Union of Puerto Rico - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Union of Puerto Rico , also known as the Union Party, was a major political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

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...

.

The UPR was founded in February 1904 by Luis Muñoz Rivera

Luis Muñoz Rivera

Luis Muñoz Rivera was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician. He was a major figure in the struggle for political autonomy of Puerto Rico....

, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón

Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón

Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón was a lawyer, a member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives, and a lifelong political contrarian. He favored Puerto Rican autonomy when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony. After the Spanish-American War, when the island was ceded to the United States, he advocated...

, Antonio R. Barceló

Antonio R. Barceló

Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martinez was a lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families...

, José de Diego

José de Diego

José de Diego y Martínez , known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement", was a statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's independence from Spain and from the United States....

and others after the disbanding of the Federal Party. The party supported greater self-government for the island, though the party was divided between those in favor of independence

Puerto Rican independence movement

The Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...

and those favoring statehood

51st state

The 51st state, in United States political discourse, is a phrase that refers to areas either seriously or derisively considered candidates for addition to the 50 states already part of the United States. Before 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii joined the U.S., the term "the 49th state" was used...

. The party was highly successful electorally through the 1930s.

In 1924, the Union Party joined with dissident members of the 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...

to form the Alianza ("Alliance"). This group generally supported autonomy for Puerto Rico.

In 1932, the Alianza reconstituted itself as the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Puerto Rico)

The Liberal Party of Puerto Rico was a pro-independence political party. The Liberal Party was founded in 1932 as a formal disaffiliation between two political parties which composed the political coalition known as the Alianza ....

and formally endorsed independence. The Alianza's more conservative, pro-statehood faction broke off and joined with the Republicans to form the Republican Union

Republican Union

The Republican Union was a pro-statehood political party in Puerto Rico.The Republican Union was founded in 1932 from the merging of the Pure Republican Party and the conservative wing of the Alianza...

Further reading