Here’s a look at the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a self-governing US territory located in the Caribbean.
About Puerto Rico:
(from the CIA World Factbook)
Area: 9,104 sq km
Population: 3,351,827 (July 2017 est.)
Median age: 41.5 years
Capital: San Juan
Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15%
GDP (purchasing power parity): $128.7 billion (2016 est.)
GDP per capita: $37,700 (2016 est.)
Unemployment: 11.8% (2016 est.)
Other Facts:
The people of Puerto Rico are US citizens. They vote in US presidential primaries, but not in the presidential elections.
First named San Juan Bautista by Christopher Columbus.
Ricardo Rosselló has been the governor since January 2, 2017. The governor is elected by popular vote with no term limits.
Jenniffer González has been the resident commissioner since January 3, 2017. The commissioner serves in the US House of Representatives, but has no vote, except in committees. Gonzalez is the first woman to hold this position.
It is made up of 78 municipalities.
Over 40% of the population lives in poverty, according to 2016 Census estimates.
Puerto Ricans have voted a half-dozen times on statehood, as of 2017. Ultimately, however, Congress must pass a law admitting them to the union.
In addition to becoming a state, options for Puerto Rico’s future status include remaining a commonwealth, entering “free association” or becoming an independent nation. “Free association” is an official affiliation with the United States where Puerto Rico would still receive military assistance and funding.
READ MORE: 5 numbers that prove Puerto Rico is still in crisis.
Timeline:
1493-1898 – Puerto Rico is a Spanish colony.
July 25, 1898 – During the Spanish-American War, the United States invades Puerto Rico.
December 10, 1889 – With the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Spain cedes Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The island is named “Porto Rico” in the treaty.
April 12, 1900 – President William McKinley signs the Foraker Act into law. It designates the island an “unorganized territory,” and allows for one delegate from Puerto Rico to the US House of Representatives with no voting power.
March 2, 1917 – President Woodrow Wilson signs the Jones Act into law, granting the people of Puerto Rico US citizenship.
May 1932 – Legislation changes the name of the island back to Puerto Rico.
November 1948 – The first popularly elected governor, Luis Muñoz MarÃn, is voted into office.
July 3, 1950 – President Harry S. Truman signs Public Law 600, giving Puerto Ricans the right to draft their own constitution.
October 1950 – In protest of Public Law 600, Puerto Rican nationalists lead armed uprisings in several Puerto Rican towns.
November 1, 1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempt to shoot their way into Blair House, where President Truman is living while the White House is being renovated. Torresola is killed by police; Collazo is arrested and sent to prison.
June 4, 1951 – In a plebiscite vote, more than three-quarters of Puerto Rican voters approve Public Law 600.
February 1952 – Delegates elected to a constitutional convention approve a draft of the constitution.
March 3, 1952 – Puerto Ricans vote in favor of the constitution.
July 25, 1952 – Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth as the constitution is put in place. This is also the anniversary of the United States invasion of Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War.
March 1, 1954 – Five members of the House of Representatives are shot on the House floor; Alvin Bentley, (R-MI), Ben Jensen (R-IA), Clifford Davis (D-TN), George Fallon (D-MD) and Kenneth Roberts (D-AL). Four Puerto Rican nationalists, Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Irving Flores Rodriguez, are arrested and sent to prison. President Jimmy Carter grants Cordero clemency in 1977 and commutes all four of their sentences in 1979.
July 23, 1967 – Commonwealth status is upheld via a status plebiscite.
1970 – The resident commissioner gains the right to vote in committee via an amendment to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970.
September 18, 1989 – Hurricane Hugo hits the island as a Category 4 hurricane causing more than $1 billion in property damages.
November 14, 1993 – Commonwealth status is upheld via a plebiscite.
September 21, 1998 – Hurricane Georges hits the island causing close to $2 billion in damages.
August 6, 2009 – Sonia Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is confirmed by the US Senate (68-31). She becomes the third woman and the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
November 6, 2012 – Puerto Ricans vote for statehood via a status plebiscite. The results are deemed inconclusive.
August 3, 2015 – Puerto Rico defaults on its monthly debt for the first time in its history, paying only $628,000 toward a $58 million debt.
January 4, 2016 – Puerto Rico defaults on its debt for the second time.
May 2, 2016 – Puerto Rico defaults on a $422 million debt payment.
June 30, 2016 – President Barack Obama signs the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), a bill that establishes a seven-member board to oversee the commonwealth’s finances. The following day Puerto Rico defaults on its debt payment.
January 4, 2017 – The Puerto Rico Admission Act is introduced to Congress by Rep. Gonzalez.
May 3, 2017 – Puerto Rico files for bankruptcy. It is the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history.
June 5, 2017 – Puerto Rico declares its Zika epidemic is over. The Puerto Rico Department of Health has reported more than 40,000 confirmed cases of the Zika virus since the outbreak began in 2016.
June 11, 2017 – Puerto Ricans vote for statehood via a status plebiscite. Over 97% of the votes are in favor of statehood, but only 23% of eligible voters participate.
September 20, 2017 – Hurricane Maria makes landfall near Yabucoa in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. It is the strongest storm to hit the island in 85 years. The energy grid is heavily damaged, with an island-wide power outage.
September 22, 2017 – The National Weather Service recommends the evacuation of about 70,000 people living near the Guajataca River in northwest Puerto Rico because a dam is in danger of failing.
October 3, 2017 – President Donald Trump visits Puerto Rico. The trip comes after mounting frustration there with the federal response to the storm. Many residents remain without power and continue to struggle to get access to food and fuel nearly two weeks after the storm hit.
December 18, 2017 – Governor Rosselló orders a review of deaths related to Hurricane Maria as the number could be much higher than than the officially reported number. The announcement from the island’s governor follows investigations from CNN and other news outlets that called into question the official death toll of 64.
READ MORE: 8 numbers that show how Maria has laid waste to Puerto Rico.
