CONTENTS Camacho, Luis, First Vice-President, The People's Party, Puerto Rico Carliner, David, Member, Board of Directors of the American Civil Cornier Martinez, Enrique, Attorney at Law, San Juan, Puerto Rico-- Díaz, Luis E., Associate in Psychiatry, Faculty of the School of Medicine, of Albert Einstein Yeshiva University, New York.. Ferré, Luis A., Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.. García Passalacqua, Juan M., Counselor at Law, San Juan, Puerto González, Antonio J., President, Puerto Rican Union Party.. Hernàndez Colón, Rafael, President, Senate of the Commonwealth of Padilla, Hernán, Majority Floor Leader, House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, accompanied by Rafael Rivera García, Associate Professor, University of Puerto Rico... Pagán, Antonio C., former Member, House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.... Palerm, Juan A., Member, Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Pieras, Jaime, President, National Republican Party of Puerto Rico and Republican National Committeeman for Puerto Rico.. Ramos de Santiago, Carmen, Associate Professor, University of Puerto Romero Barceló, Carlos, Mayor, City of San Juan, Commonwealth of Rowe, James, Chairman, United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico, 1964-1966. Sánchez Vilella, Roberto, President, The People's Party, Puerto Rico-- Stephansky, Ben S., Executive Secretary, United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico, 1964-1966. Torres, José Arsenio, Professor, University of Puerto Rico.. Aponte Pérez, Francisco, President, Puerto Rico Bar Association, letter and documents on behalf of the Association......... Rodríguez Morales, Luis, letter and documents from.. 670 660 MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1971 AD HOC ADVISORY GROUP ON THE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE FOR PUERTO RICO IN RE PUBLIC HEARINGS HELD IN PUERTO RICO MORNING SESSION (TRANSCRIPT) Monday morning, 1st of March, 1971, at the Conference Room of the Capitol Building, Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. Chairman SCRIBNER. Good morning everybody. Today we will start the public hearings (previously announced) before the Ad Hoc Group on the Presidential Vote for Puerto Rico. First witness this morning will be the Governor, who will be with us shortly. The purpose of these hearings is to give the opportunity to all who would like to express their views on the problems we are studying to do so. We have asked that a summary be prepared in writing, but in case anyone wants to appear before the Committee and express his views, a written statement will not be indispensable. As I said before, our first witness this morning will be Governor Ferré who has been one of the moving forces in setting up this group to consider this matter of major importance to the people here. I speak for us all in expressing our pleasure Governor Ferré in having you with us now. Gov. FERRÉ. On July 4, 1969, in addressing the people of Puerto Rico I said, "The material and technological progress which we have been experiencing is a corollary and a consequence of our achievements of freedom and democracy . . Our achievements of freedom and democracy, therefore, cannot get bogged down without entailing a slowdown in the material achievements of our people ... Let us broaden our democracy and our freedom. Congress is right now drafting legislation to alter the system for electing the president . . . . In 1962, our Legislature unanimously adopted a resolution suggesting as a reform to the present regime that Puerto Ricans participate in the election of the President and Vice-President of the United States .... "I believe that the moment has come to take specific action on the unanimous expression by the representative of our people "I am recommending to President Richard M. Nixon that he join me in designating a group or ad-hoc committee of citizens from Puerto Rico and the Mainland, citizens of the highest ability and prestige, to study the viability of the presidential vote for Puerto Rico and to make the recommendations it deems proper U.S. HEARINGS BEFORE THE AD HOC ADVISORY GROUP ON THE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE FOR PUERTO RICO MARCH 1, 2, AND 3, 1971, IN SAN JUAN, P.R. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1971 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Stock Number 4000-0262 |