puerto rico

On July 25th, Puerto Rico will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the date that their constitution went into effect, declaring them a Commonwealth. Exactly what does Commonwealth status mean? There's been a lot of confusion about the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico since that association began in 1898. There are questions as to whether the 1952 constitution did anything to provide more clarity on the subject.

The Puerto Rico Herald is running a multipart article about Puerto Rico's 50 years as a Commonwealth. The first part, Establishing the Commonwealth Constitution, 1950-1953 raises a number of issues regarding the nature of the island's governance. It begins by considering whether the consitution was intended to change the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, or to define local politics and rights.

The second part in the series, "Perfecting" the Commonwealth, 1959-1976, contains an interesting analysis of the interactions between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Congress. I'm looking forward to the third part of the series which will bring us through the 1990s to the present regarding the political status of Puerto Rico.

In anticipation of the date that the constitution went into effect, a "resolution 'celebrating' the 50th anniversary of Puerto Rico’s territorial constitution" was discussed by the U.S. House of Representatives with some unexpected results. I'm not sure what the future holds for Puerto Rico. There's dissatisfaction with the status quo, but there's also fierce debate over whether the island should become a state or seek self rule. The first two parts of the Herald's recounting of the political struggles over the past 50 years was an interesting and thoughtful analysis. I expect that the third part will be published within the next few days.

To gain a little more perspective, I looked at some other articles on the web, including this one from the Library of Congress called In Search of a National Identity: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Puerto Rico. Another page, which appears to be set up to attract tourism to Puerto Rico (compellingly, I may add -- I'd like to visit), includes a comprehensive view of its government without discussing any political controversies. The CIA -- World Factbook has some interesting data about the Commonwealth, but doesn't address the current political climate there. The best page I've found on the subject of the political status of Puerto Rico is the Puerto Rico Online Resource Center.

Congratulations Puerto Rico, on the 50th anniversary of your constitution.