Latino VoicesPuerto Ricorosie perezPuerto rico statehood

Rosie Perez: The Issue Of Puerto Rico's Statehood Needs To Be Addressed

The actress says Puerto Ricans are treated "as second-class citizens."
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By 

Reporter, HuffPost

Rosie Perez is not happy about how either political party has treated Puerto Rico, and it goes beyond how Congress mishandled the island’s crippling debt crisis.

In an interview with MSNBC’s José Díaz-Balart, the actress spoke about why she supports Hillary Clinton and what she appreciated about Bernie Sander’s campaign. But Perez also took some time to denounce how many mainland Americans perceive Puerto Ricans as second-class citizens. 

When Díaz-Balart asked the actress if she was happy about how Republicans and Democrats have dealt with the debt crisis in Puerto Rico she gave her honest opinion: 

No, I am not. I think that people treat the island and the people that live on the island as second-class citizens, [as if] they are sub-par, [as if] they are not important. Puerto Ricans are United States citizens and I think that the issue of statehood or independence needs to be addressed and needs to be resolved. And right now, on the island, the majority of people want statehood. Why isn’t that addressed? Why is that not respected? 

Perez is certainly right about Puerto Ricans wanting to change the island’s status, but whether that change will result in statehood is a bit more complicated. 

In November 2012, Puerto Rico put the issue of the island’s possible statehood to a vote in a two-part referendum. In the first question, a majority of voters (52 percent) said they were dissatisfied with Puerto Rico’s current U.S. commonwealth status. The second question addressed the possibility of statehood, independence or a freely associated state ― 61 percent of voters were in favor of statehood. 

But more than 470,000 Puerto Rican voters intentionally left the second question blank, which means only about 45 percent of the total votes favored statehood. Still, it remains very clear that most Puerto Ricans are unhappy with their current status. 

Watch Rosie Perez discuss Puerto Rico’s status and why she’s worried about this year’s election in the video above. 

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Before You Go

10 Things You Didn't Know About Puerto Rico
It's home to the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system.(01 of10)
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El Yunque is not only beautiful, it's the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system. (credit:JSV_Photography via Getty Images)
Puerto Ricans are often called "Boricua."(02 of10)
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The word "Boricua", refers to a Puerto Rican originating from "Boriquén" or "Borinquen," the name given by island's indigenous people. The word means "The Land of the Brave Lord". (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5799001ce4b02d5d5ed3efbb" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="11" data-vars-position-in-unit="18">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28242329@N00/543126930" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Alex Barth" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5799001ce4b02d5d5ed3efbb" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28242329@N00/543126930" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="12" data-vars-position-in-unit="19">Alex Barth</a>)
It's the birthplace of America's first female Surgeon General(03 of10)
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Dr. Antonia Novello, a pediatrician born in Puerto Rico, served as America's first female Surgeon General under George H.W. Bush. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
It has an unofficial mascot, in the form of a frog.(04 of10)
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The very tiny but very loud coquí frog is native to Puerto Rico and is now an unofficial mascot of Puerto Rico. (credit:Danita Delimont via Getty Images)
It's home to the one of the world's biggest telescopes.(05 of10)
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Arecibo Observatory is HUGE and you can visit it. (credit:Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Puerto Rico is actually an archipelago.(06 of10)
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And includes the islands of Vieques (seen here) and Culebra (next slide). Vieques is home to the world famous Bioluminescent Bay and, until 2003, was home to a U.S. Navy base. (credit:Oliver Gerhard)
(07 of10)
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Culebra is home to Flamenco Beach (seen here), which has been named one of the world's best beaches. (credit:cdwheatley)
The drinking age is 18.(08 of10)
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Even though it's a U.S. territory, the drinking age is 18. (credit:Franz Marc Frei / LOOK-foto via Getty Images)
Old San Juan boasts serious history.(09 of10)
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The area goes back some 500 years and the streets are paved with blue cobblestones. (credit:Jerry Driendl via Getty Images)
It's the birthplace of the pina colada.(10 of10)
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As if you didn't love it already, the much-beloved pina colada was first created here. (credit:shutterstock)
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