Administrative Expansionism
1947-1960
The language and scope of bills introduced during this period suggest that legislation debated during this period was largely, although not exclusively, driven by three major political forces. First, this period marks a moment in time when Congress enacted major legislation granting the residents of Puerto Rico a greater degree of local administrative autonomy without changing Puerto Rico’s political territorial status. This dual approach to ruling Puerto Rico raised significant questions about the nature of the relationship between the federal and local governments. Second, in a post-World War II period, the United States engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union and was simultaneously confronted with the prospect of an expanding global society of nations. A third, and key political factor shaping the contours of the federal debates over Puerto Rico’s status was the consolidation of the Popular Democratic Party, which both carried the mantle of the traditional autonomist political party and asserted a hegemonic power over political debates relating to Puerto Rico.
Administrative Autonomy
Congress governs territories with organic or territorial acts. In 1900, Congress enacted the Foraker Act and has since governed the island with amendments to this act. Amendments to the Foraker Act progressively granted Puerto Ricans increased administrative control over Puerto Rico’s political institutions and affairs more generally. For example, the Jones Act of 1917 granted local electors a right to elect a Senate and provided for collective naturalization of the United States citizenship. Likewise, the Elective Governor Act of 1947 enabled Puerto Rican voters to elect a local governor. More importantly, in 1950, Congress enacted legislation further enabling Puerto Ricans to draft a local constitution to govern the island and subsequently provide for local referendum vote of approval. In 1952, Congress and Puerto Rican electors approved a local Constitution describing Puerto Rico as an “Estado Libre Asociado (ELA)” or a loosely translated as a “Commonwealth.”
Although the enactment of the Constitution would subsequently be used to successfully exempt Puerto Rico from the duty to report about the conditions of the territory under the international scope of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, it did not resolve the tensions caused by the Puerto Rican islands’ status within the U.S. Empire. Central to many of these controversies were a tension between the legal language used to describe the ensuing political relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S., namely the use of the terms “compact,” “ELA,” and “Commonwealth,” which suggested that Puerto Rico became a non-sovereign entity and the legislative history of the legislation, which argued that Puerto Rico remained an unincorporated territory. The remaining provisions of the Foraker Act of 1900 became the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act, the current organic act regulating the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
The Cold War and Global Propaganda
Following World War II, the United States entered a Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union that would last until 1989, when the Soviet Union imploded. Depending on how one studies this question, some scholars argue that the United States formally entered the Cold War in 1950, a pivotal year shaping the relationship between the federal and Puerto Rican governments. Central to the U.S. during this period, was an effort to counter Soviet propaganda denouncing U.S. global imperialism and its efforts to exert global hegemony. In many ways, the political status legislation introduced and enacted during this period was shaped by U.S. efforts to counter prevailing anti-U.S. propaganda. Granting Puerto Rico more administrative autonomy over its local affairs, enabled the U.S. government to eschew claims that it ruled Puerto Rico as a colony.
Political Parties and Ideologies in Puerto Rico
It is important to emphasize that throughout this period, the Partido Popular Democratico (PPD) exerted a hegemonic power over the island’s political landscape. In many ways, the PPD defined the contours of political and status debates during this period.
Congress and the Question of Puerto Rico’s Political Status
80th Congress (1947-1948)
Four bills were introduced in the 80th Congress. All of the bills included a provision for independence, S. 1158, H.R. 4404, H.R. 7111, and H.R. 7136. The 80th Congress did not enact any status changing legislation for Puerto Rico.
See 80th Bills81st Congress (1949-1950)
Six bills were introduced in the 81st Congress. Three of the bills were status legislation, of which two, S. 787, and H.R. 7746 included a provision for independence. The remaining status legislation, H.R. 9247, included a provision for statehood. Two bills, Pub. L. 81-600 and S. 3336 included referendum legislation with a provision for a Commonwealth status. The sixth bill, H.R. 7674 was a congressional enactment with a Commonwealth provision.
See 81st Bills82nd Congress (1951-1952)
Four bills were introduced in the 82nd Congress. Three of the bills, S.J. Res 151, H.J. Res 430, and Pub. L. 447, were referendum legislation giving electors a choice on whether to affirm a Puerto Rican Constitution. The remaining bill, H.R. 1937 provided for a local plebiscite with different status options.
See 82nd Bills83rd Congress (1953-1954)
Only one bill was introduced in the 83rd Congress. The bill, H. Res 455 provided for a referendum on independence. The 83rd Congress did not enact any status changing legislation for Puerto Rico.
See 83rd Bills86th Congress (1959-1960)
Eight bills were introduced during the 86th Congress. Two bills were status legislation, H.R. 1968, contained a provision for independence and the other, H.R. 7003, a provision for statehood. Four bills, H.R. 5926, S.2023, H.R. 9234, and S. 2708 sought to amend the 1952 Constitution by enhancing the “compact” theory. These four bills also affirmed the Commonwealth status. The two remaining bills, S.2396 and H.R. 10266 provided for local referendums on statehood. The 86th Congress did not enact any status changing legislation for Puerto Rico.
See 86th Bills