Legislature: 17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico
Senate: 26th Senate of Puerto Rico
President of the Senate: Thomas Rivera Schatz
President pro tempore: Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez
Majority Leader: Carmelo Ríos Santiago
Majority Whip: Ángel Chayanne Martínez
Minority Leader: Eduardo Bhatia; Juan Dalmau; Vargas Vidot
Minority Whip: José Luis Dalmau
House of Representatives: 30th House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Speaker: Johnny Méndez
Speaker pro tempore: José Torres Zamora
Majority Leader: Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló
Majority Whip: Urayoán Hernández
Minority Leader: Tatito Hernández
Minority Whip: Ramón Luis Cruz
Judicial
Supreme Court
Elections
Elections
Political Parties
New Progressive Party
Popular Democratic Party
Puerto Rican Independence Party
Citizen's Victory Movement
Proyect Dignity
Political party strength
Municipalities
Mayors in Puerto Rico
Municipalities of Puerto Rico
Federal relations
Federal representation
United States House of Representatives
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
Jenniffer González (PNP, R)
Insular Cases
Political status
Current status
Proposed political status
Sovereigntism
Independence
Statehood
Status quo
Politics of the United States
Politics portal
v
t
e
The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States officially known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. 'Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'). As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state.
The territory, as a polity, lacks certain rights but enjoys certain benefits that other polities have or lack. For instance, in contrast to U.S. states, Puerto Rico residents cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections nor can they elect their own senators and representatives to the U.S. Congress. On the other hand, in contrast to U.S. states, only some residents of Puerto Rico are subject to federal income taxes.[a] The political status of the island thus illustrates how different Puerto Rico is, politically, from sovereign nations and from U.S. states.
The status of the island is the result of various political activities within both the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The United Nations removed it from the list of non-self-governing territories in 1953,[17] but it remains subject to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. According to the Insular Cases, Puerto Rico is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States within the revenue clauses of the Constitution".[18][b]
American and Puerto Rican political activities regarding the status question have revolved around three sets of initiatives: presidential executive orders, bills in the U.S. Congress, and referendums held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Presidents have issued three executive orders on the subject, and Congress has considered four major bills on Puerto Rico's political status. Puerto Rican status referendums have been held four times to determine the desired political status of Puerto Rico in relation to the United States of America. None of them have been binding on U.S. Congress.
Internationally, several organizations have called for the U.S. government to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico while considering Puerto Rico a Caribbean nation with its own national identity.[22][23][24][25][26] For instance, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization has called for the United States "to allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty."[27]
^"Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs". Archived from the original on June 10, 2012.
^ ab"Puerto Rico". wellsphere.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^ ab"Tax Topics – Topic 903 Federal Employment Tax in Puerto Rico". irs.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"Puerto Rico hopes to gain from U.S. healthcare reform". Reuters. September 24, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"U.S. Is Not Innocent Of Colonization... Puerto Ricans Pay Up, Too... No They Don't". Puerto Rico Herald. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"Doing Business in Puerto Rico". Archived from the original on April 29, 2011.
^ ab"D.C. Voting Rights: No Representation? No Taxation!". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"Federal and Local Incentives | Where We Are, Where We Want To Be | If We Just Had A Crystal Ball ..." (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2007.
^JCT 2006, p. 9.
^JCT 2006, pp. 14–15.
^"U.S. GAO – Puerto Rico: Fiscal Relations with the Federal Government and Economic Trends during the Phaseout of the Possessions Tax Credit". gao.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"SSA Handbook § 2114". socialsecurity.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"Island Parity Puerto Rico needs full payments from federal programs". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011.
^"Deceitful Tactics Used To Make Puerto Rico A State". eagleforum.org. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
^"BRIA 17 4 C Puerto Rico: Commonwealth, Statehood, Or Independence?". Archived from the original on June 10, 2009.
^ ab"Committee Reports, 110th Congress (2007-2008), House Report 110-597, Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007". thomas.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2005. (Note that for the official U.S. Congress database website, you will need to resubmit a query. The document in question is called "House Report 110-597 – Puerto Rico Democracy Act of." These are the steps to follow: http://www.thomas.gov > Committee Reports > 110 > drop down "Word/Phrase" and pick "Report Number" > type "597" next to Report Number. This will provide the document "House Report 110-597 – Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007", then from the Table of Contents choose "Background and Need for Legislation".)
^"Cessation of the transmission of information under Article 73 e of the Charter in Respect of Puerto Rico".
^Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 287 (1901); Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922).
