Unfortunately, women bear a disproportionate part of the impact from Puerto Rico’s democratic deficit and territorial inequality. One example is in Medicare and Medicaid funding: The federal government does not fund long-term care or skilled nursing facilities in Puerto Rico. This is a devastating fact when we understand that the island has a rapidly aging population. Another example of territorial inequality is the Supplemental Security Income program, which in Puerto Rico provides significantly less economic support to persons with disabilities. In these and many other instances, women end up bearing most of the responsibility when it comes to taking care of elderly and disabled family members, so this territorial inequality is not only decreasing the quality of life for Puerto Rican families, but it’s also decreasing the productive potential of thousands of working age women who oftentimes have to forgo being part of the workforce to make up for this gap in federal support. Puerto Rico’s lack of equality in programs such as the Child Tax Credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance also means that we have extremely high child-poverty rates at approximately 58% according to the Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico. This has a devastating impact on the island’s socio-economic development, because as they become adults, these children will have less education, make lower incomes, have fewer employment opportunities, poorer health outcomes and greater exposure to crime and violence. This leads to lower productivity in the economy, fewer resources for development, and more resources needed to mitigate the negative consequences of poverty. To make matters worse, according to 2020 Census figures, close to 440,000 people have left the island in the last decade. That is an astounding 12% of our population, and that means we have less and less working-age individuals to take care of and pay taxes for a growing elderly population. That is why the women of Puerto Rico are standing up to say “Enough!” Latest Viewpoints Territorial inequality is literally tearing our families apart, and those of us who want to stay living on the island need to achieve full equality and full federal voting rights to have a fighting chance for Puerto Rico to stabilize, recover and craft a pathway to sustainable economic and social progress. Statehood for Puerto Rico is the only way to achieve this. That is why no one should be surprised that last November a majority of 52% of Puerto Rico’s voters said “yes” to statehood. That was the third time in less than 10 years in which island voters rejected the current territory status and favored admission as a state over the other non-territory options. For the women who came with me to Washington, the fight to get Congress and the Biden administration to respect Puerto Rico’s statehood vote is a fight for our children, our families, our communities and our future. If America is serious about moving forward toward a more equitable and just society, and serious about helping Puerto Rico, Congress must act now and pass the Puerto Rico Statehood Admissions Act. |
