New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico)
New Progressive Party Partido Nuevo Progresista | |
---|---|
Republican Statehood Party | |
Headquarters | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
Membership (2020) | 297,998[1] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre[2] to centre-right[8] |
Colors | Blue, white |
Seats in the Senate | 10 / 27 |
Seats in the House of Representatives | 21 / 51 |
Municipalities | 37 / 78 |
Seats in the U.S. House | 1 / 1 |
Website | |
www | |
The New Progressive Party (
The party is primarily contrasted by two other political parties: the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which advocates maintaining the current political status of Puerto Rico as that of an unincorporated territory of the United States with self-government, and the smaller Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), which advocates for the independence of Puerto Rico.[a][b]
In national/mainland politics, members are split, with some party members affiliating with the Republican Party and some with the Democratic Party,[10] although the PNP tends to be seen as slightly more conservative than the PPD overall.[5]
The party traces its history back to 1967. In that year, the
History
Foundation
The party traces its beginnings to an August, 1967 assembly in a sports complex (which is now known as el
Under
1970s
Four years later, in 1972, Ferré lost to the reunified PDP's candidate, Senate President Rafael Hernández Colón, by the biggest[citation needed] percentual margin since the NPP's founding (7.3%); however, in 1976, under the leadership of San Juan Mayor Carlos Romero Barceló, the NPP returned to power. Romero Barceló would face Hernández Colón three times for the governorship.
1980s
In the
1990s
The NPP came back to power in 1993 when Pedro Rosselló, a pediatric surgeon who had been its unsuccessful congressional candidate in 1988, became governor by defeating Luis Muñoz Marín's daughter, Senator Victoria Muñoz Mendoza, the PDP candidate for governor.
Rosselló launched an anti-crime campaign known as "Mano dura contra el crimen" ("Strong hand against crime") in which the Puerto Rico National Guard was used to assist the Island police force. During Pedro J. Rosselló's term, a number of large-scale infrastructure projects were undertaken, including the "Tren Urbano" (Metro Rail System), the "Superaqueduct",[citation needed] the construction of the Puerto Rico Convention Center and the Puerto Rico Coliseum. His policies also included a push toward privatization of public entities and free health care for the poor.
He led the NPP in a campaign for Puerto Rican statehood in 1993, in which locally enacted plebiscites were held to consult the Puerto Rican public on their position regarding the political status of the island with the United States. He supported the proposal for a referendum in Puerto Rico to define the political status of the island. However, the bill died in committee in the U.S. Senate. Nevertheless, Rosselló carried out another plebiscite in 1998 which gave electors four options plus a fifth one, "None of the Above". The opposing Popular Democratic Party led a campaign to boycott the plebiscite, charging it was structured to favor the ruling NPP party's statehood goals, and called the electorate to vote for the "None of the Above" option. The boycott was successful, as the None of the Above column garnered more votes than all of the other options. Rosselló, however, argued before Congress that statehood had obtained more votes than any of the other political status options in the plebiscite as he claimed that the fifth option ("None of the Above") was an undefined vote in terms of status.
In the 1996 elections, the NPP candidate, Rosselló, defeated opponent
In 1998, the sale of the state-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) to GTE for $1.9 billion[citation needed] led to a general strike organized by labor unions and backed by opposition forces. Rosselló's popularity along with the NPP's took a hit due to the backlash, as well as to several major corruption cases.
2000s
Rosselló stepped down[
It also did not[citation needed] help Pesquera that the Acting US District Attorney Guillermo Gil said in June 2000 (three months before the November 2000 election) "corruption has a name and it is called the New Progressive Party" while announcing a grand jury indictment. The grand jury had accused 18 people — including two mayors from Rosselló's NPP — of running an extortion scheme that skimmed $800,000 in kickbacks from a $56 million government contract.[citation needed] During a news conference, Gil told journalists that the extorted money had ended up in the coffers of the NPP. This and other actions by Gil were object of many ethics complaints to the US Department of Justice by NPP leaders.
In this environment, the NPP lost the 2000 election, losing the Governor's seat, the Resident Commissioner, and the state legislature. This was the first[citation needed] election since its creation that the NPP suffered a vote reduction. Leo Díaz assumed the NPP Presidency, but it was short-lived as Pesquera returned to occupy the position after defeating Díaz.[when?]
