Historically, there have been three political parties in Puerto Rico, each one associated with a political status: commonwealth, independence, and statehood. The “commonwealth” party has for some time had a “sovereigntist” faction. With recent Supreme Court decisions making it completely clear that the idea of an “enhanced commonwealth” is impossible, some in the “commonwealth” party are now supporting the idea of Puerto Rico’s becoming a Free Associated State.

A Free Associated State or FAS is an independent nation with a special relationship with the United States. There are currently three of these: the Republic of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

All three use the American dollar for their currency, receive some financial support from the U.S., and have a promise of military defense from the U.S. in exchange for a promise not to allow any other country military access. The people of the FASs are able to work in the United States and to serve in the U.S. military. But each one has a different relationship with the United States, with different specific rights and obligations, which has been negotiated between the U.S. and the FAS. Each agreement has to be renegotiated regularly, and all the agreements must be approved by Congress. The length of time between negotiations is generally only 15 years, and most of the agreements expire automatically if they are not renegotiated. Palau’s agreement has no expiration date, but must be revisited in 15 years, 15 more years, and 10 more years beyond that. The amounts of financial support for the FASs have been reduced at each renegotiation, and movement toward complete independence is encouraged.

The U.S. and the Free Associated States also have the ability to leave the relationship without the agreement of the other party at any time.

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