The Socialist Party was a political party in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

It was founded as the Labor Party (Partido Obrero) in 1900 by Santiago Iglesias Pantín

Santiago Iglesias

Santiago Iglesias Pantín , a supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico, was the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the U.S...

, an early leader of the Puerto Rican labor movement who was influenced by the Socialist Labor Party of America

Socialist Labor Party of America

The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...

. It was formally refounded as the PS on March 21, 1915, in the town of Cayey

Cayey, Puerto Rico

Cayey is a mountain town in central Puerto Rico located on the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Salinas; and west of San Lorenzo Cayey is spread over 21 wards and Cayey Pueblo...

. It originally served as the political arm of the Free Federation of Workers, which became the Puerto Rican branch of the American Federation of Labor

American Federation of Labor

The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...

. The party was an affiliate of the Socialist Party of America

Socialist Party of America

The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...

.

In Puerto Rican elections, the Socialist Party garnered 24,468 votes in 1917 (14 percent) and 59,140 votes in 1920 (23.5 percent). Over time, Iglesias and the Socialists became more in favor of statehood

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 and worked with the pro-annexation Republican Party

Republican Party (Puerto Rico)

The Republican Party is a political party in Puerto Rico, and the affiliate of the national Republican Party of United States. The party supports statehood for the island. Carlos Méndez, the Mayor of Aguadilla, is the local chairman and the party is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Luis G...

, joining them in an electoral alliance known as the Coalition

Coalition (Puerto Rico)

The Coalition was an electoral alliance in Puerto Rico.The Coalition was formed in 1924, composed of the Republican Party and the Socialist Party. It was generally in favor of statehood and is generally regarded as representing the interests of United States sugar corporations. It held a majority...

 which dominated island politics from 1932 to 1940. The Socialists won seven seats to the island's constitutional convention, which convened between 1951 and 1952. The party disbanded before elections in 1956, and the leadership directed party members to join the Popular Democratic Party

Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico

The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....

(PPD).

Further reading

• James L. Dietz, Economic History of Puerto Rico: Institutional Change and Capitalist Development (Princeton University Press, 1986) ISBN 0-691-02248-8
• Miles Galvin, The Organized Labor Movement in Puerto Rico (London: Associated University Press, 1979)