Santorum: English ‘preferred’ language for Puerto Rican statehood

Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum said Thursday that his views on the official language of Puerto Rico had been mischaracterized in a local interview here.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Santorum had told the San Juan newspaper El Vocero that “English has to be the main language” if Puerto Rico were to become a state. Currently the territory has two official languages: English and Spanish.

During a brief chat with reporters at a hotel in San Juan on Thursday afternoon, Santorum said the reports that he had said Puerto Rico would have to change its official language to English were “completely inaccurate.”

Clarifying his views on the topic, the former senator from Pennsylvania said that if Puerto Rican voters were to win statehood — a referendum to gage support for such a move is scheduled for later this year — English should be the “preferred” language, but he said he would not insist that the island change its official language to English alone.

El Vocero posted a crackling, sometimes difficult to hear, excerpt of the interview with Santorum on its website. While apparently discussing the prospect of Puerto Rican statehood, Santorum said: “I have said repeatedly that, as a condition for admission, that people would – would and could speak both languages – but have to speak English.”

“That would be a requirement,” he continued. “…If you’re going to participate as a state in the United States, then you need to participate in the language of people speaking in the states.”

Santorum went on to say that if Puerto Rico were to become a state, the people of the island should be proficient in English because it was important to “have common ties.”

“You have to in some respects integrate into the culture. Understanding and respecting the differences, but still integration is absolutely essential to make this work and not to create tensions,” he said.

The requirement of proficiency in English, he added, should not be viewed as “a threat to the culture of the island,” but rather “a necessary and important step to confirm your commitment to fully integrate into American society.”

Mitt Romney, who is battling Santorum for the Republican nomination, will travel to Puerto Rico on Friday to campaign before the primary there on Sunday.

maeve.reston@latimes.com