Puerto Rico Government

On July 25, 1952, Puerto Rico officially became a commonwealth of the United States. Ever since, people have been asking, “What does that mean?” In many ways Puerto Rico resembles a state: the national American government handles foreign relations, defense, the postal service, and customs; Puerto Ricans are US citizens who are eligible for the draft; and the commonwealth is led by a governor who is popularly elected to a four-year term. Like the US’s, the Puerto Rican government is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, with the executive governor choosing a cabinet and the judicial branch consisting of one supreme and many superior courts. However, some crucial differences fuel the intense debate over potential statehood status. Although Puerto Rico sends a representative to the US House of Representatives (until 2008 the seat will be held by Luis G. Fortuño of the PNP, now a candidate in the 2008 gubernatorial election), this representative cannot vote. While Puerto Ricans are citizens, they cannot vote in US presidential elections and they don’t have to pay federal taxes.

Additional aspects of Puerto Rico’s government differ from a US state more in details and name than in functionality. The legislative branch of the government consists of two houses elected to four-year terms on the same cycle as the governor. In an interesting quirk, at least one-third of the legislators must be from the minority party. If that does not happen, the houses are enlarged to make space for more representatives. Until November 2008, the PNP will control both houses of the legislature; this may change after the November elections. On a more local level, the island is divided into 78 municipalities, each with a mayor and an assembly.

The Political Parties Of Puerto Rico When conversing with locals, knowledge of the Puerto Rican political parties will quickly prove that you’re the most educated tourist around. And it ain’t that hard:
New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista; PNP). Endorses statehood.
Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático; PPD). Supports comonwealth status.
Puerto Rican Independence Party (Partido Independentisto Puertorriqueño; PIP). Endorses independence.