List of political parties in Puerto Rico

This article lists political parties in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has a hybrid 'first past the post' electoral system, in which a voter can vote by party, by candidate or both. To qualify as an official political party (and thus be able to appear on the printed state electoral ballot), a party must meet the criteria set forth by the Puerto Rico Electoral Law.

These criteria categorize political parties as follows:

  • Principal Party – one that obtained at least 3% of the straight-ticket party votes cast in the prior general election, or 7% of the party-label votes for the governor & resident commissioner, or 5% of the gubernatorial candidate votes.
  • Principal Party of the Majority – one that obtained the majority of governor candidate votes cast in the prior general election.
  • Party by Petition – one that has submitted the minimum number of signatures required for new registration (currently 3 percent of the total of all votes cast for governor in the prior general election)

Political parties meeting the stated criteria are certified and inscribed by the State Elections Commission.

Registered parties
An illustrated history of political parties in Puerto Rico, showing their origins, splits, dissolution, ideologies, and influences

Past – under Spain sovereignty

There were no political parties in Puerto Rico until 1870.[1] Bolivar Pagan states the following were the political parties in Puerto Rico during the years of Spanish sovereignty.[lower-alpha 1][2]

Name (in English) Name (in Spanish) Leader Platform / Ideology Existed
Unconditional Spanish PartyPartido Incondicional EspañolJose Ramon FernandezConservative1870 – 1898[3]
Liberal Reformist PartyPartido Liberal ReformistaPedro Geronimo GoycoLiberal1870–1898
Puerto Rican Autonomist PartyPartido Autonomista PuertorriqueñoR. B de Castro. Later, Celso Barbosa and Muñoz Rivera[lower-alpha 2]Regional Autonomy1887 – 1898[4]
Orthodox Autonomist Party (aka, "Pure and Radical Party")Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo (aka, Partido Puro y Radical[5])Jose Celso BarbosaRegional Autonomy1897–1899
Puerto Rican Liberal PartyPartido Liberal PuertorriqueñoLuis Muñoz RiveraAutonomy via pact with Spain's Partido Liberal Fusionista1897–1899

Past – under U.S. sovereignty

The existing parties in Puerto Rico at the time of change of sovereignty in 1898 reinvented themselves into parties with by-laws, platforms and ideologies consistent with the new political reality brought about by the change of sovereignty. The Barbosistas, followers of Jose Celso Barbosa and mostly aligned with Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo, formed the Partido Republicano Puertorriqueño, while the Muñocistas, followers of Luis Muñoz Rivera and mostly aligned with Partido Liberal Puertorriqueño, formed Partido Federal.[6]

Name (in English) Name (in Spanish) Abbreviation Existed
Federal PartyPartido Federal-1899[7] – 1900s
Puerto Rican Republican PartyPartido Republicano Puertorriqueño-1899[8] – 1924
Union PartyPartido Unión-1900s – 1930s
Socialist PartyPartido Socialista de Puerto RicoPSPR1900s – 1950s
Nationalist Party of Puerto RicoPartido Nacionalista de Puerto RicoPNPR1920s – Present
Republican UnionUnión Republicana-1930s – 1960s
Puerto Rican Communist PartyPartido Comunista PuertorriqueñoPCP1930s – 1990s
Liberal Party of Puerto RicoPartido Liberal de Puerto Rico-1932 – 1944
Transparent, Authentic and Complete Liberal PartyPartido Liberal Neto, Auténtico y Completo-1937–1948
Republican Statehood PartyPartido Estadista RepublicanoPER1956 – 1968
Christian Action PartyPartido Acción CristianaPAC1960s
People's Party Partido del PuebloPP1960s – 1970s
Puerto Rican Union PartyPartido Unión PuertorriqueñaPUP1969 – 1972
Puerto Rican Socialist PartyPartido Socialista PuertorriqueñoPSP1970s – 1990s
Puerto Rican Renewal PartyPartido Renovación PuertorriqueñaPRP1983 – 1987
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico PartyPartido Puertorriqueños Por Puerto RicoPPR2007 – 2012
Movimiento Unión SoberanistaMovimiento Unión SoberanistaMUS2012
Working People's PartyPartido del Pueblo TrabajadorPPT2012 – 2016

Present

As of 2020, Puerto Rico has five registered electoral parties:

Name (in English) Name (in Spanish) Initials Current leader Ideology
Citizens' Victory MovementMovimiento Victoria CiudadanaMVCAna Irma Rivera LassénAnti-corruption and favors a constitutional assembly to determine decolonization path
New Progressive PartyPartido Nuevo ProgresistaPNPThomas Rivera SchatzPro-statehood
Popular Democratic PartyPartido Popular DemocráticoPPDAníbal José TorresPro-commonwealth, pro-autonomous entity: different from a federated state or a territory. (Estado Libre Asociado), as established in 1950 law
Puerto Rican Independence PartyPartido Independentista PuertorriqueñoPIPRubén BerríosPro-independence, social democracy
Dignity ProjectProyecto DignidadPDCésar Vázquez MuñizSocial conservative[9]

Unregistered parties

A number of unregistered political parties and organizations exist in Puerto Rico outside of the electoral arena. These organizations span the entire political spectrum:

Affiliates of federal-level United States parties

Unlike the political parties listed above, which are eligible for registration with the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE) upon fulfilling CEE requirements, the following parties exist as affiliates of American parties and participate in the U.S. primaries of the corresponding American parties at the federal level. Also, unlike the Puerto Rican political parties above, all of which are based in Puerto Rico, these parties are headquartered in mainland United States.

  • Republican Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico) is the Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Republican Party
  • Democratic Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Demócrata de Puerto Rico) is the Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Democratic Party.
  • Libertarian Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Libertario) is an Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Libertarian Party

See also

Notes
  1. Bolivar Pagan also states the existence of Union Autonomista Liberal, a party that attempted to join again the Liberal and Autonomistas Ortodoxos, but this party had a fleeting existence.
  2. Internal split on 13 February 1897

References
  1. See, Socorro Giron. Ramon Marin y su Tiempo. In, Ramon Marin's Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994. p. 16.
  2. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. pp. 11–15.
  3. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 11.
  4. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 44.
  5. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 15.
  6. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 15.
  7. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 15.
  8. Bolivar Pagan. Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898–1956). San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p. 15.
  9. Cruz González, Brandon (January 1, 2020). "CEE certifica a Proyecto Dignidad como partido". El Vocero de Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved March 1, 2020.

Party sites
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