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García Padilla: Hillary Clinton Has a Legacy of Helping Puerto Rico

By on July 27, 2016

PHILADELPHIA — Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton knows Puerto Rico and has a tradition of helping the island, said Gov. Alejandro García Padilla while talking to reporters after a Hispanic Caucus meeting at the Philadelphia Convention Center on Wednesday.

FILE - In this July 8, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in Philadelphia. In another nod to primary rival Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton is announcing a new proposal to double funding for community health centers, aiming to increase access to primary care services. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

“She knows what the problems and needs are, and has been improving her proposal for Puerto Rico along the way,” the governor said, touting Clinton’s initiatives to achieve a more fair treatment for the island at the federal level, such as healthcare funding parity.

García Padilla is a superdelegate of the Democratic Party, which is holding its National Convention in Philadelphia this week. On Tuesday, Clinton was officially declared the party’s presidential nominee.

Despite the fact that Puerto Ricans living on the island have no right to vote in the U.S. presidential elections, García Padilla highlighted how the millions of Puerto Ricans living stateside can influence November’s elections.

“Puerto Ricans will decide [the election] in Florida, and we will decide it in favor of Hillary Clinton,” he stressed.

Regarding the GOP’s platform, which favors statehood for Puerto Rico, García Padilla noted how it “says what it says, and then [the party] said it is impossible to do it. It doesn’t pass muster.”

For the governor, the Democrats’ platform recognizes the political status options that Puerto Rico could pursue. “[The Democratic platform] respects Puerto Ricans’ opinions. It also favors the U.S. presidential vote for Puerto Ricans living on the island. It brings closer the possibilities of having Puerto Rico fully recognized and respected in a [political] platform,” García Padilla said.

He added that every single vote cast by the Latino community favoring the polarizing Republican Party’s presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is shameful.

“What the Republican Party proposes goes against the essence of being a Latino. A person cannot call himself a Latino and sponsor Donald Trump’s politics at the same time,” García Padilla said. Moreover, it is important for the governor that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ followers fully support and vote for Clinton, as not doing so would only benefit Trump.

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