Proposed political status for Puerto Rico includes various ideas for the future of Puerto Rico, and there are differing points of view on whether Puerto Rico's political status as a territory of the United States should change.
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island that was a colony of the Spanish Empire for about four centuries until it was ceded in the Treaty of Paris to the United States in 1898. Over the course of the 20th century, more rights were granted to the people, and especially important dates were 1917, when U.S. citizenship was granted, and the 1950s and 60s, when it became a commonwealth of the United States. Referendums in the 1960s and 1990s supported this as the will of the Puerto Rican people, and they maintain their own elected officials and a non-voting representative in Congress.
The U.S. has had many territories since its establishment, and currently there are 50 states, five inhabited territories, and one federal district. In the 21st century, the status quo was disrupted by a referendum in 2012 that tilted towards change, with one of the most favored options being statehood. Though questions have been asked about the referendums in 12 years, four referendums have all had statehood as the most favored option. The power to change its status lies in the United States Congress; a majority in both houses and the president signing it into law would make it possible. However, the changes would be dramatic, with Puerto Rico becoming fully integrated into the United States; it would gain two senators and several representatives and would vote in the presidential election. Several U.S. Presidents going back to Ronald Reagan have stated they support Puerto Rico's right to determine its future.
If it continues its current status, some changes are possible but difficult; for example, for Washington D.C. to vote in presidential elections, it took a constitutional amendment as it is not a state. Independence would have severe changes also; Puerto Rico would become a sovereign nation with no help from the United States and would no longer participate in U.S. politics; the people of Puerto Rico would cease to be U.S. citizens. Free association would result in independence also, but various economic benefits like visas, monetary aid, defense, or currency agreements would be negotiated between the two nations. There are three nations that maintain free association with the United States under the Compact of Free Association: Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.
Summary Four major viewpoints emerge in principle: that Puerto Rico maintains its current status, becomes a US state, becomes fully independent, or becomes a freely associated state.
Even though Puerto Rico was granted local autonomy in 1952, it remains a territory of the United States. On July 4, 1950, it was signed into law that Puerto Ricans could draft their own constitution establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Congress had granted commonwealth status on Puerto Rico that enhanced Puerto Rico's political status from protectorate to commonwealth. They would have their own elected governor and other representatives. For the next half a century this was satisfactory to both parties. However, the status continues to spark political debates which dominate Puerto Rican society. The debate over Puerto Rico has also been discussed at various UN hearings where it was declared a colony of the United States by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization at certain points but not others. For example, in 1952 it was removed from the colony list due to its Commonwealth freedoms after having been put on it after WW2. However, it was put back on the list since 1972 by the UN committee, pushing for its self-determination and even independence.
Various US presidents have expressed themselves in favor of statehood but ultimately left the decision to Puerto Rico. President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status were published in 2005, 2007, and 2011. Nonbinding referendums regarding Puerto Rico's status have been held in 1967, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024.
The results of the referendums favored the current territorial status of Commonwealth territory, until 2012 when, for the first time, the majority of Puerto Ricans voted for Statehood as the preferred option (61%) of those vote. The results were highly controversial: many ballots were left blank and the results were criticized by several parties. The federal government provided funding for a subsequent referendum. In each successive referendum, Statehood has won including the latest in 2020 and 2024, with support ranging from about 60 to 90 percent. In the United States Congress this led to the Puerto Rico Status Act, which prepares the U.S. to support the island's decision.
In the past commonwealth status was more popular than statehood, but since 2012, Statehood has taken the lead. Results of official referendums of those voting Statehood are as follows: 1967 - 274,312 (39.0%),1993- 788,296 (46.3%),1998- 728,157 (46.49%), 2012- 834,191 (61.3%), 2017- 508,862 (97.2%), 2020- 655,505 (52.52%), and 2024 528,379 (56.82%) however in the 2024 the option to continue the Commonwealth was not included. Also, the 2017 vote was criticized for low voter turn out due to a political boycott.
To become a U.S. state, a bill must pass both houses of Congress with a simple majority and be signed into law by the U.S. President; one difference compared to other bills though is once passed it cannot be repealed. See also United States party politics and the political status of Puerto Rico.
