Puerto Ricans speak out on US territory’s political status

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hundreds of Puerto Ricans have crowded into a convention center where federal legislators are holding a public hearing to decide the future of the island’s political status as the U.S. territory struggles to recover from hurricanes, earthquakes and a deep economic crisis. Saturday’s hearing comes two weeks after a group of Democratic congress members including the House majority leader and one Republican proposed what would be the first-ever binding plebiscite that would offer voters in Puerto Rico three options: statehood, independence or independence with free association, whose terms would be defined following negotiations. The proposal is not expected to survive in the Senate, where Republicans have long opposed statehood.