Leave it to pro-statehood and GOP darling Luis Fortuño to conveniently stop being a pro-US-statehooder during the London Olympics. The last few days, Fortuño, who is facing a tough re-election this November, has suddenly become one proud boricua during Puerto Rico’s Olympic efforts. Never mind the fact that as someone who fervently supports Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state of the Union, Fortuño knows that in a tough election year, you got to wrap yourself around the Puerto Rican flag and overlook your political principles.
We will got out on a limb and say that if Puerto Rico were to become the 51st state of the United States, it would no longer be an Olympic country (there is a federal law that trumps the notion that Puerto Rico’s Olympic Committee can still survive under statehood), but what does that matter less than 100 days before an election? The irony of a passionate pro-statehooder like Fortuño now sounding like the other pro-commonwealth and pro-independence candidates he has criticized for exploiting Puerto Rico’s unique boricuaness is quite telling.
But don’t tell that to Fortuño and his campaign, since they have become Facebook addicts the last few days. Here are just a few of the posts from the official Fortuño51 page (yes, he even has a 51 in his Facebook URL):
First off, change your Facebook Page cover image to exploit a picture of you and the family of bronze medal winner Javier Culson. Umm, the little girl to the right of Fortuño looks absolutely thrilled to be next to the governor.
Then start posting photos of different athletes and pushing Puerto Rico’s unique pride and love for the Olympics. Here are just a few samples of what Fortuño and his campaign posted yesterday. ;First off, send everyone a personal Facebook post:
Then post your first Culson pic.
Post another Culson pic an hour later. Go viral.
Then an hour later, raise the city flag of Ponce (Culson’s hometown) over La Fortaleza, the governor’s mansion.
The Olympic Facebook blitz began on Fortuño’s page over the weekend. Here are a few more screen shots of what the page posted:
Here is the hypocrisy: Fortuño is head of a statehood party (the New Progressive Party, or PNP) that wants to become a state of the Union, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, if Puerto Rico were to become a state, there is no more Olympic team for Puerto Rico. This hasn’t stopped Fortuño and his campaign from pushing Olympic pride the last few days. Talk about being inconsistent in your messaging.
In addition, many PNPers who have commented on these Fortuño posts and the posts of the PNP think that if Puerto Rico were to become a state, the Puerto Rican Olympic team would still continue because there is an Olympic charter. Yeah, right. Memo to the PNPers: the United States trumps you on your desires to keep the Puerto Rican Olympic team intact.
All this boricua pride and flag waving would go away. Puerto Ricans would become part of the US team, and give or take a Culson or a few boxers, the chances to make the bigger team would be slim.
If Fortuño were truly the pro-statehooder that he was, he would be pushing the US team’s feats to his followers. But that would not make any political sense, since it is clear that even Fortuño will admit that when it comes to being politically convenient, it is best to push the boricuaness to the masses instead of staying true to his statehood message. But, hey, fuzziness is all part of Puerto Rico’s politics. We do find it amazing that many on the island buy it because it is coming from Fortuño.
A little advice to the PNPers: If you want to become a state, put away the Puerto Rican flags and start chanting “USA USA USA!”
Are you ready to do that? Are you?
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Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela (@julito77 on Twitter) founded LatinoRebels.com (part of Latino Rebels, LLC) in May, 2011 and proceeded to open it up to about 20 like-minded Rebeldes. His personal blog, juliorvarela.com, has been active since 2008 and is widely read in Puerto Rico and beyond. He will pen a weekly column on LR each week. Recently, Julito represented the Rebeldes on CBS’ Face the Nation, NPR, and The New York Times.
Wow… Straight up hater. Why not celebrate as a country that is ‘NOT’ yet a state. That’s like someone not wanting to have a single lady’s night all because they are pro-marriage. You even stated that we have the right as of now. Who the hell in the world would give up that right for a country that during it’s 2nd major hurricane had 50% of Americans not knowing that PR is actually part of the USA as a common wealth. FYI… I don’t represent state hood yet, love America. If you think that is being hypocritical too than you know very little about something you have no business talking about.