Nation IN BRIEF : PUERTO RICO : Plan for Political Status Vote Fails

Puerto Rico’s Legislature in San Juan rejected a proposal to set the stage for a vote on the island’s political status. Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon’s ruling Popular Democratic Party met in emergency session after the vote and said it planned to propose another measure similar in content, but which does not involve a constitutional amendment such as that of the defeated proposal. That referendum would have been the first step in allowing island voters to eventually express their preference for statehood, independence or expanded powers under the existing commonwealth status. The 3.6 million residents of Puerto Rico, a U.S. possession, hold American citizenship but cannot vote in U.S. presidential and congressional elections.