Puerto Rico's Election

In this episode The Round Room dives into the complexities of Puerto Rico's November 5th gubernatorial election, where the question of political status — remaining a U.S. territory, pursuing statehood, or seeking independence — takes center stage. We explore the island's colonial past, enduring challenges with U.S. oversight, and recent controversies such as austerity measures imposed by La Junta, an unelected financial oversight board, and widespread power outages following privatization efforts. The two dominant political parties, the pro-statehood PNP and pro-commonwealth PPD, face growing public disillusionment, intensified by alleged voter fraud and recent tensions after racist remarks against Puerto Rico. Join us as we explore the political landscape of Puerto Rico, its complex relationship with the U.S., and what this election means for its future. *This episode was recorded before the election on Nov. 5th We would love to thank our writers who put together the script for this episode: Henry Jones, Melanie Pozo, Styx Hatch, and Audrey Collison. We'd also love to thank our team of script and research editors: Iselin Bratz, Adam Nuñez, and Cladia Mains. And, of course, we'd love to thank our sound editors Axelle Yanakakis-Caroll, Colten Gottlob, Sandro Mercado, and Nik Vyshinskiy To keep up with podcast updates, please follow @theroundroompod on Instagram.