Bad Bunny is making his thoughts on the 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial elections clear. And the Puerto Rican superstar is doing that via recently unveiled billboards on the island where he is advocating against the longstanding New Progressive Party (PNP).
While there’s calls for Bad Bunny to endorse one of the candidates in the U.S. presidential election, he is sending a message that what’s happening in Puerto Rico is his main priority. On November 5th, voting will take place to determine the next governor of Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny first expressed his thoughts on the elections last week in the song “Una Velita.”
In addition to calling attention to how Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is still in recovery seven years after Hurricane Maria, he criticized the PNP and the party’s palm tree logo. “The palm tree on which they want to hang the country, one of these days we’re going to knock it down,” he sang.
In billboards unveiled yesterday in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny is now taking direct shots at the PNP. “A message paid for by Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio… A Puerto Rican that loves Puerto Rico,” he wrote in a post on X. Previously, it wasn’t clear who paid for the billboards to go up.
The messages on the billboards read: “To vote for PNP [PNP] is vote for corruption,” “Whoever votes for PNP doesn’t love Puerto Rico,” and “To Vote for PNP is a vote for LUMA.”
The last message is a reference to Luma Energy, which has been criticized for the frequent blackouts happening in Puerto Rico. Despite Puerto Ricans’ pleas to cut ties with Luma, governor Pedro Pierluisi extended the island’s contract with the private company in 2022. Pierluisi is also from the PNP, which has long controlled Puerto Rico with alleged electoral fraud. Corrupt governor Ricardo Rosselló, who resigned in 2019 after massive protests, was also from that party.
Shortly after the billboards went up, the PNP filed a complaint with the Office of the Election Comptroller to have the messages taken down. On X, Bad Bunny wrote, “The PNP is using its power to silence me. What is happening with democracy?” The billboards were released once again with him taking unapologetic credit for the billboards.
Jenniffer González-Colón is running for governor with the PNP. Her competition includes Jesús Manuel Ortiz of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).