The fifty states of the United States are sovereign entities. They have autonomy. They exercise all “powers not delegated to the United States” according to the tenth amendment of the Constitution. Each of the fifty states also has a voice in the governance of the entire country.
Independent countries are also sovereign. Like states, sometimes they join together to enhance their strength, like European nations did when creating the European Union.
Both states and countries can form broader collectives to build their power. When they do this, each member has to compromise at times for the collective good. Yet this dynamic does not diminish each sate or country’s independent autonomy within its own borders.
As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico does not have sovereignty or autonomy now, but there are two paths to achieve it: (1) independence (either with or without a Compact of Free Association with the U.S.), or (2) statehood.
An Independent Puerto Rico Would be a Sovereign Nation
Sovereignty in a political sense means control over a government without outside interference. A sovereign nation of Puerto Rico would write its own laws and its own constitution, determine its form of government and make all its decisions on its own.
A sovereign nation of Puerto Rico could also sign treaties with other nations, including the United States, but would have no particular influence on Congress, since there would be no representatives of Puerto Rico in the Congress.
A sovereign nation of Puerto Rico could also trade fairly with other nations in the global economy. Right now, Puerto Rico has the advantage of being able to call locally made goods “Made in America.” It has no trade barriers or tariffs with the U.S. Worker protection laws apply, and the U.S. dollar is the official currency. These and other advantages of the current U.S.-Puerto Rico alliance would disappear with independence, but Puerto Rico would have sovereignty and autonomy.
A federal official once explained to Congress that, “Independence for Puerto Rico must mean real independence, which must include an eventual loss of American citizenship for residents of Puerto Rico.”
“Under a venerable rule of international law,” he continued, “a transfer of sovereignty of a territory transfers the allegiance of those who remain in the territory from the former sovereign to the new sovereign.”
“In any event,” he testified, “we believe that requiring citizens of a newly independent Puerto Rico to choose between remining there as citizens of Puerto Rico and returning to the United States to retain U.S. citizenship is wholly consistent with the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on this clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
A Free Associated State of Puerto Rico Would also be Independent, but Would Relinquish Some Sovereignty and Autonomy for Military Protection
Most of the time, the U.S. does not have not have to provide military defense or any other kind of support for other independent countries. Free Association is an exception to this rule. Free Association is an arrangement between two independent countries under which one gives up some of its sovereignty and autonomy in exchange for military protection.
The United States currently has relationships with three freely associated states: Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. All three are independent nations with separate citizenship.
The United States assumes national security obligations for the FAS, and U.S. military presence in each of the FAS is impactful and growing. This means that militarily, the FAS have given up a piece of their sovereignty to the U.S. in exchange for military protection.
This reality reflects the small size of these Pacific Island nations. With populations ranging from under 20,000 (Palau) to just over 100,000 (Federated States of Micronesia), the FAS have nowhere near the population necessary to have their own militaries. Instead, FAS citizens serve in the U.S. military, and they do so at a rate that generally exceeds those of U.S. states, as is the case with Puerto Rico.
A free associated state of Puerto Rico would be likely to experience the same sovereignty as the other FAS, which means that Puerto Rico would likely not control its own military matters. It would also be up to the United States to determine how much financial assistance it would give to Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico would no longer have a Resident Commissioner or other access to the federal government to ask for more.
A 51st State of Puerto Rico would be Sovereign and Have Autonomy
The states of the United States are also sovereign. The 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that anything not covered in the Constitution is up to the states. Since it is not a state, Puerto Rico lacks the autonomy granted to states under the 10th amendment.
At the same time, states must abide by federal laws — just as Puerto Rico currently does, but states have a voice in making those laws and Puerto Rico currently does not. Even though they are part of a federal system, state sovereignty and autonomy is a foundational part of the American system.
Puerto Rico has voted repeatedly to end the current colonial relationship. It therefore makes sense to say that the people of Puerto Rico want sovereignty and autonomy. That means a choice between the two sovereign status options: statehood or independence.
