Photo // Juan R. Costa
VOICES OF CHANGE. Juan Dalmau Ramirez, Javier Jimenez, Jesus Manuel Ortiz and Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon are the candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot for governor of Puerto Rico.
A look at the island’s 2024 governor election
By: Rafael Tortolero
Multimedia specialist
In addition to U.S. election day, Nov. 5 also marks the Puerto Rican gubernatorial election. There are four main parties in this race: the New Progressive Party (PNP), The Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Project Dignity (PD) and the newly formed electoral alliance “Alianza de Pais”.
The PNP nominee is Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, the first ever woman to run for this party. During her campaign, she has been in favor of statehood for Puerto Rico. She has served as a member of the Puerto Rico house of representatives, Speaker of the House and minority leader.
The PPD is led by Jesus Manuel Ortiz, who has been the party president since 2023. He is also a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. He plans to cut ties with the company LUMA energy, who is at fault for the electricity crisis in Puerto Rico.
The Project Dignity party is led by Javier Jimenez, who has been the mayor of San Sebastian for 20 years and worked as a CPA for 21 years before. He performed outstanding work for his community after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and has made his municipality thrive, which he promises to do for all of Puerto Rico.
Alianza de Pais is led by Juan Dalmau Ramirez, who is a former member of the Puerto Rican Senate and promises a complete change in Puerto Rican politics. He blames both the Republican and Democratic parties for corruption and believes in the independence of Puerto Rico. His main focus is to “clean up the house”, as he believes Puerto Rico has been wronged and promises a change. He said he understands that some Puerto Ricans prefer statehood over independence, so his plan is to have a plebiscite, or direct vote, where the people can choose what their preferred status is.
A poll released on Oct. 28, 2024 placed Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon in first place and Juan Dalmau Ramirez as a runner up. This is historical for Puerto Rico, since it’s the first time in 70 years where an independent party has placed higher than one of the main parties.
It is worth highlighting that Dalmau Ramirez has received endorsement from multiple internationally known celebrities like Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin and Residente. Just a day before the poll was released, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage”at a Donald Trump rally. This has led multiple Puerto Ricans to lean away from the Republican party, since Gonzalez-Colon had previously endorsed Former President Trump. After that comment was made, the same celebrities who previously endorsed Dalmau Ramirez also showed support towards Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.