Turmoil consumed the NPP during the first two years of the 2001–2005 term. The Secretary of Education, under the Rossello's administration, Víctor Fajardo, was charged and convicted by federal agencies of appropriating millions of federal funds directed to the Education Department.[12] The former House Speaker and Republican National Committee Man, Edison Misla Aldarondo was also charged with extortion by the US Attorney's Office, and was forced to resign.[13] In an ironic turn of events, NPP figures charged with federal corruption crimes were also charged with corruption by the Puerto Rico Justice Department using new anti-corruption state laws that the NPP had enacted. In 2001, Calderon named a Blue Ribbon Committee that was dedicated to investigate government transactions under Rossello's two terms.
2003 NPP primaries for Governor
In July 2002, several of the party's leaders were involved in an incident at the Office of Women's Affairs. Pesquera led a group of pro-statehood advocates and the press into the government office whose administrator had refused[citation needed] to display the American flag alongside the flag of Puerto Rico, as required by law. A jury acquitted Pesquera and other followers of any wrongdoing.[vague]
In March 2003, Rosselló, who had been living in the
2004 General Elections
Rosselló's prior administration was repeatedly painted as corrupt,[by whom?] while his PDP opponent (Calderón chose not to run for re-election), Resident Commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (PDP) was initially behind in the polls. After his performance in televised debates, Acevedo's campaign gained momentum, aided in part[citation needed] by the favorable press he received from the island media outlets. In pre-election polls, Rosselló led by double digits, but ultimately Rosselló lost by some 3,000 votes[citation needed] (1,200 votes went as write-in for Carlos Pesquera) proving that once again that corruption matters to Puerto Rican voters. Rosselló challenged the electoral results alleging that split ticket votes, which had always been counted before, were now illegal. After a lengthy court battle decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Acevedo Vila was certified as governor.
Senate conflict
As 2005 began, Rosselló became a Senator for the
2008 NPP primaries for Governor
On March 7, 2007, Rosselló stated that he was no longer interested in the Senate Presidency and then focused his attention in preventing Resident Commissioner
Primary backlash
Most[citation needed] of Rosselló's supporters were elected in the primary and endorsed Fortuño as their candidate for governor. However, several[who?] prominent NPP members demonstrated strong opposition to Fortuño's candidacy and victory.
Ramírez[
Another strong voice against Fortuño was NPP former President Leo Díaz. Díaz accused Fortuño and his wife of having ties to PDP law firms and to colonialist interests. At a November 4, 2007, rally called "Con Fuerza para Vencer" (With the Strength to Win), Díaz said, "In this primary the life of this party is in jeopardy. The other candidate, Fortuño, isn't a real statehood defender! He should explain why he has ties with PDP's law firms and why the colonialist special interests are financing his campaign[...]".[14][full citation needed] He has since rejoined party activities and chairs[citation needed] Santini's 2012 reelection efforts.
San Juan mayor Jorge Santini also made strong statements against Fortuño during the primary campaign, as he supported Rosselló. He said that Fortuño wasn't a "full-time leader" and that he "made arrangements with other causes".[15][full citation needed] He subsequently campaigned for Fortuño, both in 2008 as well as 2012.
2008 elections
On November 4, 2008, the NPP retained and expanded super-majorities in the Legislative Assembly, and won both the Resident Commissioner and Governor race by a landslide.[citation needed]
2010s
2012 election and plebiscite
While Gov. Fortuño failed to win reelection on Nov. 6, 2012, his running mate Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia became Puerto Rico's top vote-getter[clarification needed]. In a separate matter, in 2012, the NPP won by wide[citation needed] margins the two questions posed in a separate political status plebiscite ballot. Fifty-four percent[citation needed] rejected the continuation of the current territorial political relationship with the United States while 61%[citation needed] of those choosing another political status voted for statehood.
