Proposed political status for Puerto Rico

There are differing points of view on whether Puerto Rico's current political status as a territory of the United States should change. Four major viewpoints emerge in principle: that Puerto Rico maintains its current status, becomes a US state, becomes fully independent, or becomes a freely associated state.

Even though Puerto Rico was granted local autonomy in 1952, it remains a territory of the United States. Its ambiguous status continues to spark political debates which dominate Puerto Rican society. The debate over Puerto Rico has been discussed at various UN hearings where it has been declared a colony of the United States by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. Various US presidents have expressed themselves in favor of statehood but ultimately left the decision to Puerto Rico. President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status were published in 2005, 2007, and 2011. Nonbinding referendums regarding Puerto Rico's status have been held in 1967, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, and 2020.

The results of the referendums favored the current (2024) territorial status until 2012 when, for the first time, the majority (54%) of Puerto Ricans voted against it. Statehood was the preferred option of those who wanted a change. The results were highly controversial: many ballots were left blank and the results were criticized by several parties.^[1] The federal government took no action except to provide funding for a subsequent referendum.^[2]