Brooklyn pols express alarm about Puerto Rican referendum, Haitian protected status
Puerto Rican referendum illegitimate; Haitian protection status extension a ‘half measure at best.’
Brooklyn officials expressed alarm on Sunday about events affecting Puerto Rico and Haiti, the birthplaces of thousands of Brooklyn residents.
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez had harsh words for the referendum on statehood held Sunday in Puerto Rico. Less than a quarter of eligible voters participated in the plebiscite, with two major parties urging a boycott.
“This plebiscite failed to live up to that standard and the deck was stacked throughout the process,” Velázquez said in a statement. “With members of two of the three major political parties in Puerto Rico boycotting the vote, we can safely assume the results do not even remotely reflect public sentiment on the island. I believe there should be a democratic mechanism for the Puerto Rican people to determine their destiny, but to have any degree of legitimacy, such a process must follow the rules and not be haphazardly rushed.”