Government of Puerto Rico

The government of Puerto Rico encompasses the local administrative structure of the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S. organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since its establishment as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952. The government is a republican democracy divided into three branches: the law-implementing executive, the law-making legislative, and the law-interpreting judicial. The Governor is the chief executive, the Legislative Assembly is the legislature, and the Supreme Court is the highest court of the territory, which is divided into 78 municipalities, each one headed by a strong mayor and a unicameral legislature. Like U.S. states and other U.S. territories, Puerto Rico is subject to the sovereign jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government.

With the American annexation of Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War, the U.S. established a military government to administer the unincorporated territory from 1898 to 1900, when it was replaced by a civil insular government organized under the organic acts of the Foraker Act from 1900 to 1917 and the Jones–Shafroth Act from 1917 to 1952. The Constitution of Puerto Rico established the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its government under the continued status of unincorporated territory in 1952. With the ratification of the constitution, the full authority and responsibility for the local administration of Puerto Rico was vested in the residents of Puerto Rico, resulting in complete self-governance within the archipelago and island.

Puerto Rico has a republican form of government seated in the capital municipality of San Juan with executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The executive branch is led by a Governor, currently Jenniffer González-Colón, who is also the head of government. The legislative branch consists of a bicameral legislature, namely the Legislative Assembly, which is composed by the Senate as its upper house and by the House of Representatives as its lower house. The governor and legislators are elected by popular vote every four years. The judicial branch is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, currently Maite Oronoz Rodríguez. It consists of one Supreme Court, one Court of Appeals, and the Court of First Instance, which is composed of 13 Superior Courts and 78 Municipal Courts. The legal system is a mixture of the civil law and the common law systems. Members of the judicial branch are appointed by the Governor with advice and consent from the Senate.

The U.S. President, currently Donald Trump, is head of state. The extent of the powers of the local government and the rights of its citizens as enumerated in the Puerto Rican constitution and law are bound to the authority of the U.S. Constitution and law, which are enacted and amended by the U.S. Congress, executed and enforced by the U.S. President, and interpreted and validated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Puerto Rico does not have voting representation in the U.S. Congress, as the only congressional member from the archipelago and island is the Resident Commissioner, a non-voting member to the U.S. House elected by popular vote every four years.

Neither a sovereign state nor a U.S. state, Puerto Rico is a self-governing U.S. unincorporated territory subject to the constitutional and territorial sovereignty of the U.S. federal government. Specifically, the U.S. Congress has plenary authority or unlimited power over the archipelago and island through the Territorial Clause in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. As such, it operates as an administrative division and dependent territory belonging to, but not an integral part of, the U.S., which is composed of the 50 states and the federal District of Columbia.

The U.S. federal government has enumerated powers, including monetary policy, foreign relations, and defense, while the local government has reserved powers, including education, law enforcement, and elections. Both governments share concurrent powers, including taxation and fiscal policy. The political status of Puerto Rico is an ongoing debate.