U.S. president Lyndon Johnson signed a bill creating a 13-member committee to study the political future of Puerto Rico. The island continued to experience both rapid population and economic growth.
In the largest political rally in Puerto Rican history, thousands protested the upcoming statehood referendum. It represented an upsurge of the reinvigorated nationalist Left. Composed mostly of students, the Pro-Independence Movement (the precursor to the Puerto Rican Socialist Party) had ties with leftist movements in the U.S., where approximately 40 percent of Puerto Ricans resided. The large U.S.-based population retained strong cultural ties to the island.
In a popular referendum on the future status of the island, over 60 percent voted for continuance as a commonwealth associated with the U.S. The vote for independence was negligible.
