Puerto Rico

C

Judicial

The judicial branch consists of a supreme court, superior and district courts, and, at the lowest level, justices of the peace. The governor appoints judges with the consent of the Senate. Puerto Rico’s highest tribunal, the Supreme Court, includes a chief justice and six associate justices, who serve until the age of 70. Appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States are allowed from Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court. The U.S. Federal District Court in San Juan serves as the federal trial court for Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico’s laws are based on the Spanish, as well as on the American, legal system. Civil and commercial codes are fashioned after Spanish law, which is known as civil law. Civil law is a code of statutes passed by the government. Judges in the civil law system administer the code but do not interpret it. (Generally there are no juries in civil law trials.) Criminal, procedural, and public (including constitutional) law are fashioned after U.S. law, which is referred to as common law. Common law is based on custom and precedent, which means that decisions in court cases themselves become the basis for future interpretations of the law. Judges in the common law system interpret the law based on common usage, past social traditions, and precedents set by previous court decisions.

D

Local Government

Puerto Rico has 78 municipios (Spanish for “municipalities”), similar to counties in the United States. A popularly elected mayor and municipal assembly govern each municipio. The mayor appoints a secretary-auditor and a treasurer. However, the commonwealth’s Legislative Assembly and governor handle most local services. These services include police and fire protection, water supply, and the school system.

E

National Representation

Because Puerto Rico is not a state, the voters do not participate in U.S. congressional or presidential elections. However, a nonvoting resident delegate represents Puerto Rico in the House of Representatives. The delegate is elected by Puerto Rican voters to a four-year term.

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F

Political Parties

The major political divisions in Puerto Rico reflect feelings about ties with the United States. The Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático, PPD), which favors commonwealth status for the island, became the leading party after 1940. The PPD was responsible for the creation of Puerto Rico’s commonwealth status and was the island’s dominant party until the late 1960s. The party has traditionally drawn its support from the rural areas. From its beginnings, the PPD advocated land reform in favor of the island’s peasantry. The party’s motto was Pan, Tierra y Libertad (Spanish for “Bread, Land and Liberty”). As the island rapidly urbanized in the last half of the 20th century, much of the PPD’s support eroded as the rural population declined. This shift explains the PPD’s loss of influence in recent years.

In the 1968 elections, the PPD lost to the New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista, PNP), which advocates statehood for Puerto Rico. The PNP viewed statehood as a means of gaining a larger share of federal funds and social programs than the island receives as a commonwealth. The new party also sought statehood in order to undermine a small but vocal movement on the island that favored independence. Most of the PNP’s support is found in the urban areas, particularly in San Juan and Ponce. Since 1968 control of Puerto Rico’s government has alternated between the PPD and PNP.

Despite differences over the island’s political status, the two major parties advocate continuation of the same general economic and social programs, and both appeal to a broad cross-section of voters. The small Puerto Rican Independence Party (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) seeks immediate independence. It wants to create a socialist democratic republic, in which the government would play a major role in economic planning, the production of goods, and the distribution of wealth. Several other minor parties also support independence.

IX

History

Archaeologists believe that the island of Puerto Rico was first settled in the 1st century ad. When the Spanish arrived in 1493, the island was inhabited by an agricultural people belonging to the Arawakan language family. The Spanish called them Taínos, but they were also known as Island Arawak. The Taínos called the island Boriquén (or Borinquén). They lived in settled villages, in small, thatch-roofed houses or huts known as bohios. Their main furniture was the hamanca (hammock). They molded clay into plates, jars, and other domestic items, decorating them with engraved or painted designs.

Taíno agriculture was simple, but it produced a sufficient and balanced diet. The Taínos grew cassava, which they ground into flour for bread called casabe. Other crops included pineapples, sweet potatoes, and tobacco, which the Taínos smoked during religious ceremonies. In the rivers and the sea, they fished and gathered clams and snails. They also hunted rodents and iguanas.

Taíno society centered around the village, whose chief was called cacique. Taíno society was matrilineal, meaning that family lineage was traced through the female line. The cacique was succeeded not by his son but by the eldest son of one of his sisters. There was a large degree of equality between men and women in Taino society. In many instances a cacica, or female chief, served as the head of a village.

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