2016 election
On November 8, 2016, the NPP's gubernatorial candidate
2020s
2020 election
On September 24, 2020,
Electoral history
In legislative elections
|
|
Gubernatorial Elections
Election year | PNP Candidate | Votes | Vote % | +/- | Outcome of election |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968
|
Luis A. Ferré | 400,815 | 43.6 / 100
|
43.6% | Won |
1972
|
Luis A. Ferré | 563,609 | 43.4 / 100
|
0.2% | Lost |
1976
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 703,968 | 48.3 / 100
|
4.9% | Won |
1980
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 759,926 | 47.2 / 100
|
1.1% | Won |
1984
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 768,959 | 44.6 / 100
|
2.6% | Lost |
1988
|
Baltasar Corrada del Río | 820,342 | 45.8 / 100
|
1.2% | Lost |
1992
|
Pedro Rosselló | 938,969 | 49.9 / 100
|
4.1% | Won |
1996
|
Pedro Rosselló | 1,006,331 | 51.1 / 100
|
1.2% | Won |
2000
|
Carlos Pesquera | 919,194 | 45.7 / 100
|
5.4% | Lost |
2004
|
Pedro Rosselló | 959,737 | 48.2 / 100
|
2.5% | Lost |
2008
|
Luis Fortuño | 1,025,965 | 52.8 / 100
|
4.6% | Won |
2012
|
Luis Fortuño | 884,775 | 47.1 / 100
|
5.7% | Lost |
2016
|
Ricardo Rosselló | 649,791 | 41.8 / 100
|
5.3% | Won |
2020
|
Pedro Pierluisi | 406,830 | 32.9 / 100
|
8.8% | Won |
Resident Commissioner Elections
Election year | PNP Candidate | Votes | Vote % | +/- | Outcome of election |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968
|
Jorge Luis Córdova | 400,815 | 43.6 / 100
|
43.6% | Won |
1972
|
Jorge Luis Córdova | 563,609 | 43.4 / 100
|
0.2% | Lost |
1976
|
Baltasar Corrada del Río | 703,968 | 48.3 / 100
|
4.9% | Won |
1980
|
Baltasar Corrada del Río | 760,484 | 47.7 / 100
|
1.1% | Won |
1984
|
Nelson Femadas | 769,951 | 45.3 / 100
|
2.4% | Lost |
1988
|
Pedro Rosselló | 824,879 | 46.6 / 100
|
1.3% | Lost |
1992
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 908,067 | 48.6 / 100
|
2.0% | Won |
1996
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 973,654 | 50.0 / 100
|
1.4% | Won |
2000
|
Carlos Romero Barceló | 905,690 | 45.6 / 100
|
4.6% | Lost |
2004
|
Luis Fortuño | 956,828 | 48.8 / 100
|
3.2% | Won |
2008
|
Pedro Pierluisi | 1,010,304 | 52.7 / 100
|
3.9% | Won |
2012
|
Pedro Pierluisi | 905,066 | 48.4 / 100
|
4.3% | Won |
2016
|
Jenniffer González
|
713,605 | 48.8 / 100
|
0.4% | Won |
2020
|
Jenniffer González
|
490,273 | 40.8 / 100
|
8.0% | Won |
Affiliation with national parties
This article needs to be updated.(July 2020) |
Three NPP gubernatorial candidates registered nationally as Republicans (Luis A. Ferré, Baltasar Corrada and
Party logo
The party is strongly associated with the color blue in Puerto Rico because of its logo. Since the logo features a
The logo's original[citation needed] version consisted of a light blue palm tree, partially encircled by words in a semicircle (the exact color hue for the logo being that of the United Nations flag, as a result of a personal request from party founder Luis A. Ferré[citation needed]). The original logo had the party's name surrounding it; eventually,[when?] the words "estadidad, seguridad, progreso" ("statehood, security, progress" in English) substituted the party name. The logo later[when?] enclosed the palm tree in a blue oval and reversed its colors. The tonality of blue used in the newer logo was eventually[when?] changed to a deep navy blue, as to liken it to that of the canton of the United States' flag.[citation needed]
In 2014, the party approved the new logo, which now includes the word "Igualdad" (equality).[citation needed]
Party leaders
Party presidents
- 1967–1974: Luis A. Ferré
- 1974–1987: Carlos Romero Barceló
- 1987–1988: Baltasar Corrada del Río
- 1988–1989: Ramón Luis Rivera
- 1989–1991: Carlos Romero Barceló
- 1991–1999: Pedro Rosselló
- 1999–2000: Carlos Pesquera
- 2000–2001: Norma Burgos
- 2001–2001: Leonides Díaz Urbina
- 2001–2003: Carlos Pesquera
- 2003–2008: Pedro Rosselló
- 2008–2013: Luis Fortuño
- 2013–2016: Pedro Pierluisi
- 2016–2019: Ricardo Rosselló
- 2019–2020 : Thomas Rivera Schatz
- 2020–present : Pedro Pierluisi
