<P> Previous referendums had been held on the island to decide on the political status of Puerto Rico, most recently in 1998 . </P> <P> Puerto Rico has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since the end of the Spanish--American War in 1898 . Although Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship with the 1917 Jones--Shafroth Act, they cannot vote for the President of the United States unless registered to vote in one of the United States . In addition, the US retains the exclusive right to create and manage foreign policy, including any that affects the island . </P> <P> In June 2011 the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization asked the United States to expedite the process for political status self - determination in Puerto Rico . Puerto Rico, unlike several other U.S. territories such as Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is not on the United Nations list of Non-Self - Governing Territories . As it is not a state, its citizens do not have the right to full representation in the U.S. Congress nor can they vote in presidential elections . On December 28, 2011, Governor Luis Fortuño authorized the referendum for November 6, 2012 . </P> <P> Most of the leadership of the New Progressive Party (PNP) vouched for a status referendum to be held . Governor Fortuño, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, and Jorge Santini, the Mayor of San Juan, all supported holding a status referendum . Originally, they presented a bill which divided the process into two separate referendums: one in August to vote whether or not to continue with the current status, and a second one in November to choose among several alternatives to the current status . This process was approved in a General Assembly of the party in October 2011 . </P>

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