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Estado Libre Associate (ELA)

Commonwealth is a term the United States uses to refer to insular areas, a Commonwealth is a type of organized but unincorporated dependent territory. There are currently only two United States insular areas with the status of commonwealth, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

The term was first used by Puerto Rico in 1952 as "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico". The name in Spanish for Puerto Rico is "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico," ("Free Associated State of Puerto Rico").




Did You Know?

Many have suggested that the Jones Act of 1917 was solely a means of creating a "blood tax" on Puerto Rico and adding to the supply of available men to add to the World War I effort. (Russell Baruffi)