Committee passed the Puerto Rico Status Act on Wednesday, all eyes are now on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, whose support or defection from the bill she helped negotiate will likely decide the bill’s fate in the House.

  • Jul 21, 2022
  • 6:22 PM

Puerto Rico Status Act Passes Committee But Faces Uncertain Future in House

Twenty-nine amendments were debated by members of the House Natural Resources Committee who ultimately voted 20-25 to advance the bill, with every Republican voting against the bill except Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colón.

  • Jul 20, 2022
  • 9:06 PM

Rep. Grijalva Introduces ‘Historic’ Puerto Rico Status Act

On Friday, Natural Resources Committee chair Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced a bill that outlines a process for the people of Puerto Rico to decide their political status in a binding resolution that would force Congress to carry out their decision.

  • Jul 15, 2022
  • 3:30 PM

EXCLUSIVE: Grijalva Previews Next Steps for Puerto Rico Status Act

On Tuesday afternoon, Latino Rebels caught up with the House Committee on Natural Resources Chair in the Speaker’s Lobby of the House of Representatives for an update on the bill that has brought the two policy factions supporting statehood and self-determination bills together for the first time.

  • Jun 15, 2022
  • 10:58 AM

EXCLUSIVE: Ocasio-Cortez on the Future of Puerto Rico Status Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) traveled to Puerto Rico with three fellow House members to hold a public forum to discuss the new Puerto Rico Status Act Discussion Draft, Latino Rebels caught up with the New York Democrat on Wednesday evening for an update on the bill.

  • Jun 8, 2022
  • 9:02 PM

No Clear Consensus During Public Forum for Puerto Rico Status Act Discussion Draft

As anticipated, there was no overarching agreement over the future of the political status of Puerto Rico—although the predominantly shared sentiment from speakers was that the discussion draft was a good start to relinquishing themselves of colonialism.

  • Jun 7, 2022
  • 5:42 PM

Three Testimonies to Congressional Committee Show Clearly Different Views on Puerto Rico Status Act Discussion Draft

Over the weekend, Latino Rebels received testimonies from three speakers, each representing a different take on the status question and the discussion draft bill. We are sharing each testimony here to show the broad political spectrum this discussion draft debate represents.

  • Jun 6, 2022
  • 2:08 PM

Key Features of Puerto Rico Status Act

The Puerto Rico Status Act brings together two competing bills in the House: the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act and the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s in it.

  • May 20, 2022
  • 4:20 PM

María and Maui (OPINION)

“As I watched TV coverage of the wildfires incinerating Maui… a single thought raged in my head: Colonialism is a brutal, never-ending story… The footage triggered memories of Hurricane María, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 and transformed the archipelago into a rich man’s paradise—and a no man’s land for many Puerto Ricans.”

  • Aug 21, 2023
  • 5:26 PM

The Party’s Over in Puerto Rico (OPINION)

With a generational shift against the status quo, a growing reluctance among Puerto Ricans to see their islands become part of an increasingly authoritarian nation, and now a battle between its two leading figures —Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Trump supporter— the ruling pro-statehood New Progressive Party’s days seem numbered.

  • Aug 14, 2023
  • 4:22 PM

The Rise of Sovereignty in Puerto Rico (OPINION)

The only practical way for Puerto Rico to decolonize, democratize, and safeguard its economic future and maintain its national identity is through national sovereignty—and trends indicate that support for sovereignty is growing.

  • May 15, 2023
  • 4:53 PM

Months From Independence: What Would Albizu Do?

The third in a three-part series looking at the attempts made by Pedro Albizu Campos and other local leaders in Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention in 1936—the closest the archipelago has come to breaking free of U.S. colonial rule.

  • Feb 28, 2023
  • 5:30 PM

Why Puerto Ricans for Statehood Remain Hostile Toward the Free Association Option (OPINION)

While experts and others do know that it is possible, desirable, and mutually beneficial to maintain U.S. citizenship in any sovereignty option, statehooders keep trying to misinform Puerto Ricans and policymakers in Washington.

  • Feb 23, 2023
  • 3:50 PM

Will Biden Feel the Bad Bunny Effect and Mention Puerto Rico in SOTU? (OPINION)

First Lady Jill Biden appeared as a presenter at the Grammys on Sunday, just minutes after Bad Bunny gave an unapologetically Puerto Rican performance to open the show. Will her husband face the music and say something about Puerto Rico in his State of the Union address Tuesday night?

  • Feb 7, 2023
  • 3:21 PM

Brownlisted: America’s Favorite (and Stolen) Christmas Flower

Senior editor Hector Luis Alamo gives a rundown of some of the facts, bits of news, real histories, and actual lies he came across during the past week.

  • Dec 16, 2022
  • 4:09 PM

The Latest From Capitol Hill

Latino Rebels Radio: August 18, 2022

  • Aug 18, 2022
  • 11:16 PM

Power 4 Puerto Rico Urges Transparency From Rep. Grijalva, House Members on Status Bill

Last week Thursday, a coalition of Puerto Ricans living in the diaspora sent a letter to Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, urging him and other House members for transparency in their proceedings on a draft bill to resolve Puerto Rico’s status.

  • Jun 29, 2022
  • 4:36 PM

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