How Hurricane Maria pushed young Puerto Ricans towards supporting independence

• "Generation Maria" feels strongly about the future and status of Puerto Rico.
• In the aftermath of the storm, young Puerto Ricans are pushing for independence.
• Two bill currently in Congress are designed to address Puerto Rico's status.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico four years ago last month, but to Ismael Pagan Gonzalez, those three weeks post-disaster when he couldn't get in contact with his father on the island, are as vivid as if they had just occurred.

"Not being able to talk to my dad was very worrying for me," Gonzalez, a 21-year-old Florida State University student, told Insider.

The tragedy, the aftermath of which Puerto Rico is still recovering from today, ignited Puerto Ricans living on the island and members of the diaspora living in the mainland US, per Gonzalez, who said, "Hurricane Maria gave us a stronger sense of being Puerto Rican."

Though there is little comprehensive data speaking to the age breakdown of Puerto Ricans' status affiliations, it has been well-documented that young Puerto Ricans are leading a crusade for political change that has only accelerated in the aftermath of Maria.

While Puerto Ricans often hold complicated and nuanced views towards the island's political status that are not adequately reflected by existing labels, several young Puerto Ricans told Insider how the hurricane and related crises have pushed them towards the independence movement.

"Hurricane Maria was the biggest example that the island can do things on their own, especially for our generation," Angelica Martinez, a 20-year-old who grew up in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, told Insider.

"We didn't have electricity, food, and water and we were able to come together, be resilient, and resist with minimal help from the US," she added.

Martinez, who is pro-independence and who does not want Puerto Rico to become a state, said that no matter their political affiliation, her generation, which is sometimes referred to as "Generation Maria," has "already been through so much" and that it's "done with being in the middle of a status that doesn't have real meaning."

From pro-independence, commonwealth, and statehood, Puerto Ricans navigate different identities

Generally there are three main positions among Puerto Ricans: pro-independence, pro-commonwealth, and pro-statehood.

There are two main political parties on the island: the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), which advocates for Puerto Rico's status as an unincorporated territory and the New Progressive Party (PNP), which is pro-statehood. A growing number of voters support the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), according to the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections.

"I pretty much have always been pro-statehood," Francisco Proskauer Valerio, a 23-year-old who grew up in Guaynabo and who has conducted polling on Puerto Rico's status as a data analyst for Change Research, told Insider. "But young people generally skew toward independence and are anti-commonwealth."

"Almost no one my age is for the commonwealth," he added.

"The island's youngest voters have come of age during a recession that has driven an exodus of half-a-million people - largely young adults - to the mainland United States," wrote Adrian Florido of NPR last year. "The past four years alone have arguably been the most tumultuous in Puerto Rico's modern history."

Hurricane Maria was the biggest example that the island can do things on their own, especially for our generation Angelica Martinez

As both Valerio and Florido suggest, the independence movement has picked up steam among younger Puerto Ricans, many of whom are adamant that Puerto Rico is not so much as US territory as it is a US colony.

"As Puerto Ricans living on the island, there's this mental shift between life before Hurricane Maria and life after it," Tatiana Mena Ramos, a 25-year-old who is pro-independence, said.

"Witnessing this dynamic between the US government and the island and how certain restrictions and parameters made it harder for Puerto Rico to deal with the hurricane was a catalyst for many people to start taking these conversations about status more seriously," she added.

Bibiana Torres, 21, also cited Hurricane Maria as a turning point, during which she was exposed to the "many specific moments" where the island's economy has been "intentionally crippled" by the United States.

She mentioned the Jones Act, which mandates that all goods shipped between US ports must be carried on US ships - a law that significantly hurts Puerto Rico's bottom line, per numerous studies.

"Seeing the consequences of all those things play out after Hurricane Maria solidified for me that if we had never been associated with the US we'd have a lot stronger economy and would have been able to take care of Puerto Rico much more effectively after the hurricane," Torres, who is pro-independence, said.

While many young Puerto Ricans gravitate towards independence, there are some who don't feel fully represented by any movement or status labels.

"I think sometimes people just follow what the main people say," Angélica Nahir Martínez Miró, 26, said. "Right now it's a little bit complicated. I don't feel that I'm part of statehood but I don't feel like it should be as we are right now."

"That leaves me with independence, but I don't think right now Puerto Rico is at that step," Miró added. "It could start but I don't think it should go that way."

Young Puerto Ricans continue to fight for a better future

Congress, for its part, has introduced bills regarding Puerto Rico's status: the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, which would make the island a state, and the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021, which proposes a "status convention" made up of delegates elected by Puerto Rican voters that would devise solutions about the island's status.

Meanwhile, longstanding divisions about the future of Puerto Rico remain both in the mainland US and on the island persist.

Young Puerto Ricans, many of whom have become activists or who hope to pursue political careers, are not staying silent, however.

Just as young activists coalesced to address the immediate needs of their communities in the aftermath of Maria, they are joining together today to reimagine a viable path forward for the island.

"We're not scared to raise our voices and say what's wrong or right for us," Martinez said. "That's something very powerful our generation has that will eventually help us."