On the last election, over 160,000 plebiscites were turned in blank as a form of protest. Most (if not all) of them were done by pro-independence Puerto Ricans, like how we have done in the past with the useless referendums. This plebiscite doesn't decide what wins and loses.

It's essentislly useless, like all boycotted referendums. This is just another waste of money and it's insulting. And I'm tired of colonizers speaking over us.

Over 40% of PRicans voted for sovereignty, but people fail to take into consideration the crazy amount of times these plebiscites are boycotted. Not only are these useless referendums non-binding and illegitimate, they are insulting.

Many people boycott these referendums by simply not voting in them, and I actually saw all the boycotts with the papers last year. They protested by keeping them blank or writing notes and even scribbling.

And keep in mind that the corrupt pro-statehood PNP party (which by the way is a conservative, right-leaning and pro-Trump criminal organization) controls many of these things, which makes it harder to fight against them. They corrupt and interfere with everything.

And this might sound like a reach, but I wouldn't be surprised if these referendum votes were rigged too. The bipartisan system in Puerto Rico is well-known for its history of rigging. This has happened a lot of times before in different voting years.

And I even saw all the corruption, voter fraud and riggung. I saw the many different ways the PNP supporters and the party itself were interfering, even before the election day! And many other Puerto Ricans have seen all of it!

So if they can mess with the governor votes, they can mess with the referendum votes as well. That's what I think.

All the people who DO vote in those, don't even represent the entire Puerto Rican population. Hell, they don't even represent the entire island. If I remember well, the voter turnout in 2024 was lower, and the population in PR has decreased, which is all rooted in corruption.

I remember all those times where Americans said that "we want statehood because we voted for it in 2020" when not even half of the Puerto Rican population in Puerto Rico participated in it. And they also chose to trust a Wikipedia article that obviously caters to them.

And lastly, support for independence has grown a lot recently. Many Puerto Ricans have educated ourselves and keep learning and fighting for what's right, especially us in the younger generations! I'm very proud of where we're going and there's still a glimpse of hope.

I'm tired of us only being seen as referendum numbers from some pieces of paper the government wastes money on. To Americans we are nothing more than that. And the PNP doesn't even put much effort into an actual legitimate plebiscite and a path towards statehood.

They campaign on statehood to maintain their grip on power. They don't have an actual plan to make Puerto Rico a state and a plan for the economy. And they don't even engage with the diaspora. There's no pro-statehood branch in the diaspora, but there are pro-independence ones!

Their campaigning on statehood fuels their power, which is dying out since most of their supporters are generally made up of older people. Same thing with the PPD. Many formerly PPD supporters kinda gave up or switched their support to the PIP.

I think this is the end? I feel like I could've said a bit more but... Next time I see another non-Puerto Rican talking about plebiscites I'm just gonna send them this.

Also, I quickly wanna say that articulation isn't really my strong suit and I wanted to say everything quickly, which is why I kept this thread is pretty simple. More can be said and expanded on.

To add a tiny bit more to this, support for the PNP has clearly been dying out and support for the PIP has been rising, a lot. Especially with the younger generations. Especially the ones who weren't old enough to vote. I don't think Americans know- https://x.com/kevinabeI/status...

-just how much support independence and the PIP has gotten. In Puerto Rico AND in the diaspora, which are people who obviously couldn't vote because they're not in PR.

And then there's also the fear mongering and propaganda the PNP has done to scare voters into voting for them. There have been people in favor of independence who were gonna vote for the PIP but then changed their minds because of it.

And it's not just this. For decades Puerto Ricans have been fear mongered into believing statehood is the right choice. If there's things like carpeteo, the murdering of activists, propaganda, etc., of course people are gonna become silent. Because they were siLENCED.

And of course, there are Puerto Ricans who aren't educated on the matter, which is why it's so important to talk about it and educate! Literally, I have mutuals who used to support statehood but then changed their minds after learning. It's not too late to learn!!!

There's a WHOLE lot more to all of this but what I'm trying to say is that the support for independence should not be diminished. There are more people in favor of it than you guys realize.

I'm not even gonna bring up the PPD because let's face it, that party's dead lol. I'm glad they finally had 3rd place after decades.

And this isn't to say that we should worship political parties. Absolutely no politics and parties should be treated like stan culture, regardless of their views. I love my country more than a political party.

@kevinabeI

@PRECoalition 293,224 votes for independence, 116,834 for sovereignty through free association, and 169,448 are blank. 293,224 + 116,834 = 410,058 anti-statehood votes. That + 169,448 = 579,506. 38,871 more than statehood. 13,080 votes reading in error And the CEE never finished counting.

@kevinabeI Statehood is inevitable. Independence is dead.

@kevinabeI

@kevinabeI Puerto Ricans reject independence.

@kevinabeI If you EVER become the majority, I’ll return your obstructionism tenfold.

@kevinabeI Un neo-grito de Lares.

@kevinabeI saving this pa la proxima vez que venga un gringo con lo mismo y ahorrarme el tiempo escribiendo lolol

@kevinabeI Yup 😌

@kevinabeI

@kevinabeI It’s not the non-Puerto Ricans you have to worry about. 60% locally voted for Statehood. Ouch. The % continues to increase.

@kevinabeI Last November, 60% Ststehood & 12% independence. Reality.