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The current political status of Puerto Rico is the result of various political activities within both the United States and Puerto Rican governments. Politically, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, which according to the U.S. Supreme Court's Insular Cases is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States within the revenue clauses of the Constitution."〔''Downes v. Bidwell'', 182 U.S. 244, 287 (1901); ''Balzac v. Porto Rico'', 258 U.S. 298 (1922).〕〔In November 2008 a district court judge ruled that a sequence of prior Congressional actions had had the cumulative effect of changing Puerto Rico's status to incorporated.(Consejo de Salud Playa Ponce v. Johnny Rullan ), p.28: "The Congressional incorporation of Puerto Rico throughout the past century has extended the entire Constitution to the island ...." However, as of April 2011 the issue had not yet made its way through the courts: Hon. Gustavo A. Gelpi, "The Insular Cases: A Comparative Historical Study of Puerto Rico, Hawai'i, and the Philippines", ''The Federal Lawyer'', March/April 2011. http://www.aspira.org/files/legal_opinion_on_pr_insular_cases.pdf p. 25: "In light of the (Court ) ruling in ''Boumediene'', in the future the Supreme Court will be called upon to reexamine the Insular Cases doctrine as applied to Puerto Rico and other US territories." As of January 2013 the U.S. government still referred to Puerto Rico as unincorporated: (accessed 26 January 2013 ): "Puerto Rico is a self-governing, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the Caribbean".〕 The basic question regarding this issue is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S. state or become an independent country. American and Puerto Rican political activities regarding the status question have revolved around three sets of initiatives: presidential executive orders, bills in the U.S. Congress, and referenda held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Presidents have issued three executive orders on the subject, and Congress has considered four major bills on Puerto Rico's political status. Puerto Rican status referenda have been held four times to determine the desired political status of Puerto Rico in relation to the United States of America. At the November 6, 2012, non-binding referendum on the status question, 54% of respondents voted to reject the current status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution,〔(''CONDICIÓN POLÍTICA TERRITORIAL ACTUAL (English:Actual Territorial Political Condition).'' ) Government of Puerto Rico. State Electoral Commission. Nov 16 2012 9:59PM. Retrieved 18 November 2012.〕 while in a second question 61% favored statehood as the preferred alternative.〔(''OPCIONES NO TERRITORIALES. (English: Non-Territorial Options).'' ) Government of Puerto Rico. State Electoral Commission. Nov 16 2012 9:59PM. Retrieved 18 November 2012.〕 In 2006, and again in 2009 and 2011, The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization called for the United States to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico.〔(2011-06-20. ''Special Committee on Decolonization Calls on United States, in Consensus Text, to Speed up Process Allowing Puerto Rico to Exercise Self-Determination: Nearly 25 Petitioners Underscore Gravity of Situation on Island, Buckling Under Economic Strain; Vigorous Opposition to Death Penalty Also Expressed.'' ) June 20, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2012.〕〔(2009-06-15. ''Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling on United States to Expedite Self-determination Process for Puerto Rico: Members Hear Petitioners Speak up for Independence, Statehood, Free Association.'' ) June 15, 2009. Retrieved Sept 3, 2010.〕〔(2006-06-13. ''Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling on United States to Expedite Puerto Rican Self-determination Process: Draft Resolution Urges Probe of Pro-Independence Leader's Killing, Human Rights Abuses; Calls for Clean-up, Decontamination of Vieques. ) June 13, 2006. Retrieved Dec 3, 2009.〕 Internationally, the people of Puerto Rico are often considered to be a Caribbean nation with their own national identity.〔(XIV Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations. Durban, South Africa, 2004. See pages 14–15. )〕 ==Background== The United States acquired the islands of Puerto Rico in 1898 after the Spanish–American War. In 1950, Congress enacted legislation (P.L. 81-600) authorizing Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention and in 1952, the people of Puerto Rico ratified a constitution establishing a republican form of government for the island. After being approved by Congress and the President in July 1952 and thus given force under federal law (P.L. 82-447), the new constitution went into effect on July 25, 1952. Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917.〔''One Hundred Years of Solitude: Puerto Rico's American Century.'' by Juan R. Torruella. In Foreign in a Domestic Sense: Puerto Rico, The American Expansion, and the Constitution. Ed. by Christina Duffy Burnett and Burke Marshall. 2001. Duke University Press. Page 248.〕〔Jones-Shafroth Act〕 Since the promulgation of the current Commonwealth constitution in 1952, further local attempts to change the island's political status took place in 1967, 1993, and 1998. An additional referendum held in 1991 sought to amend the relationship through an amendment to the Puerto Rican constitution. Each time, the results favored retaining the current status over the possible independence of Puerto Rico and statehood alternatives. As a result of Puerto Rico's status as a U.S. territory, the citizens of Puerto Rico do not have any voting representation in the U.S. Federal government. Instead of outright representation through Senators and House Representatives, Puerto Rico has one non-voting Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is not represented in the Electoral College, and thus U.S. citizens resident there are unable to vote in U.S. presidential elections. Although Puerto Rico presently has a certain amount of local autonomy, according to the U.S. Constitution ultimate governance of the island is retained by both the U.S. Congress and President.〔(''RHC admite congreso puede hacer lo que quiera con el ELA.'' ) El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. December 14, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.〕〔.〕〔''(title=United States v. Sanchez )'', 992 F.2D 1143 (11th Cir. 1993)〕 Thus, results of plebiscites, whether or not authorized by Congress, while they reflect public sentiment, and thus bear some impact, can be ignored by Congress. Ultimately, the results of Puerto Rican plebiscites are opinions, although congressional resolutions have expressed support for following the will of the Puerto Rican people.〔(Let Puerto Rico Decide: An Introduction to Puerto Rico's Status Debate )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Political status of Puerto Rico」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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