b. Puerto Rico. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


b. Puerto Rico


1948, Nov. 2

Popular Party candidate Luis Muñoz Marín (1898–1980) became the first elected governor of Puerto Rico. He would win repeated elections until he left power in 1964. Muñoz Marín oversaw OPERATION BOOTSTRAP, begun in 1948, which was designed to industrialize and urbanize the island by utilizing low wages and tax concessions to promote investment. For the next 20 years, the economy boomed. Operation Bootstrap promoted out-migration to the mainland (particularly New York) to provide labor for U.S. industry. After 1945, over a million Puerto Ricans, including many women, immigrated to the U.S.	1

1950, July 3

An act of the U.S. Congress permitted Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution.	2

Nov. 1

The attempt on U.S. president Harry Truman's life by two Puerto Ricans led to the arrest of large numbers of Communists and nationalists on the island. Support for the nationalists dwindled.	3


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.