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.
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the New Progressive Party, which advocates for Puerto Rico to become a state of the United States of America. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He also served 2 terms in Congress as the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001.
Pedro Juan Rosselló González is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, and served as Senator for the District of Arecibo from 2005 to 2008. His son, Ricardo, was also Governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2019.
Roberto Sánchez Vilella was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1965 to 1969. Sánchez Vilella successfully ran for governor in the 1964 elections for the Partido Popular Democrático. He is also the founder of the People's Party, "Partido del Pueblo", also known as el Partido del Sol.
The Puerto Rican Renewal Party — or Partido Renovación Puertorriqueña (PRP) in Spanish — was a short-lived Puerto Rican political party founded on August 28, 1983, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The party was disbanded in 1987.
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 Senate of Puerto Rico is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico.
Orlando Parga Figueroa is a Puerto Rican politician and former member of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He served as President pro tempore of the Senate from 2005 to 2009.
General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, to elect the officials of the Government of Puerto Rico that would serve for the next four years, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico.
José Luis Dalmau Santiago is an attorney and politician. He is the current President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. In February of 2023, he announced that he was evaluating the possibility of a PDP candidacy for governor of Puerto Rico in the 2024 elections.
The Popular Democratic Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the center-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.
General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that would serve for the next four years, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. A status referendum was held on the same date.
A constitutional referendum was held in Puerto Rico on 19 August 2012. Voters were asked whether they approve of two amendments to the constitution: one to eliminate the absolute right to bail and the other to decrease the number of members of the Legislative Assembly. Despite support from the party in government and part of the main opposition party, both amendments were rejected by voters.
The 2012 Puerto Rico Senate election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the members of the Senate of Puerto Rico for the next four years, from January 2, 2013 until January 1, 2017.
Carlos Delgado Altieri is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the mayor of Isabela from 2001 to 2021. He has also served as the president of the Popular Democratic Party since August 20, 2020 until February 23, 2021. He was the Popular Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Puerto Rico in 2020, losing to New Progressive Pedro Pierluisi. He is also a candidate for the 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election.
General election were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government to serve from January 2017 to January 2021, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. Ricardo Rosselló was elected governor and Jenniffer González-Colón was elected Resident Commissioner. The elections saw a 23 percentage point drop in turnout and was the lowest voter turnout in Puerto Rican history.
General elections were held in Puerto Rico on November 3, 2020, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government who will serve from January 2021 to January 2025, most notably the position of Governor and Resident Commissioner. In addition, there was a non-binding status referendum to ask voters if Puerto Rico should become the 51st state of the Union.
The 2020 Puerto Rico Senate election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the members of the 27th Senate of Puerto Rico, concurrently with the election of the Governor, the Resident Commissioner, the House of Representatives, and the mayors of the 78 municipalities. The winners will be elected to a four-year term from January 2, 2021, to January 2, 2025.
The 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Puerto Rico, concurrently with the election of the Resident Commissioner, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the mayors of the 78 municipalities. Incumbent New Progressive Party Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia is running for re-election to a second term in office.