Background
Before 1898 Puerto Rico was a colonial possession of Spain; the main focus of this background is the 20th and 21st century in relation to the United States of America.
Prior to Jones Act Puerto Rico became an American territory in 1898 when, as per the terms of the Treaty of Paris which concluded the Spanish–American War, Spain ceded the island (and several other possessions) to the United States.
The U.S. Congress enacted the Foraker Act (also known as the Organic Act of 1900) sponsored by Senator Joseph B. Foraker, signed by President McKinley on April 2, 1900. This act established a civil government and free commerce between Puerto Rico and the United States. The structure of the insular government included a governor appointed by the president, an executive council (the equivalent of a senate), and a legislature with 35 members, though the executive veto required a two-thirds vote to override. The first appointed civil governor, Charles Herbert Allen, was inaugurated on May 1, 1900.
On June 5, President McKinley appointed an Executive Council which included five Puerto Rican members and six U.S. members. The act also established the creation of a judicial system headed by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and allowed Puerto Rico to send a Resident Commissioner as a representative to Congress. The Department of Education was subsequently formed, headed by Dr. Martin Grove Brumbaugh (later governor of Pennsylvania). Teaching was conducted entirely in English with Spanish treated as a special subject. However, both Spanish and English were official languages in the island. On November 6, the first elections under the Foraker Act were held and on December 3, the first Legislative Assembly took office. Federico Degetau took office in Washington as the first Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico on March 14, 1901.
Jones Act and the 1940s The Jones Act was approved by the U.S. Congress on December 5, 1916, and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The law made Puerto Rico a United States territory which is "organized but unincorporated." Puerto Ricans were also collectively given a restricted U.S. citizenship. This implied that Puerto Ricans in the island did not have full American citizenship rights, such as the right to vote for electors for the president of the United States. The act divided governmental powers into three branches: executive (appointed by the President of the United States), legislative (consisting of a 19-member senate and a 39-member house of representatives, all elected by the Puerto Rican people), and judicial. A bill of rights, which established elections to be held every four years, was also created. The act also made English the official language of the Puerto Rican courts. Section 27 of the Jones Acts deals with cabotage and requires that all goods by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The act also allowed conscription to be extended to the island, and over 20,000 Puerto Rican soldiers were sent to the United States Army during the First World War.
In the years after World War II, social, political and economic changes began to take place that have continued to shape the island's character today. The late 1940s brought the beginning of a major migration to the continental United States, mainly to New York City, for work, and to remit money back to their families. The main reasons for this were an undesirable economic situation brought by the Great Depression, as well as heavy recruitment made by the U.S. armed forces and U.S. companies.
Political changes began in 1946 when President Harry Truman designated the first Puerto Rican, Commissioner Resident Jesús T. Piñero, to serve as the island's governor. On June 10, 1948, Piñero signed into law what became known as the Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law), officially Law 53 of 1948, which started as a bill passed by the Puerto Rican legislature, presided by Luis Muñoz Marín, in May 1948. The new law made it illegal to display the Puerto Rican flag, sing a patriotic song, talk of independence or to fight for the liberation of the island. It resembled the anti-communist Smith Act passed in the United States in 1940.
In 1947, the U.S. Congress passed the Elective Governor Act, signed by President Truman, allowing Puerto Ricans to vote for their own governor, and the first elections under this act were held on November 2, 1948. Luis Muñoz Marín, president of the Puerto Rican Senate, successfully campaigned and became the first democratically elected Governor of the island on January 2, 1949.
1950s to present-day
Puerto Rico continues to struggle to define its political status.
Operation Bootstrap In 1950, Washington introduced Operation Bootstrap, an attempt to transform Puerto Rico's economy to an industrialized and developed one, which greatly stimulated economic growth from 1950 until the 1970s. Due to billions of dollars of corporate investments, the growth rate was 6% for the 1950s, 5% for the 1960s, and 4% for the 1970s. Puerto Rico became one of the most affluent economies in Latin America. But it had to import 80% of its food.