In Puerto Rico, ELA stands for “Estado Libre Asociado,” which translates to “Free Associated State.” ELA is used to describe the current political status of Puerto Rico — or rather, the “enhanced commonwealth” fantasy status. Puerto Rico is actually an unincorporated territory of the United States. This means that it belongs to the United States, but is not fully protected by the U.S. Constitution. Still, ELA is frequently used to describe the current status of the Island.
It is also used to describe the hoped-for future status of the Island when it has negotiated a unique relationship with the federal government. That imaginary status is also sometimes called “ELA Soberano,” or “sovereign free associated state.” This is where it gets confusing. “Sovereign Free Associated State” is the name of one of the status options in the Puerto Rico Status Act, which might be reintroduced in the future. It was also one of the options on the 2024 status referendum ballot. The two uses of the term are not the same. So what;s the difference between ELA and free association?
What is ELA?
When people use ELA, they don’t generally mean the actual relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. It usually is used for a relationship which has been proposed many times, one in which Puerto Rico has at least the following special privileges:
- permanent U.S. citizenship
- the ability to make trade deals with other nations
- the choice of whether or not to follow federal laws
- the ability to veto any changes in the deal which the U.S. government might want to make
The definition changes regularly, but they are consistently incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.
Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera defines “commonwealth” (or Estado Libre Asociado—ELA) as a “strengthened and modernized” relationship with the United States that moves beyond the current territorial status, according to the San Juan Daily Star. A sample draft description he wrote recently can be found below. It included the right to vote in presidential elections, 14th amendment citizenship, and government respect of Puerto Rico’s autonomy along with benefits equal to the states.
What is free association?
Free association is an agreement between two sovereign nations — in this case it would be the United States and the Republic of Puerto Rico — negotiated between the two, which either side can change or end at any time. The U.S. has free association agreements with three nations. All are sovereign, independent nations. All three exchange U.S. control over their defense and security for limited financial support. None has U.S. citizenship or voting rights or state-like benefits.
There is nothing wrong with free association, and Puerto Rico could, if the voters were to choose independence, probably negotiate a Compact of Free Association with the United States. But it would not be ELA.
The problem is that voters get confused. Naturally. Not only are the terms for the two status ideas the same, but ELA supporters sometimes seem to be encouraging voters to get confused. Commonwealth supporters sometimes claim that the votes for Sovereign Free Association are really votes for ELA. Interestingly, independence supporters also claim that votes for free association are votes for independence. They’re not wrong — but voters often don’t realize this.
The difference between ELA and free association
There is a big difference between ELA and free association. It’s important to make sure that everyone understands it — before they vote.
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