Puerto Rico Compared to

the United States !!

Puerto RicoVs.

United States

Puerto Rico’s Leader:• Puerto rico is a self-governing commonwealth in

association with the United States. The chief of state is the President of the united states of America. The Head of government is an elected governor.

• Puerto rico’s current leader is Luis fortuno.• In 1993, he was appointed executive director of the

Puerto rico tourism company and President of Puerto rico’s hotel development corporation. In 1994, Mr. foruno was appointed Puerto rico’s secretary of economic development and commerce, a position he held until 1997, when he returned to private practice for another eight years.

Continued…• First republican governor of Puerto Rico in

35 years in 2008. He promised a new kind of government. He’s been governor for approximately 5 years now.

QUALIFICATIONS…• Section 1: No discrimination shall be made on account of race,

color, sex, birth, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas.

• Section 2: The laws shall guarantee the expression of the will of the people by means of equal, direct and secret universal suffrage and shall protect the citizen against any coercion in the exercise of the electoral franchise.

• Section 3: No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. There shall be complete separation of church and state.

• Section 4: . No law shall be made abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

• Section 5: Every person has the right to an education which shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Puerto Rico’s Lawmaking Body• Since Puerto Rico is part of the United States territory, the Senate and the House still makes the decisions and President Barack Obama is still president of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has to still obey United States laws.

• 425 people in office

Freedom of Speech????

• Since Puerto Rico is part of the United

States territory they do have to follow our

rules and regulations of the United States

of America.

Freedom of Religion…

• United States does own Puerto Rico so

they have all the freedom that we

American citizens have in the states.

• As long as you aren’t a wanted criminal you are able to carry a canceled weapon in your home.

• Having one to carry around is not legal.

Let’s get some more info!!!• Puerto Rico's governor is elected directly for a

four-year term. A bicameral legislature consists of a 27-member Senate and a 51-member House of Representatives, all elected for four-year terms. From 1940 to 1968, Puerto Rican politics was dominated by a party advocating voluntary association with the U.S. Since then, the New Progressive Party, a party favoring U.S. statehood, has won five of the last eight gubernatorial elections. Puerto Ricans have twice voted to determine their political status. In 1967, the outcome was Commonwealth 60%; statehood 39%; independence 1%. In 1993, Commonwealth dropped to 48.6%; statehood rose to 46.3%; independence polled 4.4%; and 0.6% of the ballots were blank or spoiled.

And Continued…• Under the Commonwealth formula,

residents of Puerto Rico lack voting representation in Congress and do not participate in presidential elections. As U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans are subject to military service and most federal laws. Residents of the Commonwealth pay no federal income tax on locally generated earnings, but Puerto Rican government income-tax rates are set at a level that closely parallels federal-plus-state levies on the mainland.

Lets go!• A self-help program of economic

development and social welfare (called “Operation Bootstrap”) was forged in the 1940s by four-time governor Luis Muñoz Marín. In a little more than four decades, much of the island's crushing poverty was eliminated. This was done partly through the development of manufacturing and service industries, the latter related to an enormous growth in tourism. Also, many Puerto Ricans migrated to large cities on the mainland U.S.