Puerto Ricans who voted for US statehood in a non-binding referendum Sunday are “claiming our equal rights as American citizens,” Puerto Rico’s governor says.
Puerto Rico’s first governor, appointed in 1509, was Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. He named a city on the island Puerto Rico, or “rich port,” which later became the name by which the entire island was identified.
So why is Puerto Rico frequently referred to as a commonwealth and what does this term really mean? The answer to the first part of this question is clear: some people began to call Puerto Rico a commonwealth in 1952 after Congress approved its local constitution, the “Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.” At the time, Congress was explicit that its gift of local power did not lessen federal control over the Island or change its status as a territory.
Since 1952, the term “commonwealth,” has evolved to describe a potential relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico in which Puerto Rico is given special rights and privileges greater than those enjoyed by states. Under a proposed “Commonwealth” government, Puerto Rico can ignore federal laws, sign treaties with foreign countries, and receive federal funding with no strings attached, all while possessing irrevocable U.S. citizenship and forcing the U.S. to maintain Puerto Rican policies it may no longer want by mandating a “mutual consent” clause in an initial U.S.-Puerto Rico pact.
United States officials representing all three branches of government have rejected “Commonwealth” proposals as unconstitutional and unfeasible. They have done so many times over the course of many years. “Commonwealth” is clearly not an option that the U.S. federal government accepts – as a matter of law or policy.
The last statement on this topic came in 2011 from The President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico, in which the White House clarified that, ““[u]nder the Commonwealth option, Puerto Rico would remain, as it is today, subject to the Territory Clause of the U.S.Constitution.”