^Consejo de Salud Playa Ponce v. Johnny Rullan, p.28: "The Congressional incorporation of Puerto Rico throughout the past century has extended the entire Constitution to the island".
^Hon. Gustavo A. Gelpi (2011). "The Insular Cases: A Comparative Historical Study of Puerto Rico, Hawai'i, and the Philippines" (PDF). The Federal Lawyer (March/April): 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 27, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011. In light of the [Supreme Court] ruling in Boumediene, in the future the Supreme Court will be called upon to reexamine the Insular Cases doctrine as applied to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
^"Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations". Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior. June 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2021. [...] [a]n unincorporated United States insular area, of which there are currently thirteen, three in the Caribbean (Navassa Island, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands) and ten in the Pacific (American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, the Northern Mariana Islands and Wake Atoll).
^"XIV Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations. Durban, South Africa, 2004. pp. 14–15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2009.
^Cite error: The named reference United Nations. General Assembly. Special Committee on the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples 1971 https://books.google.com/books?id=4nEyLDpKZjMC&pg=PA10 10–11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^2011-06-20. Special Committee on Decolonization Calls on United States, in Consensus Text, to Speed up Process Allowing Puerto Rico to Exercise Self-Determination: Nearly 25 Petitioners Underscore Gravity of Situation on Island, Buckling Under Economic Strain; Vigorous Opposition to Death Penalty Also Expressed. June 20, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
^2009-06-15. Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling on United States to Expedite Self-determination Process for Puerto Rico: Members Hear Petitioners Speak up for Independence, Statehood, Free Association. June 15, 2009. Retrieved Sept 3, 2010.
^2006-06-13. Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling on United States to Expedite Puerto Rican Self-determination Process: Draft Resolution Urges Probe of Pro-Independence Leader's Killing, Human Rights Abuses; Calls for Clean-up, Decontamination of Vieques. June 13, 2006. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
^"Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling upon United States Government to Expedite Self-Determination Process for Puerto Rico". United Nations. UN. June 20, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
and 23 Related for: Political status of Puerto Rico information
The politicalstatusofPuertoRico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States officially known as the Commonwealth ofPuertoRico (Spanish:...
There are differing points of view on whether PuertoRico's current politicalstatus as a territory of the United States should change. Four major viewpoints...
invasion ofPuertoRico by the United States during the Spanish–American War, politics in PuertoRico have been significantly shaped by its status as territory...
generally presented to Puerto Rican voters during a PuertoRicopoliticalstatus plebiscite: full independence, maintenance or enhancement of the current commonwealth...
However, the politicalstatusofPuertoRico, a Commonwealth controlled by the United States, remains an anomaly. The settlement ofPuertoRico began with...
of the vote, in the status referendums in 1967, 1993 and 1998. A fourth referendum was held in 2012, with 54% voting to change PuertoRico'sstatus but...
referendum on the politicalstatusofPuertoRico was held in PuertoRico on June 11, 2017. The referendum had three options: becoming a state of the United...
status quo movement in PuertoRico refers to initiatives throughout the history ofPuertoRico aimed at maintaining the current politicalstatusof Puerto...
Borincanos, or Puertorros, are the people ofPuertoRico, the inhabitants and citizens of the Commonwealth ofPuertoRico and their descendants, including those...
The political party strength in PuertoRico has been held by different political parties in the history ofPuertoRico. Today, that strength is primarily...
representation in their national government. The ultimate politicalstatusofPuertoRico has been a political issue among voters for over half a century, featuring...
Kashmir PoliticalstatusofPuertoRicoPoliticalstatusof Taiwan Politicalstatusof the Azores Politicalstatusof the Cook Islands and Niue Political status...
referendum of the statusofPuertoRico was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with the general election. The Referendum was announced by PuertoRico Governor...
matters. Due to the politicalstatusofPuertoRico, it being a U.S. territory instead of a U.S. state, U.S. citizens residing in PuertoRico can not vote for...
The flag ofPuertoRico (Spanish: Bandera de PuertoRico) represents PuertoRico and its people. It consists of five equal horizontal stripes, alternating...
of the Commonwealth ofPuertoRico (Spanish: Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de PuertoRico) is the controlling government document ofPuerto Rico...
overview of and topical guide to PuertoRico: The Commonwealth ofPuertoRico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States of America...
PuertoRico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR; Taino: Borikén or Borinquen), officially the Commonwealth ofPuertoRico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado...
rights of United States citizens who live in PuertoRico, like the voting rights of residents of other United States territories, differ from those of United...