Senate Majority Leader Supports Statehood for Puerto Rico

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader

Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke out in favor of Puerto Rico becoming a state.  

Reid blamed Republicans for not supporting and advancing initiatives to decide the political future of the island. He made ​​the comments at a roundtable with reporters at the U.S. Capitol, on the eve of a demonstration from advocacy groups that support making Puerto Rico the 51st state of the United States.

"For me, the answer is very simple. I am in favor of statehood, always have been," Reid said.

On Tuesday, the Puerto Rico Statehood Council and other groups will hold the "Puerto Rican Journey for Equality", a rally to demand that Congress takes action on the results of the island's November 2012 plebiscite.

In that referendum, Puerto Rican voters were asked two questions: (1) whether they agreed to continue with Puerto Rico's territorial status and (2) to indicate the political status they preferred from three possibilities: statehood, independence, or a sovereign nation in free association with the United States. Fifty-four percent of voters chose "No" on the first question, expressing themselves against maintaining the current political status, and forty-six percent voted "Yes" to maintain the current political status. Of those who answered on the second question more than sixty-one percent chose statehood, thirty-three percent chose free association, and almost six percent chose independence.

Several hundred advocates are expected at tomorrow's rally, which will be held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol across the Library of Congress.