Governor’s ‘Feathers’ Analogy Irks PDP Sovereignty Backers By EVA LLORENS VELEZ Gov. Alejandro García Padilla called the sovereign wing of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) “not a wing, but rather feathers,” stirring the anger of many party members who support the development of commonwealth self-governing powers. A group comprising legislators, mayors and other party leaders who support the notion of a new or sovereign commonwealth, including PDP Rep. Luis Vega Ramos, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto and Mayors Association President Jose A. Santiago, sent a statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which was analyzing the results of the Nov. 6, 2012 status vote. The group told the Senate that they supported the sovereign commonwealth, a status option that got more than 400,000 votes in the island plebiscite on status. They also said that in the event Congress does not act on status by December, the PDP will hold a constituent assembly to resolve the status debate. “We filed in the Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives, Bill No. 210, drafted by the Constitutional Development Commission of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, which provides for the convening and functioning of the Constitutional Assembly on Status,” the group said. García Padilla, who was not told about the statement, found out about it during the hearing on Thursday. Asked about the fate of the sovereign wing of the PDP during a video conference in La Fortaleza, García Padilla said, “You mentioned the sovereign wing. I am clear that they are not a wing but rather feathers, but they have space in the PDP and they are my friends and I respect their opinion. … They have the space to make their arguments and convince.” PDP Rep. Luis Raúl Torres said he was entitled to have his own opinion, but rejected the idea of a split within the PDP. “He [the governor] will not achieve the development of the commonwealth if he alienates the party,” he said. Cruz Soto, for her part, noted that the Senate was not serious about the status debate because the White House did not send anybody to the hearing. “The governor knows that in discussions within the governing board of the PDP, I have fought with other colleagues for the development of a non-territorial and non-colonial commonwealth,” she said in a statement. “I respect the governor’s stance and I demand the same kind of respect for the more than 454,000 Puerto Ricans who, like me, supported the sovereign commonwealth,” she said. Cruz Soto said the governor can not ask for all party members to work together when he belittles those who think different from him. The Senate panel, nonetheless, validated the Nov. 6 status vote and supported the exclusion of the current commonwealth status in a future status vote. Committee chairman Ron Wyden also rejected the proposed “new commonwealth,” contending that the idea had been rejected by previous administrations. There was no discussion of a constituent assembly. Puerto Rico
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 17:01:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015