In Puerto Rico, a new political alliance called the “Alianza” will be on the ballot this November in a bid to change the U.S. territory’s political status quo. The center-left Alianza, which brings together the Puerto Rican Independence Party and the Citizen’s Victory Party, “is the first opportunity for the people of Puerto Rico … to push aside the corruption of the government right now and have the opportunity to build a new phase for Puerto Rico,” says Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, running to represent Puerto Rico in Congress as the island’s resident commissioner, which is Puerto Rico’s sole member of Congress, albeit a nonvoting member. Rivera discusses being the first Black and openly LGBTQ candidate to run for that office, the Alianza’s political platform, and how it is preparing for Election Day.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.