In 1950, Fernós used his function as Resident Commissioner to influence a process held between March 30 and July 3, that ended with the approval of Public Law 600, which allowed Puerto Rico to draft its own Constitution and adopt a new political system.

[5] Despite receiving support from the United States Department of the Interior, at the moment directly in charge of territorial affairs, and the Congressional commissions that studied it, Luis Muñoz Marín ordered its retirement.

During the late 1980s, PR Sen. Marco Rigau presented a free association project that received the rejection of conservative governor Rafael Hernández Colón, establishing the sides that would permeate the internal debate of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during the following decades.

The 2000s brought forth a re-emergence of the free association movement with the prominence of new leaders such as mayors William Miranda Marín, José Aponte de la Torre and Rafael Cordero Santiago.

In March 1887, Román Baldorioty de Castro presented a proposal based on the British North America Act of 1867, the accord that ended the United Kingdom's colonial rule over Canada and allowed it to become a sovereign Dominion, during the inaugural convention of the Autonomist Party.

[10] Its creator was a lawyer named Miguel Guerra Mondragón, who based his proposal in the recognition of the sovereignty of separate constituent countries seen during the creation of the current model of the United Kingdom.

[22] After this failed, the party was involved in a status referendum promoted by the PNP, administration of Pedro Rosselló where Ponce mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago mediated a timid support for sovereignty in the definition of "Commonwealth" present in the ballot.

[26] The following year, the party resumed their argument for a "non territorial and non colonial" development of the Commonwealth that allowed Puerto Rico to freely commerce with other countries and join international organization while retaining the United States Citizenship.

[28] Acevedo Vilá became the PPD's governor candidate for the 2004 general elections, where he defeated Roselló but was only able to secure a shared governance when conservative Roberto Pratts lost the party's bid for resident commissioner.

[29][30] In 2005, George W. Bush's administration released a task force report in December 2005, which was met with opposition by both factions of the PPD since it concluded that Congress held all sovereignty over Puerto Rico but also described free association as akin to independence.

[36][37][38] A group of functionaries mentored by the former governor began a public campaign against the pro-sovereignty postures of the previous administration, being led by senator Alejandro García Padilla, Roberto Pratts and a now-conservative Jorge Colberg.

This move ignited these differences and Ferrer reacted by reaching an agreement with Miranda Marín to keep the discussion contained in an internal committee, but this failed when its appointed chairman, Colberg, resigned and joined Hernández Mayoral and García Padilla in a public critic of the soberanistas, with the party's president eventually siding with the conservatives.

[50] Ferrer continued denying any support for free association, instead adopting a proposal to pursue a "fourth option" beyond the three stated in international laws (citing a sentence of General Assembly Resolution 2625 that allows for "other arrangements" between nations) in an attempt to reach a consensus.

[59] Ferrer responded by proposing a "New Social Pact" that would work to unify both factions in theory, but several members of the party were cautious and the conflict resumed with another piece published by Hernández Mayoral that received support by Sila Mari González and García Padilla.

[66] The document criticized the support given by the conservative wing of the PPD to an enhanced territorial commonwealth, stating that "this hybrid proposal continues to be promoted in Puerto Rico as a feasible status option.

[67] After passing on a divided vote, the document was globally panned by soberanistas, who argued that if the liberal wing is excluded that would mean a guaranteed loss for the PPD and questioned its viability without the approval of the General Council.

[93][94] Meanwhile, the Obama administration organized a Task Force to deal with the status issue, and Ferrer named Hernández Mayoral as the official representative of the PPD, while free association was defended by PROELA.

[99][100] On June 4, 2010, Miranda Marín died from complication of cancer, with conservative José Varela presenting an aborted candidature before the Municipal Committee, being revoked and later defeated by the former mayor's son in an ideological campaign.

[101][102][103][104][105][106][107] After Ferrer announced the eventual organization of an "Internal Constituent Assembly" to refine the party's status ideology, the soberanistas criticized that the Pacto de futuro was being pushed to become the official posture, since according to them "it [was not] even a pact per se", but a "manual that failed to establish specific details".

[128][129][130] In the midst of this ideological confrontation, members of the free association movement topped the vote to select the party's PR House of Representative at-large candidates at the 2012 PPD's primary.

[136] Within the PPD, Acevedo Vilá emerged as the leader of the faction that supported the Sovereign Associated Free State, while two additional groups, Populares Pro ELA soberano (lit.

Despite the development, the soberanistas felt that a Constituent Assembly should take place first, serving as the negotiation table between Puerto Rico, the US Department of Justice and Congress, with the viable options that emerged from this collaboration being voted for in a referendum.

The Committee was unable to do and García Padilla did not intervene, leading to its eventual dissolution when Hernández Agosto was excused due to illness and Acevedo Vilá left when it was nearing a year of existence.

Former Secretary of State David Bernier became the next president of the PPD and in his first message as candidate for Governor expressed that despite working towards a consensus, he personally believes in a "non colonial, non territorial" formula and favors a Constituent Assembly, also listing the status issue second among his priorities.

[178] In 2002, Julio Muriente of the Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano (MINH) a moderate pro-independence group, argued that if the free association movement gained prominence within the PPD, it was only a matter of time until the inmovilism surrounding the status debate was vanquished.

[181] Non partisan demonstrations include that of Miguel Rodríguez, who on February 2, 2014, began an impromptu manifestation in front of La Fortaleza in support of free association, returning to the original vision of the PPD and of Miranda Marín's pro-sovereignty project.

[182] The premise of the Pacto de Asociación establishes that it is meant to bring forth a non-colonial and non-territorial status in accordance to International Law and based on the sovereignty of the people of Puerto Rico.

[183] Internationally, Puerto Rico would revoke the application of the Cabotage Laws and would reserve the rights to control its land and sea (up to 200 miles offshore) for jurisdictional, environmental and communication purposes.

[183] To secure the newly obtained fiscal autonomy, the United States would agree to contribute to six key economic aspects for a period of 30 years; education, health, private sector development, non-profit groups, the environment, and public infrastructure.

[194] At approximately the same time as the referendum, Puerto Rico's legislators are also expected to vote on a bill that would allow the Governor to draft a state constitution and hold elections to choose senators and representatives to the federal Congress.