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Adreana Muñoz

Professor Teten

POL-1

15 December 2022

Polarization and Puerto Rico

In a very recent turn of events, Congress has voted on whether or not to allow Puerto

Rico the power to vote on their own future within or without the United States. Political

polarization is a major cause of most important bills being difficult to pass in Congress. It comes

from the convenience of voting for a more popular party rather than wasting a vote on a smaller

party. Due to this polarization, Democrats and Republicans have heard the issue regarding Puerto

Rico’s status numerous times. Each time, because of their differences in opinions about policies,

they have denied Puerto Rico a solid answer on whether or not it deserves a chance to vote for its

own status.

For the end of the year, when one might not expect much more policies to be passed, the

House of Representatives in a show of historic change has recently passed a bill with a vote of

233-191 that allows the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to decide on its own future. With the

passing of the Puerto Rico Status Act, Puerto Ricans have the ability to choose between

becoming the 51st state in America, becoming an independent country, or a sovereignty in free

association with the U.S. (Adragna). Republicans and Democrats disagree with how they expect

Puerto Rico to decide, although the Act has left the decision completely up to Puerto Rico.

Republicans hesitated on the vote because they feared Puerto Ricans would align more with the

Democratic party and give them less and less chances of winning. Puerto Ricans themselves

have differing opinions on what course of action they should take. There are parties in support
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for all three options they have, and the government will most likely have a difficult time

choosing an option that the majority of the country can agree with.

Although it is not expected to be voted on in the Senate before the new members of

Congress take their seats in January, the passage is still monumental. Puerto Rican citizens have

been asking for this kind of power to be given back to them for quite some time now. This has

opened the door that was previously nonexistent for the citizens of Puerto Rico who do not share

the same voting abilities or representation in Congress as citizens from the States have. There has

been much disparity between Puerto Rico citizens and United States citizens living in the states.

Understanding polarization is important in a country such as America. When two

political parties are at the head of the country and have very different ideas for policies they find

important, it makes it hard to compromise with no third party to break the ties. Duverger’s law

explains that majoritarian elections with first-past-the-post winnings favor a two party system

because rather than a voter having to waste a very valuable vote on a smaller party that may not

win, they put their vote into a bigger party with a better chance. Even if this means that they do

not agree wholly with all of the party’s ideals, being close enough is important when a voter only

gets to vote for one option. However, because there are not multiple parties that better fit smaller

groups of Americans in terms of representation, the larger parties such as Democrats and

Republicans find themselves being pulled further left and right respectively to try and satisfy as

many people as possible. This form of broader representation is difficult to manage in a large

country that holds vastly different terrains, people, and economic situations.

Congress has seen many changes since the baby stage of America. The initial belief of

the Framers was that parties, or factions, would not be a problem. However, now that they are,

they have stopped many important policies and legislations from being passed. The status of
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Puerto Rico has been run through the House multiple times for over half a century, but without

enough support from the majority due to incessant debating, nothing has been done until now.

Sixteen Republicans voted in favor of the bill, which was more of a symbolic gesture considering

they had enough votes with the Democratic representatives alone (Cocharane and Mazzei). AS a

result, James Madison’s prophecy that this could lead to a tyranny of the majority has come true.

With Republicans taking control of the House in the upcoming term, the Democratic

representatives knew this was an imperative bill to have passed before it would become too

difficult to get it through to the Senate. Now that it is passed, however, and if the Senate holds

off on voting on it long enough, there might be a chance of getting it passed when Democrats

take over the Senate during the next term. Though this could be a strategic move, this shows that

often if one party wants to get a bill that they endorse passed, they will have to find ways to

finesse the system. The priority has shifted from representatives being able to represent the

American public’s needs to sneaking their way around their opposing party to get a country their

basic rights.

Keeping in mind that America is still a relatively new country and was built with only

white men’s best intentions in mind, there is still hope for a more inclusive government if one

looks hard enough. As the public becomes more privy to the government’s failures and

inadequacies, they can begin to make changes and slight shifts for the better. This bill being

passed is an example of what persistence from a group can accomplish. Although some might

argue that Puerto Rico should never have been in the United States’ custody in the first place,

and one would have to agree, allowing them the chance to make their own decisions is a step in

the right direction. The more citizens continue to use their democratic power of voting and
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demanding change, the less chance the government has of abusing their power and remaining

unchecked to do as they please.

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Works Cited

Adragna, Anthony. “Puerto Rico Breakthrough.” Politico, Congress Minutes, 15 Dec. 2022,

www.politico.com/minutes/congress/12-15-2022/puerto-rico-breakthrough/. Accessed 15

Dec. 2022.

Cochrane, Emily and Patricia Mazzei. “House Passes Bill That Could Pave the Way for Puerto

Rican Statehood.” The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2022,

www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/us/politics/house-puerto-rican-statehood.html. Accessed

15 Dec. 2022