The Breaking Point: Puerto Ricans Demand Change in Historic Election

While mainlanders in the US worry about the upcoming presidential election, those living in Puerto Rico also face their own historic election: the race for governor. On the island, governmental elections hold an incredible amount of weight in addressing local issues and shaping the island’s relationship with the United States. Puerto Rico has been a freely associated territory of the United States since 1898, and, as a self-governing body, Puerto Ricans cannot vote in federal elections. As a result, gubernatorial elections have the highest stakes in determining the island’s future. 

Puerto Rico’s politics revolve strongly around its territorial status. While the United States Congress is the only entity that can preside over the island’s status, its major political parties represent the different options for Puerto Rico’s commonwealth moving forward. In the last five decades, the two most popular parties have been the New Progressive Party (PNP in Spanish), which promises US statehood, and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which has campaigned to remain a freely associated territory. Due to their popularity, these two parties are overwhelmingly in control of all levels of government, from the island’s municipalities to Congress and the executive branch. The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), the party advocating for independence from the United States, has never gained significant traction among the electorate—until recently. 

This upcoming election reveals a significant shift in the island’s politics. It is the first time in PR’s modern political history that a candidate from the popular party is not in the first two positions predicted to win. More importantly, it’s the first time in modern history that a candidate from the Independence Party could be positioned to win. The five candidates running for governor are Jenniffer González (PNP), Jesús Manuel Ortiz (PPD), Juan Dalmau (PIP) in alliance with the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), Javier Jiménez with the Dignity Project (PD) and Javier Córdova Iturregui, also from MVC. Based on the polls, Jennifer Gonzalez from the PNP is ahead, with 37% support, while Juan Dalmau from the PIP and MVC alliance is in second place with 25% support. Other local polls also present similar results, with both Jennifer Gonzalez and Juan Dalmau consistently being the top two contestants for the upcoming election. 

To many, this change does not come as a surprise. In the last governmental election, the same PIP candidate, Juan Dalmau, obtained 14% of the island’s vote representing a significant breakthrough for the Independence Party. Other parties such as the Citizen Victory Movement and the Dignity Project also gained historic electoral support. Such changes could reflect voters’ lack of trust and discontentment with the larger two parties’ failure to improve the living conditions on the island. 

Following Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Ricans face a myriad of issues that make living on the island increasingly impossible. This is largely due to the island’s failing electrical system where seven years after the hurricane, there continues to be frequent power outages despite increasing electrical bills and public protests. Other governmental services are also decaying; in the last 10 years, 638 public schools were closed due to insufficient funding. Overall living conditions have also worsened: there is a decline in employment, a shortage in accessible housing, an increase in poverty and a degrading healthcare system that fails to address the growing elderly population. In the face of these issues, many Puerto Ricans have left the island. The government’s perceived failure to remedy living conditions due to cases of corruption has further worsened this mass emigration. Between 2011 and 2020, 550,421 Puerto Ricans emigrated to the mainland US. 

Since 2020, the FBI has undergone a series of investigations into Puerto Rico’s public officials, arresting and charging a former governor, several mayors, legislators, contractors, and other former government officials for fraud and public corruption crimes. Those charged were overwhelmingly from the PNP and PPD, the two parties in power. Most of those charged were accused of appropriating federal and local funds for personal gain. As the government continues to fail to address the issues mentioned, corruption is a central conversation in this election. 

During the last governmental debate on October 7, the candidates were asked about these corruption cases and their responses widely differed. Juan Dalmau from the PIP and MVC alliance attacked the candidates from the PNP and PPD for failing to address the corruption within their own party. He argued that this strongly affects the delivery of essential services to the public. Both the PNP and PPD candidates defended their actions and claimed that moving forward, they would not tolerate corruption within their parties. Despite their claims, neither of the two candidates has proposed policies or reforms to limit future cases of corruption. 

