Puerto Rican Politics

Puerto Rico, officially Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated colony of the United States, located northeast of the Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. Its west coast is also located approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,280 miles) from the coast of Florida, the closest on the continent. The archipelago of Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, and a number of smaller islands and cays, of which the largest are: Mona, Vieques, and Culebra. Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917 through the Jones Act.

Government of Puerto Rico

The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.

The executive branch is represented and led by the Governor. The Governor is elected by direct vote in a general election every four years and appoints, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the members of his cabinet, which is made up of the secretaries of the departments.

The legislative branch falls to the Legislative Assembly, a bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 27 members – two from each of the eight electoral districts and eleven by accumulation elected by a single non-transferable vote and the House has 52 members – one from each of the forty electoral districts and eleven by accumulation elected by vote unique non-transferable.

The judicial branch rests with the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, it is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, it has the final judicial authority in Puerto Rico, but its decisions can be appealed before the Supreme Court of the States Joined.

The Resident Commissioner has the same powers as any other member of the United States House of Representatives except that they cannot vote in sessions on the House floor. Instead, he can sit on and vote on House committees, but only when his vote is not decisive on the issue.

Political parties

Current political parties (February 2020):

• Popular Democratic Party
• Puerto Rican Independence Party
• New Progressive Party
• Citizen Victoria Movement
• Dignity Project