Proposed political status for Puerto Rico

The proposed political status for Puerto Rico encompasses the different schools of thought on whether Puerto Rico, currently a Commonwealth of the United States, should change its current political status. Although there are many differing points of view, there are four that emerge in principle: that Puerto Rico maintains its current status, becomes a state of the United States, 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. Its ambiguous status continues to spark political debates which dominate Puerto Rican society. The debate over Puerto Rico has been discussed at various UN hearings where it has been declared a colony of the United States by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. Various Presidents of the United States 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. Non-binding referendums regarding Puerto Rico's status have been held in 1967, 1993, 1997 and 2012.

The results of the referendums have favored the commonwealth status until the Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012, when for the first time, the majority (54%) of Puerto Ricans voted against it. Full statehood was the preferred option of those who wanted a change. The results were highly controversial: many ballots were left blank and the results were criticized by several parties. The federal government took no action except to provide funding for a subsequent referendum.

The Puerto Rican status referendum, 2017 will be the fifth, and it will be held on June 11, 2017. Voters will get two options: "Statehood" and "Independence/Free Association." This will be the first referendum not to offer the choice of retaining the current status as a Commonwealth.

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