Editing Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

{{Infobox country|name=Commonwealth of Puerto Rico|native_name=Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico<br>Boriken|image_flag=Puerto Rican flag.png|image_coat=Puerto Rican COA.png|capital=San Juan|largest_city=San Juan|mode_of_production=[[Capitalism]]|population_census=3,285,874|population_census_year=2020|area_km2=9,104}}

'''Puerto Rico''' ('Rich port' in Spanish), officially the '''Commonwealth of Puerto Rico''', is a [[United States of America|U.S.]] [[Colonialism|colony]] in the [[Caribbean]]. Although Puerto Ricans cannot vote in federal U.S. elections, they still have to follow U.S. laws.<ref name=":0">{{News citation|author=Jose L. Vega Santiago|newspaper=[[The Red Phoenix]]|title=8 Atrocities Committed Against Puerto Rico by the US|date=2012-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022175312/https://theredphoenixapl.org/2012/11/07/8-atrocities-committed-against-puerto-rico-by-the-us/|archive-date=2020-10-22|retrieved=2022-06-23|url=https://theredphoenixapl.org/2012/11/07/8-atrocities-committed-against-puerto-rico-by-the-us/}}</ref> Almost half of the Puerto Rican population lives in poverty and more than 11% are unemployed.<ref>{{News citation|author=Juan González|newspaper=Monthly Review|title=Governor’s Place Party In Puerto Rico, ca. 1900s.
Puerto Rico’s $123 Billion Bankruptcy Is the Cost of U.S. Colonialism|date=2017-05-10|url=https://mronline.org/2017/05/10/puerto-ricos-123-billion-bankruptcy-is-the-cost-of-u-s-colonialism/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516024121/https://mronline.org/2017/05/10/puerto-ricos-123-billion-bankruptcy-is-the-cost-of-u-s-colonialism/|archive-date=2021-05-16|retrieved=2022-06-30}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Spanish colonization ===
[[Christopher Columbus]] began the [[Crown of Castile (1230–1715)|Spanish]] invasion of Puerto Rico in 1493. The indigenous [[Taíno]] and African slaves declared war and rebelled against the colonizers.<ref name=":2">{{Web citation|author=Max Evan Aguayo|newspaper=[[Liberation School]]|title=Puerto Rico will never cower before U.S. colonialism: A tribute to Vidal Santiago Díaz|date=2016-02-06|url=https://www.liberationschool.org/puerto-rico-will-never-cower-before-u-s-colonialism-a-tribute-to-vidal-santiago-diaz/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517133001/https://www.liberationschool.org/puerto-rico-will-never-cower-before-u-s-colonialism-a-tribute-to-vidal-santiago-diaz/|archive-date=2022-05-17|retrieved=2022-10-23}}</ref>

In 1868, Puerto Ricans in the town of Lares rebelled against [[Kingdom of Spain (1813–1873)|Spanish]] colonial rule,<ref>{{Web citation|author=Deborah Rodriguez|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=Commentary on hurricanes/ ‘Puerto Rico is not for sale’|date=2022-09-27|url=https://www.workers.org/2022/09/66875/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928012431/https://www.workers.org/2022/09/66875/|archive-date=2022-09-28|retrieved=2022-10-08}}</ref> which led to greater representation in the Spanish government and the abolition of [[slavery]].<ref name=":2" />

The United States invaded and occupied Puerto Rico in 1898 in the [[Spanish–Statesian War]].<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|year=2022|title=Puerto Rico|title-url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/|chapter=Introduction|section=Background|publisher=The World Factbook}}</ref>

=== Statesian colonization ===
After the U.S. invasion, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled that Puerto Ricans could not receive U.S. citizenship because they were part of an "uncivilized race."<ref name=":1">{{News citation|author=Antonio Camacho Negrón|newspaper=[[Multipolarista]]|title=Puerto Rico: between colonialism, racism and slavery on July 25|date=2022-07-25|url=https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/25/puerto-rico-colonialism-racism-slavery-july-25/|retrieved=2022-07-26}}</ref> By 1930, 45% of arable land in Puerto Rico became sugar plantations.<ref name=":2" />

Vieques, an island inhabited by 9,000 people, was used for military testing between 1941 and 2003. The majority of the island was owned by the navy, who dropped more than 1,000 tonnes of military and industrial waste on the island, including 23,000 bombs in 1998 alone. The island is now polluted with napalm and heavy metals and the cancer rate is 27% higher than in the mainland.<ref name=":0" />

In 1950, Statesian colonialists banned the use of Puerto Rico's flag or anthem.<ref name=":2" />

=== Independence movement ===
On March 21, 1937, police killed 19 people in Ponce, including 14 Puerto Rican nationalists.<ref name=":0" />

The United States imprisoned Puerto Rican independence leader [[Pedro Albizu Campos]] numerous times and experiment on him with radiation.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico]] began an uprising in Rio Piedras in 1950, beginning with a prison break during the night. The uprising spread to Jayuya and Utuado before the colonial governor sent planes to bomb rebels and end the uprising.<ref name=":2" />

Puerto Rico's constitution was adopted on July 25, 1952 and it became a commonwealth of the United States.<ref name=":1" />

== Politics ==
Puerto Rico's main political parties are the [[New Progressive Party]] (PNP) and the [[Popular Democratic Party]], both of which are corrupt [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] parties<ref>{{Web citation|author=José Coss|newspaper=[[Orinoco Tribune]]|title=Puerto Rico’s Colonial Government Collapses|date=2022-08-17|url=https://orinocotribune.com/puerto-ricos-colonial-government-collapses/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817165735/https://orinocotribune.com/puerto-ricos-colonial-government-collapses/|archive-date=2022-08-17|retrieved=2022-08-23}}</ref>. 

Anticolonial parties include the:

* [[Puerto Rican Independence Party]],
* [[Partido Nacionalista Puertorriqueño Ejercito Libertador]] (Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Liberating Army),<ref>{{Web citation|author=Partido Nacionalista Puertorriqueño|title=Facebook page|url=https://www.facebook.com/PartidoNacionalistaDePuertoRico}}</ref>
* [[Liga Socialista De Puerto Rico]] (Socialist League of Puerto Rico),
* [[Ejercito Popular Boricua]] (Boricua Popular Army),

The [[Communist Party of Cuba]] also supports the independence of Puerto Rico,<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Telesur|title=Cuba and Puerto Rico: A Shared Struggle for Independence|date=2016-11-28|url=https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cuba-and-Puerto-Rico-A-Shared-Struggle-for-Independence-20161128-0001.html}}</ref> going as far back as [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Che Guevara]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=War against all Puerto Ricans|title=Cuba and Che Guevara at the United Nations: “Albizu Campos is a symbol”|date=2015-09-22|url=https://waragainstallpuertoricans.com/2015/09/22/cuba-and-che-guevara-at-the-united-nations-albizu-campos-is-a-symbol/}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube citation|url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkuhbo|channel=Mov. Independentista Nacional Hostosiano|title=Che Guevara: Puerto Rico y don Pedro Albizu Campos|date=2011-09-02}}</ref>

== Forced sterilization ==
President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]] began a policy of forced sterilization in Puerto Rico.<ref name=":0" />

A 1965 survey of Puerto Rican mothers aged 20–49 found that one-third of them had been sterilized.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=Kathryn Krase|date=2014-10-01|title=The History of Forced Sterilization in the United States|url=https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book-excerpts/health-article/forced-sterilization/|newspaper=Our Bodies Our Selves|retrieved=2022-03-11}}</ref> By 1974, 35% of Puerto Rican women were sterile, and 39% were in 1981.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Colonial outposts]]