Puerto Rico's first political parties were formed in 1869, prior to American rule. Since then, many political parties have been created in and have disappeared from the island's political landscape. The oldest of the currently active political parties is The Popular Democratic Party. This party was formed in 1938 by Luis Muñoz Marín who, at its head throughout his career, accomplished a great deal in the service of Puerto Rico.
Luis Muñoz Marín formed the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) immediately following his ejection from the Liberal Party in 1937. The reasons for his dismissal being his independent convictions, as a result, one might expect independence for Puerto Rico to be a major platform of the PDP (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). However, though a majority of the party leaders at the time of the party's inception were independentista, Puerto Rican independence was never in any of its formal declarations or acts. In fact, by 1946 Marín declared that for Puerto Rico to be given its independence would be disastrous because of the loss of "economic privileges" that came with association to the United States (Anderson 1965, 59).
Under the leadership of Marín, the PDP made several spectacular achievements. Some of its earliest victories concerned improving the poor conditions of the lower class on the island. Between 1940 and 1944, with permission from the governor, Guy Tugwell, the PDP enacted "such economic reforms as redistributing land, enforcing labor laws (notably those regarding minimum wages and maximum hours), instituting a progressive income tax, and establishing an economic development program" (Encyclopedia Britannica). In November of 1948 Puerto Rico was allowed its first governor election by popular vote, and Muñoz Marín's successful implementation of these many programs helped lead him into Governorship. In January of 1949 Muñoz Marín took office.
Marín served four terms in the Governorship of Puerto Rico, before refusing to run for a fifth term, and returning to his seat in the Senate. During those years Marín and the PDP accomplished three significant political feats. The first victory took place in 1947, with the passage of the Industrial Incentives Act, which put Operation Bootstrap into motion. This act encouraged industrialization through tax breaks and the elimination of income taxes for investors from outside of Puerto Rico who built factories on the island. Its effect was to bring in 27,000 new jobs between 1950 and 1960; however, this was not enough to offset the job loss in the sugarcane and home needle industry that the country experienced during that time (Lehman University, Department of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies). At the same time, increasing industrialization caused environmental damage through pollution, and the removal of vegetation for highways and factories-- a problem for both the health of the island's people and the health of its important tourism industry.
Despite its aforementioned effects, what Marín feared most were the effects that placing emphasis solely on monetary and industrial rewards would have on the cultural values of Puerto Rico's population. Concerning this he said "The supreme
utility is freedom with reasonable comfort. The human being should have a passionate w[i]sh to be free rather than a passionate wish to be a possessor..." (TIME 1958, 8).With this in mind, Governor Marín went about enacting Operation Serenity, a government program aimed at helping the people of Puerto Rico to hold on to their identity and their cultural values.However, what was perhaps the most important accomplishment of Marín's career as Governor, was the progression of Puerto Rico's status to that of a commonwealth. In 1950, Marín viewed this status as superior to either independence or statehood, and to this day the PDP continues to support commonwealth status as the optimal one for Puerto Rico. However, not all Puerto Ricans viewed the new status of the island in the same light. Attempts were made on both the lives of Governor Marín and President Truman by members of the Nationalist party following President Truman's November 1950 signing of the bill that officially transformed Puerto Rico into a commonwealth.
Anderson, Robert. 1965. Party Politics in Puerto Rico. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
"Luis Muñoz Marín." Encyclopedia Britannica, online edition. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397620/Luis-Munoz-Marin
1958. PUERTO RICO: The Bard of the Bootstrap. TIME Magazine (June 23), http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810360-1,00.html (accessed 1 December 2009).
Lehman University, Department of Latin American and Puerto Rican Sudies. Operation Bootstrap.
http://lcw.lehman.edu/lehman/depts/latinampuertorican/latinoweb/PuertoRico/Bootst rap.htm
Luis Muñoz Marín at podium. (image). Matt and Kate's Wedding
Puerto Rico's Governor Muñoz Marín. (image). PUERTO RICO: the Bard of the Bootstrap
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