AS the US grapples with another presidential election, Puerto Rico’s independence movement is gaining remarkable momentum.
While Donald Trump’s 2016 win ignited global headlines, Puerto Rico had a consequential election of its own that same day. The island’s independence movement received only 2% of the vote.
Under US occupation since 1898, and with 400 years of Spanish rule before that, Puerto Rico’s independence movement has endured for centuries, but the 2016 result was a particular low point. Yet now pro-independence sentiment is surging.
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Juan Dalmau Ramírez, the Puerto Rican Independence Party’s (PIP) leading candidate, has propelled independence into the mainstream, capturing widespread support under the rallying cry “The Triumph of Hope”. For the first time, independence is not just a dream but a viable path forward.
The Rising Tide of Independence
Support for Puerto Rican sovereignty is reaching unprecedented levels, driven by political disillusionment and challenges. The PIP, a long-standing advocate for independence, laid groundwork in the 2000s with its campaign to remove the US Navy from the island of Vieques, a symbol of American exploitation where the Navy’s bombing exercises ravaged local health and ecosystems.
When PIP leader Rubén Berríos declared, “Today Vieques, tomorrow Puerto Rico,” independence supporters dared to hope. However, electoral support then dwindled for years – until recent events rekindled a collective demand for sovereignty.
The 2016 Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (Promesa) exacerbated frustrations: the US Congress installed an unelected fiscal oversight board that imposed severe austerity, cutting essential services to funnel the island’s resources into debt repayment. For many, Promesa crystallised Puerto Rico’s reality as a colony, reigniting questions of self-governance.
A year later, Hurricane Maria devastated the island and the Trump administration’s tepid – at times dismissive – response magnified a sense of abandonment. Trump’s rhetoric added insult to injury then and now. At a campaign rally last month, a comedian at his side derogatorily referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating pile of garbage”, a racist insult emblematic of the dehumanising view of the island.
These wounds, combined with policies from both US parties that prioritise external financial interests, have increased support for self-determination.
Following Maria, and with scandals such as the ousting of then-governor Ricardo Rosselló over his corrupt administration and offensive remarks about Puerto Ricans, protests swept the streets.
The political elite’s failure and the Promesa board’s unchecked power reinforced the notion that US governance, Democratic or Republican, does not serve Puerto Ricans. As a result, public sentiment shifted and in 2020 Dalmau’s unexpected 14% vote share revealed that independence was no longer a distant goal but a viable alternative.
His platform, aligned with the progressive Citizens’ Victory Movement (MVC), which won an equal share of the vote in 2020, connected with voters by promising not only decolonisation but also economic justice, energy reform and healthcare access. This new party, which welcomes supporters of both statehood and independence, has forged agreements with the PIP on an inclusive decolonisation process, which led them to form a historical electoral alliance ahead of the 2024 elections.
Independence v the Status Quo
Support for annexation as the 51st state has stagnated at 45%-50% of the votes cast in Puerto Rico’s five referendums since 1993, except for 2017 when an opposition boycott inflated statehood to 97%.
In the 1990s, independence options – full independence or independence in free association (think of these as full independence v independence in the British Commonwealth) – had just 3%-4% backing, but recent polls show support for statehood and independence now tied at about 44%.
The US Democratic and Republican parties’ alternating failures on Puerto Rican issues have alienated many. Promesa’s austerity measures are widely blamed for public service cuts, school closures, and job losses, actions driven by both party administrations. The Trump administration’s overt racism and the Democrats’ passive oversight both make independence increasingly attractive.
Pro-statehood candidate Jenniffer González’s alignment with Trump’s far-right platform has entrenched statehood’s association with conservative, colonialist policies that promote privatisation and fiscal austerity over Puerto Rican wellbeing. Her campaign’s rhetoric has not bridged the gap with voters seeking sovereignty and dignity, and has further polarised the electorate.
Dalmau’s campaign embraces a break from dependency and an affirmation of Puerto Ricans’ ability to control our own future; championing local control over essential services and rejecting outside financial dominance.
By forging a coalition with the MVC, PIP has built a movement around shared economic and social goals. These include dismantling Promesa’s power; investing in Puerto Rico’s neglected infrastructure; ensuring healthcare works, along with environmental protections; returning the dilapidated energy grid to the public (it was privatised as a favour to Trump under the pro-statehood government Gonzalez serves in, and since then broad power outages have become common); and above all a binding and fair process of decolonisation and self-determination that is negotiated with the United States.
This alliance underscores an emerging belief that Puerto Ricans, not an unelected board or US politicians, should define the island’s future.
A Historic Turning Point
Dalmau’s coalition with MVC represents a breakthrough moment for Puerto Rico’s independence movement, expanding the appeal of self-determination. With PIP’s commitment to independence and MVC’s support for inclusive decolonisation processes, the coalition has rallied voters around a vision of an autonomous Puerto Rico grounded in justice and equity.
Together, their message has captured the imagination of a populace weary of US oversight.
Dalmau’s rise is not just a political campaign but a declaration of identity. For the first time in generations, independence has a real chance – not just at the ballot box, but in the hearts of Puerto Ricans everywhere.
Paul Figueroa sits on the Puerto Rican Independence Party’s central committee and is a climate and agriculture policy adviser.
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