The Republican Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico) is the local affiliate of the national
United States Republican Party
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act ...
in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elections mandated by the Constitution of Puerto Rico for local registered political parties because it is not a registered party in Puerto Rico for local electoral purposes. Instead, the party holds its own elections to select the Puerto Rico delegates to the
Republican National Convention and holds
presidential primaries
The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United S ...
on the last Sunday of February.
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico's ideology supports
statehood for Puerto Rico. Congresswoman
Jenniffer González-Colón,
resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, is the current local party chairperson.
The local affiliate is based in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...
.
History
The origin of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico can be traced to the aftermath of the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
. Once the Spanish–American War came to an end in 1898, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. At that point, the former Spanish colonial-era parties that existed in Puerto Rico were forced to redefine themselves given the new political reality created by the change in sovereignty. On July 4, 1899, the dissenting wing of one of such parties, the Partido Autonomista (
Autonomist Party), which had just formed
Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo in 1897, founded a party with an ideology of annexation to the United States and called it Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico (Republican Party of Puerto Rico). This new party favored joining the United States as a federated state and was led by Dr.
José Celso Barbosa
José Celso Barbosa Alcala (July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a Puerto Rican physician, sociologist and political leader. Known as the father of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican, and one of the ...
. In 1903 the Republican Party of Puerto Rico affiliated itself with the U.S. Republican Party.
In 1924 Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico split into two factions: one faction joined with the
Union Party to form the
Alianza (The Alliance), a pro-autonomy group, and the other faction, renamed itself ''
Partido Republicano Puro'' (Pure Republican Party) and joined with the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
to form the pro-statehood ''
Coalición'' (The Coalition). The 1924 split brought Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico to an end,
[Ileana M. Rodriguez Silva. ''Silencing Race: Disentangling blackness, colonialism, and national identities in Puerto Rico.'' Palgrave Macmillan. 2012. p. 19. ] and ''Coalición'' became the de facto pro-statehood ideology.
Ideology
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico believes in equal and full citizenship rights for U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, and that this can only be achieved through statehood for Puerto Rico.
Republican presidential primaries 2016 results
See also
*
Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)
*
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska A ...
*
Republican Party of Puerto Rico (1899)
Notes
References
External links
Republican Party of Puerto RicoPuerto Rico Statehood Student Association
{{US Congress by State
1903 establishments in Puerto Rico
Political parties established in 1903
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
Political parties in Puerto Rico