Gubernatorial nominees
- 1968: Luis A. Ferré, won
- 1972: Luis A. Ferré, lost
- 1976: Carlos Romero Barceló, won
- 1980: Carlos Romero Barceló, won
- 1984: Carlos Romero Barceló, lost
- 1988: Baltasar Corrada del Río, lost
- 1992: Pedro Rosselló, won
- 1996: Pedro Rosselló, won
- 2000: Carlos Pesquera, lost
- 2004: Pedro Rosselló, lost
- 2008: Luis Fortuño, won
- 2012: Luis Fortuño, lost
- 2016: Ricardo Rosselló, won
- 2020: Pedro Pierluisi, won
See also
Notes
- ^ Party platform 2012 (in Spanish) p. 248. "El Partido Popular Democrático reafirma que el Estado Libre Asociado es la opción de estatus que mejor representa las aspiraciones del Pueblo de Puerto Rico."[9]
- ^ Party platform 2012 (in Spanish) p. 248 "El Partido Popular Democrático apoya firmemente el desarrollo del Estado Libre Asociado hasta el máximo de autonomía compatible con los principios de unión permanente con los Estados Unidos y la ciudadanía americana de los puertorriqueños. El Partido Popular rechaza cualquier modificación de estatus que se aparte de estos principios y que atente contra nuestra nacionalidad puertorriqueña o que menoscabe nuestra identidad lingüística y cultural."[9]
References
- ^ "Primarias del Partido Nuevo Progresista Gobernador Resultados Isla" [Primaries of the New Progressive Party Governor Island Results]. Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections (in Spanish). 2020-09-02. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ a b "Is Puerto Rico Our Greece?".
- ^ a b Political parties of the Americas, 1980s to 1990s: Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies. Charles D. Ameringer. London, England: Greenwood Press, 1992. p. 530.
- ^ a b Blanco, Richard Manuel (Spring 1988). Party Identification in Puerto Rico (Thesis). Florida State University. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ a b Arrarás, Astrid; Power, Timothy J. (August–December 2007). "The social basis of separatism: Explaining support for the Puerto Rican Independence Movement". Revista de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre as Américas. 1 (1): 61–81.
- ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/03/who-are-trumps-political-allies-in-puerto-rico-explaining-the-islands-political-factions/
- ^ https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/notas/tildan-de-hipocrita-a-pierluisi/&ved=2ahUKEwj2rrLgjdOAAxVeSjABHZxXDq8QFnoECA4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw0oQU-f9ThCqmebJo8H_Zow/
- ^ "The next debt crisis in the United States may require a Puerto Rico bailout | Suffragio". 22 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Plataforma de Gobierno 2012" (in Spanish). Popular Democratic Party. May 2, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ a b "Historia del PNP" (in Spanish). WAPA-TV. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ Univision. ""Estoy parada aquí por los que ya no pueden pararse": la protesta pacífica de Mariana Nogales, de Victoria Ciudadana, en el funeral de Romero Barceló". Univision (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- ^ Puerto Rico Herald January 24, 2002 (accessed 3 November 2006)
- ^ Puerto Rico Herald January 8, 2002 (accessed 3 November 2006)
- ^ Leo Diaz Urbina's speech at "Con Fuerza para Vencer" (Spanish) November 4, 2007
- ^ Santini's speech at "Con Fuerza para Vencer (Spanish) November 4, 2007
- ^ "Puerto Rico celebrates 1st female US Congress representative". Associated Press. 4 January 2017 – via Yahoo.
- ^ "Juramentado el primer legislador abiertamente gay en Puerto Rico". Metro Puerto Rico. 24 September 2020. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ "Delegación del PNP en la Cámara asegura que no avalará aumentos de impuestos". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b Kunzmann, Marcel (17 January 2021). "Gewerkschaften in Puerto Rico mobilisieren gegen drohende Rentenkürzung". amerika21 (in German). Mondial21 e. V. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
External links
- New Progressive Party on Twitter
- New Progressive Party on Facebook