Puerto Rico's pro-statehood party chose Ricardo Rossell- Nevares' over Pedro Pierluisi in Sunday's gubernatorial primary against a backdrop of the commonwealth's $69 billion debt crisis.
With 90% of the vote counted on Monday afternoon, Rossell- was ahead of current resident commissioner Pierluisi 51.08% to 48.92% in the New Progressive Party primary, according to the Puerto Rico Election Commission.
In his communications Pierluisi, whose tenure in Congress will end after two terms, has nearly always talked about statehood as a solution to Puerto Rico's problems. However, Rossell- has promoted an even more rapid and aggressive approach to gaining statehood, several observers said.
The most hardcore members of Puerto Rico's two major political parties show up for primary elections, said Gustavo Vélez, chairman of Inteligencia Econ-mica, a Puerto Rico economic consulting firm. The most adamant statehood advocates of the statehood-advocating New Progressive Party turned out to elect the most aggressive statehood candidate, he said. The NPP voters are strongly supporting statehood at this point even though it is currently not politically possible, he said.
Rossell- opposes the U.S. Congress bill that would impose a control board on Puerto Rico but also allow it to restructure its debts, saying it would return Puerto Rico to a colonial position. Pierluisi had given cautious support to this bill, known as PROMESA, saying the control board is a politically necessary price to pay for restructuring the debts.
However, this difference wasn't key to Rossell-'s victory, Vélez said, citing a poll of 299 Puerto Ricans by the University of Turabo. The February poll found 71% in support of a control board with broad powers and 8 percent opposed.
Rossell- supports the "Tennessee Plan" for statehood. In 1795 the region then known as the Southwest Territory held a referendum where 73% of the people indicated support for statehood. The governor and local legislature held a gathering where they declared the territory to be a state. The legislature elected two people to act as representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and two to be senators in the U.S. Senate.
The territory sent the "representatives" and "senators" to Washington to demand their seats. The Senate initially rejected the entreaty. However, the House agreed to make the territory into a state if it agreed to hold new elections for its positions. The territory's leaders agreed to this and in 1796 it became a state.
The ruling Popular Democratic Party is unpopular now because of the island's weak economy and its continuing problem of emigration of its population to the 50 states, observers said. However, an NPP vote to elect the more hardcore NPP candidate may improve the odds for PDP gubernatorial candidate David Bernier to win in the general election, a member of the PDP who works in the Puerto Rico Senate said June 1.
While Rossell- must now unify his party behind him, Bernier need not do this, Vélez said.
Rossell- has indicated he may favor paying a larger portion of due debt service than Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla proposed in his fiscal 2016-2017 budget, said Cumberland Advisors executive vice president John Mousseau. Garcia Padilla's proposal to devote $209 million of the general fund to debt service would free up money for other purposes he deems essential.
In other results on Sunday, Puerto Rico House Minority Leader and Rossell- running-mate Jenniffer González Col-n beat civil engineer Carlos Ignacio Pesquera for the NPP's nomination for resident commissioner. In the PDP vote for the same seat, attorney and former Puerto Rico House of Representatives Minority Leader Héctor Ferrer beat Puerto Rico Sen. Ángel Rosa Rodriguez.
In the Democratic primary for president, Hillary Clinton gained 59% of the vote and Bernie Sanders won 37%.
Puerto Rico's general election is on the same day as that in the 50 states, Nov. 8.
