Hillary Clinton is traveling to Puerto Rico on Friday, with plans to talk about “healthcare challenges facing the community.” She is the third candidate to travel to the U.S. commonwealth this cycle.
Clinton says she will “see firsthand the impact of the unequal treatment that Puerto Rican patients, doctors and hospitals suffer in federal healthcare reimbursement policies” while highlighting “the need for the United States to provide real support and tools to help Puerto Rico reverse its economic decline and overcome the healthcare crisis.”
Puerto Rico recently defaulted for the first time in history, having been able to pay only $628,000 of its $58 million debt. Clinton has called for Puerto Rico to be able to declare bankruptcy and restructure its debt. The former secretary of state’s trip comes on the heels of an endorsement from New York City councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito in an op-ed to the Spanish-language paper El-Nuevo Dia.
“For Puerto Ricans — both on the island and throughout the diaspora — this election is the most important in our lifetime,” Mark-Viverito wrote, according to translation. “Hillary’s plan has shown she is not just a friend to the island; she will stand up for it.”
While Puerto Rico cannot vote in the general election, they do have a primary with 23 delegate votes. The primary is next March. Puerto Ricans are also an important voting bloc in states like New York.
Marco Rubio will also be campaigning in Puerto Rico the same day. His campaign has billed it as “Marco v. Hillary in Puerto Rico,” emphasizing the importance that the Hispanic vote will have in the upcoming election. The Clinton campaign has made no such comparisons.
Republican candidate Jeb Bush visited Puerto Rico earlier this year and has said that he supports making the commonwealth the 51st state.
Democratic primary underdog Martin O’Malley also visited the island in early August, calling for better healthcare and economic equality on the island.
