The Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party ( es, Partido Puertorriqueños por Puerto Rico, PPPR) was a Puerto Rican

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

. Founded in 2003, it was certified for the first time by the State Electoral Commission in May 2007.

History

In April 2007, it submitted the signatures required for certification by the State Electoral Commission.

Rogelio Figueroa Rogelio Figueroa García (born September 13, 1963 in Naguabo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican engineer and politician. He is the president and co-founder of the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico (PPR) party, and served as their gubernatorial candidate ...

is the president and co-founder of the party. The party finally got its certification on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, when the president of the Electoral Commission gave his approval. During this process, two of the three commissioners of the currently registered political parties supported the PPR's certification. Puerto Rican electoral law states that, if the commissioners don't reach a unanimous decision, the president of the Electoral Commission decides whether the party gets registered.

2008 election

The party had an ambitious agenda, attempting to run for nearly all elected positions, including

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

resident commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

, and both state legislative houses (

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

). On the 2008 elections, the PPR candidate

obtained 2.77% of the votes. Since electoral law requires over 3% of votes to maintain the party charter, this result meant that the party would be decertified, until they completed the certification process for the next elections. Still, the party obtained more votes than the lead minority party, the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...

, which has been running since 1946.

The aftermath

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Headquarters 2012

After the loss the party experienced internal struggles and dissent with many party officials and candidates breaking away from the party. Nevertheless, the party continues to operate as an independent entity and it is seeking to regain its Electoral Commission certification.

2012 election

For the 2012 elections, the party underwent a reorganization. After completing the certification process, they presented their candidacies. Figueroa would run again for governor, while Dr. Sadiasept Guillont would run for Resident Commissioner. During his campaign, Figueroa attacked the alleged

classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

and

social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...

of the current government. After failing to get the required 3% of the vote in 2012 to remain a certified party, the party was de facto dissolved.

Platform

The PPR was originally organized as an ecological party, similar to green parties in Europe. It later broadened its platform and ideology to include economic issues, the

political status of Puerto Rico The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state. Because of that ambiguity, the territory, as a polity, lacks ce ...

, and citizen participation in government. The position that PPR has taken on the issue of the political status of Puerto Rico has been a non-traditional one in Puerto Rican politics. The PPR's position is a neutral one. The party has not and will not take a side on the issue of Puerto Rico's status. In fact, candidates and officials of PPR are actually people with diverse opinions on what the future status of Puerto Rico should be. PPR has managed to enlist in one same party followers of Statehood, Independence, and Commonwealth. The party's stance is that the issue of the status of Puerto Rico should be discussed after bigger problems that affect Puerto Ricans' daily life are resolved.

References

External links

* {{Green parties Political parties in Puerto Rico Green political parties Political parties established in 2003 Political history of Puerto Rico Politics of the Americas Politics of the Caribbean Politics of Puerto Rico Political organizations based in Puerto Rico