List of political parties in Puerto Rico

This article lists political parties in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico has a 'first past the post' electoral system, in which a voter can vote by party, by candidate or both. To qualify as an official political party (and thus be able to appear on the printed state electoral ballot), a party must meet the criteria set forth by the Puerto Rico Electoral Law.

This list sorts political parties either alphabetically or by date of founding.

Registered parties

Present

As of 2020, Puerto Rico has five registered electoral parties:

Party			Initials	Current leader	Ideology	Political position	Senate	House
		Popular Democratic Party Partido Popular Democrático	PPD	Jesús Manuel Ortiz	Pro-Commonwealth Liberalism[1] Social liberalism[2]	Center	6 / 27	13 / 51
		New Progressive Party Partido Nuevo Progresista	PNP	Jenniffer González	Puerto Rico statehood Centrism Conservatism Liberalism[3]	Center to centre-right	19 / 27	36 / 51
		Citizens' Victory Movement Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana	MVC	Ana Irma Rivera Lassén	Progressivism Social democracy[4] Anti-corruption[5] Anti-colonialism[6]	Left-wing	0 / 27	0 / 51
		Puerto Rican Independence Party Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño	PIP	Rubén Berríos	Left-wing nationalism Social democracy Democratic socialism[7][8] Puerto Rican independence[9]	Center-left	2 / 27	3 / 51
		Project Dignity Proyecto Dignidad	PD	Javier Jiménez	Christian democracy Conservatism Anti-corruption[10]	Center-right to right-wing	1 / 27	1 / 51

Past – under U.S. sovereignty

The existing parties in Puerto Rico at the time of change of sovereignty in 1898 reinvented themselves into parties with by-laws, platforms and ideologies consistent with the new political reality brought about by the change of sovereignty. The Barbosistas, followers of Jose Celso Barbosa and mostly aligned with Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo, formed the Partido Republicano Puertorriqueño, while the Muñocistas, followers of Luis Muñoz Rivera and mostly aligned with Partido Liberal Puertorriqueño, formed Partido Federal.^[11]

Name (in English)	Name (in Spanish)	Abbreviation	Ideology	Existed
Federal Party	Partido Federal	-	Pro-autonomy	1899–1900s[12]
Puerto Rican Republican Party	Partido Republicano Puertorriqueño	-	Pro-statehood	1899–1924[13]
Labor Party	Partido Socialista de Puerto Rico	PSPR	Socialism, Pro-statehood	1899–1915
Union Party	Partido Unión	-	Pro-independence	1900s – 1930s
Socialist Party	Partido Obrero	PO	Socialism	1915–1950s
Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico	Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico	PNPR	Pro-independence	1920s–present
Puerto Rican Alliance	Alianza Puertorriqueña	AP	Centrism	1924–1932
Coalition	Coalición	-	Pro-statehood	1924–1940
Republican Union	Unión Republicana	-	Pro-statehood	1930s–1960s
Puerto Rican Communist Party	Partido Comunista Puertorriqueño	PCP	Marxism–Leninism, pro-independence	1930s–1990s
Liberal Party of Puerto Rico	Partido Liberal de Puerto Rico	-	Pro-independence	1932–1948
Puerto Rican Reformist Party	Partido Reformista Puertorriqueño	PRP	-	1948
Transparent, Authentic and Complete Liberal Party	Partido Liberal Neto, Auténtico y Completo	-	-	1937–1948
Republican Statehood Party	Partido Estadista Republicano	PER	Pro-statehood	1956–1968
Christian Action Party	Partido Acción Cristiana	PAC	Christian politics	1960s
People's Party	Partido del Pueblo	PP	-	1960s–1970s
Puerto Rican Union Party	Partido Unión Puertorriqueña	PUP	-	1969–1972
Puerto Rican Socialist Party	Partido Socialista Puertorriqueño	PSP	Socialism, pro-independence	1970s–1990s
Puerto Rican Renewal Party	Partido Renovación Puertorriqueña	PRP	Pro-statehood	1983–1987
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party	Partido Puertorriqueños Por Puerto Rico	PPPR	Green politics	2007–2012
Sovereign Union Movement	Movimiento Unión Soberanista	MUS	Pro-independence	2012
Working People's Party	Partido del Pueblo Trabajador	PPT	Left-wing populism, Democratic socialism	2012–2016

Past – under Spain sovereignty

There were no political parties in Puerto Rico until 1870.^[14] Bolivar Pagan states the following were the political parties in Puerto Rico during the years of Spanish sovereignty.^[a][15]

Name (in English)	Name (in Spanish)	Leader	Platform / Ideology	Existed
Unconditional Spanish Party	Partido Incondicional Español	Jose Ramon Fernandez	Conservative	1870–1898[16]
Liberal Reformist Party	Partido Liberal Reformista	Pedro Geronimo Goyco	Liberal	1870–1898
Puerto Rican Autonomist Party	Partido Autonomista Puertorriqueño	R. B de Castro. Later, Celso Barbosa and Muñoz Rivera[b]	Regional Autonomy	1887–1898[17]
Orthodox Autonomist Party (aka, "Pure and Radical Party")	Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo (aka, Partido Puro y Radical)[18]	Jose Celso Barbosa	Regional Autonomy	1897–1899
Puerto Rican Liberal Party	Partido Liberal Puertorriqueño	Luis Muñoz Rivera	Autonomy via pact with Spain's Liberal Party	1897–1899

Unregistered parties

A number of unregistered political parties and organizations exist in Puerto Rico outside of the electoral arena. These organizations span the entire political spectrum:

• Hostosian National Independence Movement (MINH) – (Umbrella organization in favor of pro independence and nationalist movements) – Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano
• Pro ELA – In favor of a freely associated republic status.
• Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
• Communist Party of Puerto Rico
• Socialist Front – An umbrella of socialist organizations.
• Socialist Workers Movement – Socialist Revolutionary organization, with strong bases in the trade union and student movement. Bandera Roja – Periodical, in Spanish
• United Statehooders – Estadistas Unidos.

Affiliates of federal-level United States parties

Unlike the political parties listed above, which are eligible for registration with the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE) upon fulfilling CEE requirements, the following parties exist as affiliates of American parties and participate in the U.S. primaries of the corresponding American parties at the federal level. Also, unlike the Puerto Rican political parties above, all of which are based in Puerto Rico, these parties are headquartered in mainland United States.

• Democratic Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Demócrata de Puerto Rico) is the Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Democratic Party.
• Libertarian Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Libertario) is a Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Libertarian Party
• Republican Party of Puerto Rico – (Spanish: Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico) is the Puerto Rico affiliate of the U.S. national Republican Party

See also

• Puerto Rico portal
• Politics portal

• Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898-1956)
• Politics of Puerto Rico
• Political party strength in Puerto Rico
• Elections in Puerto Rico
• Puerto Rican Independence Movement

Notes

1. Bolivar Pagan also states the existence of Union Autonomista Liberal, a party that attempted to join again the Liberal and Autonomistas Ortodoxos, but this party had a fleeting existence.
2. Internal split on 13 February 1897