mber 2008)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PNP 43.4%, PPD
40.3%, PIP 9.4%; seats by party - PNP 17, PPD 9, PIP 1; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - PNP 46.3%, PPD 43.1%,
PIP 9.7%; seats by party - PNP 32, PPD 18, PIP 1
note: Puerto Rico elects, by popular vote, a resident commissioner
to serve a four-year term as a nonvoting representative in the US
House of Representatives; aside from not voting on the House floor,
he enjoys all the rights of a member of Congress; elections last
held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); Luis FORTUNO
elected resident commissioner; results - percent of vote by party -
PNP 48.6%; seats by party - PNP 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Appellate Court; Court of First Instance composed of
two sections: a Superior Court and a Municipal Court (justices for
all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the
Senate)

Political parties and leaders:
National Democratic Party [Roberto PRATS]; National Republican
Party of Puerto Rico [Dr. Tiody FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP
(pro-US statehood) [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD
(pro-commonwealth) [Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA]; Puerto Rican Independence
Party or PIP (pro-independence) [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Boricua Popular Army or EPB (a revolutionary group also known as
Los Macheteros); note - the following radical groups are considered
dormant by Federal law enforcement: Armed Forces for National
Liberation or FALN, Armed Forces of Popular Resistance, Volunteers
of the Puerto Rican Revolution

International organization participation:
Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status)

Flag description:
five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating
with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears
a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design initially
influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag, with the
colors of the bands and triangle reversed

Economy Puerto Rico

Economy - overview:
Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean
region. A diverse industrial sect