Political status of Puerto Rico

Common card · No. 276040

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. 'Free Associated State of Puerto Rico') is an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state. The U.S. Constitution does not apply directly or uniformly in U.S. territories in the same way it does in the U.S. states. As a territory, Puerto Rico enjoys various "fundamental rights" of U.S. citizenship, but lacks certain others. For instance, in contrast to U.S. states, Puerto Rico residents cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, nor can they elect their own senators and representatives to the U.S. Congress. On the other hand, and in contrast to U.S. states, only some residents of Puerto Rico are subject to federal income taxes. The political status of the archipelago and island thus illustrates how different Puerto Rico is, politically, from sovereign nations and from U.S. states. The status of the island is the result of various political...

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