Orlando, Florida - As part of Memorial Day in Orlando, Florida, the inaugural activity of the National Puerto Rican Equality Coalition (NAPREC) was a call, by the new civil movement for the advancement of statehood for Puerto Rico among US residents in the states.
The launch activity called "Equality Day for Puerto Rico" was attended by civil and political leaders such as Florida Congressman Darren Soto, Puerto Rico congressional delegate, Roberto Lefranc Fortuño, representative of Florida Senator Rick Scott, NAPREC Executive Director Martin Rivera, among others.
“NAPREC arises as a grassroots effort, after seeing the lack of organization in the diaspora and the need to have a concerted effort to fight for the equality of Puerto Ricans through statehood and other causes that affect us such as inequality in access to housing, health, employment, the right to vote, benefits for our veterans, among others ”, expressed Rivera in his description of the new statesman organization.
According to NAPREC, Florida is a critical state on the battlefield and the decisions of its voters have national implications, so they seek to start the conversation in this state to encourage the participation of Puerto Ricans on the continent and other allied communities to fight for equal treatment of our Puerto Rican community.
Congressman Soto appreciated the efforts of NAPREC to advance the cause of equality and the support for his legislative measure H.R. 1522 that seeks start the Admission of Puerto Rico as a state, through an offer of statehood from the United States Congress. In his remarks Soto took the opportunity to commemorate the fallen soldiers to remember the contribution of Puerto Ricans in U.S. wars despite their lack of fundamental rights as Americans. "Many Puerto Rican soldiers who died for this country, but Puerto Ricans cannot vote for president, they do not have enough representation in Congress, so it is time," said the congressman.
