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The Several States: Difference between revisions
→Puerto Rico
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An "exotic" locale for most Americans. One of the true commonwealths in the country, this is a holdover from the Spanish-American War, fought near the turn of the 20th Century to free the people there from Spanish rule. It's not quite American (it often sends representatives to world events independent of the American ones), but not quite independent.
The future status of Puerto Rico is still undecided. Two referendums in the '90s showed little support for independence, while almost half the voters supported statehood, and a few more supported an option with the benefits of both statehood and independence—the only option the United States never agreed to. Referenda in 2012 and 2017 were equally unclear. The 2020 referendum was much simpler, asking only one question: "Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?" It narrowly passed, but was non-binding on Congress. After the turn of the
Americans don't need a passport to visit, although a working knowledge of Spanish will help. This works both ways; Puerto Ricans are considered American citizens and are free to move to the mainland as they wish. A Puerto Rican can even run for President with no legal problems (political issues on the other hand...). Consequently, the majority of Latinos east of the Mississippi are of Puerto Rican decent, rather than Mexicans to the west.
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