Outside the stage, activists and public figures have also played a central role in bringing attention to this corruption and the issues islanders face during this election. One of the most important figures involved has been Bad Bunny, the island’s biggest artist. In a recent podcast, the singer urged Puerto Ricans to vote against the people who have led us to this mess and criticized the two ruling parties, especially the PNP’s candidate Jennifer Gonzalez. From that podcast, a clip with edited music went viral online showing Bad Bunny improvising a song saying “Jennifer mentirosa” (liar), calling for the death of the PNP and all corrupt officials, and stating that Puerto Rico deserves better. The comments generated a boom in enthusiasm for voter registration, especially among young people. A TikTok trend with over 12,000 videos soon emerged in which people showed off their electoral cards to an old Wisin and Yandel Song titled “Sacalá”— as in, get your electoral card. Due to pop culture and social media activism, the Independence Party gained a base of public and electoral support that it had never experienced before. 

The recent influx in voter registration has been felt across the island’s registration centers since many of them are ill-prepared to handle so many people at once. In an extreme case, one of the island’s registration boards stayed open until 4:00 am in order to ensure voters received their electoral cards. With voter registration closing on September 21, the State Election Commission (CEE) further extended service hours in all Permanent Registration Boards (JIP) and Temporary Registration Boards (JIT) around the island. The measure came after large popular demand, especially since there were many reports of the electronic registration platform failing to work. Still, officials from the PIP and activist organizations requested to extend the deadline for voter registration, arguing that many citizens have been unable to register themselves due to the CEE’s inadequate resources. This proposal was denied by the PNP’s and PPD’s electoral commissioners, a decision seen by activists as another example of corruption from the two parties aimed at suppressing people’s right to vote.   

Nevertheless, famous artists like Bad Bunny, Residente, Ricky Martin, and Rauw Alejandro continue to encourage voters and build momentum against this bipartisanship. A series of billboards began to appear across the island projecting statements like, “Votar PNP es votar por LUMA” (Voting for PNP is voting for LUMA, the failing electrical company), “Quien vota PNP no ama a Puerto Rico” (If you vote PNP, you don’t love PR),  and “Votar PNP es votar por la corrupción” (Voting PNP is voting for corruption). After significant backlash over the anonymous source behind the billboards, Bad Bunny revealed himself as the sponsor, adding as an appendix: Ad paid by Benito Antonio Martínez Ocacio (Bad Bunny’s real name), a Puerto Rican who loves Puerto Rico. More billboards have continued to be seen across the island, now including messages against the popular party. This has generated strong opposition from PNP and PPD officials and even more media attention about the election  

The surge in attention and voter registration could benefit the PIP and MVC alliance’s candidate Juan Dalmau who presents an alternative to the current ruling parties. His progressive policies on issues like re-building the island’s economy, fixing the electrical system and bettering education have attracted many young voters; the polls show that 43.2% of voters from ages 18-44 are more likely to vote for Juan Dalmau, in contrast to 28.7% for Jennifer Gonzalez. In response, Jennifer Gonzalez and the PNP have launched what opined have called a “fear campaign” to dissuade the public from voting for Juan Dalmau. As seen in many of their television advertisements and speeches, Jennifer Gonzalez and her party have tried to frame Juan Dalmau as a communist, claiming that, if he wins, Puerto Rico will become independent from the United States and a communist nation like Venezuela and Cuba. This strategy is not new: Puerto Rican politicians throughout history have continuously used neighboring Latin-American countries as cautionary tales for political gain. While Juan Dalmau has pushed back against such attacks, there is no doubt it could be successful among loyal supporters of statehood, traditional party endorsers and older generations. Polls show that 31.7% of voters aged 45-60 would vote for Jennifer Gonzalez, compared to 9% for Juan Dalmau and 22.4% for the PPD candidate, Jésus Manuel; 36.2% of voters aged 60-100 would vote for Jennifer Gonzalez, 19.2% for Juan Dalmau, and 24.5% Jésus Manuel. However, the increase in support for Juan Dalmau among the elderly population is worth noting: it indicates a revival among an electorate that saw its beginning 77 years ago. Even more, this support across the electorate solidifies the strength of the Independence Party and opens the door for a possible victory this November. 

Regardless of the outcome, the race presents a possible departure from the traditional political establishment. For decades, Puerto Rican politics have been characterized by the same two-party system. The increasing popularity of the Independence Party and the surge in voter registration, however, especially among young people, points to a desire for change—one that rejects the status quo of previous generations. As this movement continues to gain traction, the 2024 election may be remembered as the moment when Puerto Rico’s future is reshaped, not by traditional political parties but by the vision and demands of a new generation eager for change.