The politics of Puerto Rico take place in the framework of a democratic republic form of government that is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States Congress as an organized unincorporated territory. Since the 1898 invasion of Puerto Rico by the United States during the Spanish–American War,politics in Puerto Rico have been significantly shaped by its status as territory of the United States. The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico,in the United States,the United Nations and the international community,with all major political parties in the archipelago calling it a colonial relationship.
The Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional was a Puerto Rican clandestine paramilitary organization that,through direct action,advocated independence for Puerto Rico. It carried out more than 130 bomb attacks in the United States between 1974 and 1983,including a 1975 bombing of the Fraunces Tavern in New York City that killed four people.
Christopher Hunter Shays is an American politician. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives as representative of the 4th District of Connecticut. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The New Progressive Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds both the seat of the governor and of the resident commissioner.
The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States.
Throughout the history of Puerto Rico,its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the island,first from the Spanish Empire between 1493 and 1898 and since then from the United States. Today,the movement is most commonly represented by the flag of the Grito de Lares(Cry of Lares) revolt of 1868.
Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano is an American politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York,Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3,2011. Her district,in New York City,was numbered the 12th district from 1993 to 2013 and has been numbered the 7th district since 2013. Velázquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the United States Congress.
Susan Bysiewicz is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 109th lieutenant governor of Connecticut since 2019. She previously served as the 72nd secretary of the state of Connecticut from 1999 to 2011 and a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999.
John Michael Fabrizi is a former mayor of Bridgeport,Connecticut,succeeded by Bill Finch. He is also a member of the U.S. Democratic Party.
Stateside Puerto Ricans,also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans,or Puerto Ricans in the United States,are Puerto Ricans who are in the United States proper of the 50 states and the District of Columbia who were born in or trace any family ancestry to the unincorporated US territory of Puerto Rico.
JoséLuis Dalmau Santiago is an attorney and politician. He is the current President of the Senate of Puerto Rico.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 6,2012,in conjunction with the 2012 U.S. presidential election,other elections to the United States Senate in other states,as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various state and local elections. Primaries to elect Senate candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties were held on Tuesday,August 14,2012.
The Puerto Rico statehood movement aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States acquired in 1898 following the Spanish–American War,making it "the oldest colony in the modern world". As of 2023,the population of Puerto Rico is 3.2 million,around half the average state population and higher than that of 19 U.S. states. Statehood is one of several competing options for the future political status of Puerto Rico,including:maintaining its current status,becoming fully independent,or becoming a freely associated state. Puerto Rico has held six referendums on the topic. These are non-binding,as the power to grant statehood lies with the US Congress. The most recent referendum was in November 2020,with a majority (52.52%) of those who voted opting for statehood.
Bill Finch is an American retired politician who served as mayor of Bridgeport,Connecticut for eight years after previously serving in the Connecticut Senate for seven years. As mayor,he was known for his strong environmentally friendly policies and his tax reform efforts,both of which received local and national praise. He was defeated for re-election as mayor in 2015 by former mayor and convicted felon Joe Ganim. Finch has since moved on to the private sector and rejected the idea of running for mayor again.
Joseph Peter Ganim is an American Democratic politician,former attorney,and convicted felon who is currently serving as the mayor of Bridgeport,Connecticut. He was elected mayor of the city six times serving from 1991 to 2003,when he resigned after being convicted on federal felony corruption charges. In 2015,Ganim mounted a successful political comeback and was again elected Bridgeport mayor. Ganim was sworn in as mayor on December 1,2015. Ganim has twice unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut,running in 1994 and 2018.
Ernest E. Newton is an American politician in Bridgeport,Connecticut. Newton served for seventeen years in the Connecticut General Assembly,serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1988 to 2003 and in the Connecticut State Senate from 2003 to 2006. He pleaded guilty to federal felony corruption charges in September 2005 and served several years in federal prison. Newton was released in February 2010 and in 2012 unsuccessfully attempted a political comeback,losing in the primary in a race for his old state Senate seat. He pleaded guilty to three campaign finance violations in 2019,relating to his 2012 legislative campaign.
The 2015 Connecticut State Senate 23rd district special election was held on February 24,2015,in order to fill Andres Ayala Jr.'s seat after he was appointed to be the director of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Former Senator Ed Gomes,the nominee of the Connecticut Working Families Party,won the special election and regained the seat that he had held before Ayala Jr. had defeated him in the 2012 primary.
Felipe Reinoso Cervantes is a Peruvian-American politician. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives between 2001 and 2009. In 2016,he unsuccessfully contested a seat in the Congress of the Republic of Peru.
Antonio Dario Felipe,more affectionately known as Tone Felipe,is an American politician. He was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in a 2019 special election.
The 2015 Democratic Party primary for Bridgeport,Connecticut was held on September 16,and was held with the intention of choosing the party's candidate for mayor. The primary enjoyed unusually extensive coverage due to the participation of Joseph P. Ganim,a former mayor of the city and convicted felon. The other candidates were incumbent mayor Bill Finch and Mary-Jane Foster.
