Political Status of PR

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Puerto Rico became a possession of the United States after the Spanish-American War in 1898, but has never been fully incorporated into the Union (Pantojas-Garcia, 2013). It later became a Commonwealth in 1952, a status it maintains to this day. The subject of the status of Puerto Rico has, since that time, been controversial. There have been multiple referendums on the subject, the latest in 2012, but as yet there has not been a change in the status of Puerto Rico. The 2012 referendum indicated a majority of Puerto Ricans want the status of their territory changed, with most preferring full statehood. Yet this number is not sufficient to break what is essentially a stalemate, and there are other options as yet on the table. This paper will look at the issue of the stalemate, its causes, and will explore the ideas of solutions.

Analysis of History

Puerto Ricans are essentially faced with several options with respect to their future political status, ranging from the status quo to statehood to full-fledged independence. The four that have appeared on the official plebiscites (not all on the same one) are commonwealth, statehood, independence and a concept known as free association. Commonwealth is essentially the status quo vote, meaning that any change in the way that Puerto Rico is governed will have to come within this structure. The Commonwealth option was popular in 1967, when it garnered 60.1% of the vote, but in 1998 this option gained less than 1000 votes total, or 0.1% share, and it was removed entirely from the 2012 plebiscite (Pantojas-Garcia, 2013). On the last two ballots the question was split -- the first part asking if a change was desired, which is essentially creating a separate question for the Commonwealth option. Thus, blank ballots for the second question on the type preferred reflect a Commonwealth vote. In 1998, this was 50.3% of the vote, and in 2012 it was 26.5%. In 2012, this option more or less split the pro-Commonwealth vote between the status quo and the adapted idea of free association (Pantojas-Garcia, 2013).

Statehood as an option gained in popularity, and has been the option that has received the most votes in the last three plebiscites.

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The state option would provide a pathway for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state in the Union, with all of the rights and privileges therein. Full statehood would entail several changes over the existing structure, including greater tax obligations for Puerto Rican people, but greater political representation as well.

Full independence has never fare well in any of the plebiscites to date. Its peak vote was 4.4% in 1993 and full independence has never received even close to 100,000 votes. A plebiscite vote for full independence would not necessarily create a pathway for full independence and the issue has never been serious enough for the U.S. government to give the implementation of this much consideration. There is little to talk about with respect to the independence option.

The free association concept was only viable in the 2012 plebiscite. A sovereign free associated state is akin to a more autonomous commonwealth (Pantojas-Garcia, 2013). The idea received little support in 1998, but basically split the commonwealth or blank vote in 2012. Thus, half of the supporters of the status quo would prefer to have greater autonomy, but without full independence. On a practical level, this means keeping their U.S. passports, while still minimizing tax obligations, and having a stronger local government to run the island.

The Stalemate

Puerto Ricans are not interested in independence, but the split between the current status and statehood seems to have intensified recently. A change to statehood would represent a tradeoff between lower taxes under the current structure and greater political representation. There is an element of feeling that statehood would also represent a step backwards in distinctiveness, as currently Puerto Rico's status makes it unique. As a state, it would be one of 51 states, and therefore would lose some of its distinctiveness. In essence, Puerto Rico would be American first, Puerto Rican second, in contrast to the way it is viewed today. The public representation of Puerto Rican culture would change, along with identity for the island's people (Davilla, 1997). Cultural identity is one of the underlying currents of the stalemate.

That the stalemate.....

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