On July 25, 1952, Puerto Rico was made a “free associated state,” or commonwealth, of the United States. Under that constitution, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens (as they have been since 1917), they can serve in the U.S. military, but they can’t vote for president and have no voting representatives in Congress. They pay no federal income taxes, but do pay into Social Security. They mostly govern themselves, but Congress remains in charge of such matters as defense, immigration and trade.

These confusing quasi-independent, quasi-colonial factors produce confusing results. Puerto Rico is one of the most affluent islands in the Caribbean, yet its per-capita income is less than half of Mississippi, the poorest state. The tax breaks that once made the island a haven for U.S. corporations were repealed by Congress in 1996, yet the laws that prevent Puerto Rico from establishing its own economic policies remained in place and corporations responded by moving plants and jobs elsewhere. In a 1999 referendum, Puerto Ricans were presented with the options of remaining a commonwealth, pursuing U.S. statehood or declaring independence. The majority chose “none of the above.”

As the demonstrations and rallies – peaceful while fervent – held during the first week of this year-long golden anniversary observation indicated, Puerto Rico’s 50th is not so much a cause for celebration as it is for re-evaluation. The special tax status that made the island thrive and made its subordinate political status palatable is gone and so is the public’s taste for commonwealth. Even the ruling Popular Democratic Party, commonwealth’s most staunch supporter, now says substantial change is needed and needed soon – the government has formed a commission of statehooders, independentistas and those who prefer expanding sovereignty under the commonwealth system to chart this course.

Congress can help promote this inclination toward peaceful change. First, there are some specific issues that get little attention in Washington but that are huge in San Juan. For example, the requirement that Puerto Rican manufacturers can only use cargo ships of American registry might have been defensible during the days of tax breaks. With the breaks gone, the high-cost expense of transportation makes Puerto Rican products unmarketable elsewhere.

Congress also must adjust its attitude toward the larger overall relationship. After a civilian was killed by an errant bomb at the Vieques military testing range in 1999, some in Congress tried to silence the island-wide protests by threatening to withhold the $6 billion in federal funds sent there every year, a tactic Congress would never employ against American citizens anywhere else. Puerto Ricans would not be silenced, however

– they made the case that 60 years as a bomb target was sacrifice enough and as a result of their persistence, the bombings will end next spring.

That episode had a powerful impact on the island – Puerto Ricans realized what they can accomplish when united. Now they are united again, this time the issue is their fundamental relationship with the United States. The United States, especially Congress, should take heed.