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The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico ( that campaigns for Puerto Rican Statehood . It currently controls the Puerto Rican House of Representatives and Senate, but the governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá , is of the opposition Popular Democratic Party Of Puerto Rico . Those who follow the PNP ideology are called ''penepés'' or '''''estadistas''''' ("statehooders"). Individuals from the PNP may have alliances with either the national Republican Party or the Democratic Party , unlike the Popular Democratic Party , which has strong identification with the Democratic Party. However, most of the leadership over the years has identified with the Republican Party. HISTORY Foundation The party traces its beginnings to a 1967 reunion in a sports complex in Carolina . On January 5, 1968, the party was certified as an official political group by the State Elections Commission Of Puerto Rico . The party had roots in a prior pro-statehood party led by Manuel Garcia Mendez. Part of the impetus congealed after the unsuccesful campaign in the Puerto Rico status referendum of 1967. Party founder and former Statehood Republican Party standard-bearer Luis A. Ferre defined the New Progressive Party that would not be aligned to any of the two national parties, and a party that opposed the ''caudillista'' traditions of a Popular Democratic Party that shunned primaries and chose its candidates following the dictates of party leader and former Gov. Luis Munoz Marin. 1960s Under Luis A. Ferré as leader, the PNP came to power in November 1968 by defeating Luis Negron Lopez , the chosen candidate of the PPD . Smaller vote totals were obtained by the Partido del Sol led by Roberto Sanchez Villella and the candidate from the PIP . The governing party was saddled by the break-away candidacy of then-governor Vilella, who had feuded with the PPD leader, Luis Munoz Marin . 1970s Four years later, in 1972 , Ferré lost to the reunified PPD's candidate Rafael Hernández Colón , but in 1976 , under the leadership of Carlos Romero Barcelo , the PNP returned to power. Romero Barcelo would face Hernandez Colon two times for the seat of Puerto Rican Governor . 1980s Romero Barcelo won in ). