Puerto Rico held a controversial referendum on its political status on Sunday. Ninety-seven percent of those who cast ballots supported Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state. However, only 23 percent of eligible voters took part, because many Puerto Rican opposition parties boycotted the vote. This is Raul Torres explaining why he didn’t vote in Sunday’s referendum.

Raul Torres: “I didn’t go to vote today. I’ve always voted in every election that I saw as legitimate, but I don’t think today’s election is valid at all, because the United States Congress isn’t going to validate this referendum, and it’s just something they are doing there, the party in power, to get a little closer to statehood. Statehood is a form of government that I don’t like, first of all. And second, this is just a waste of money.”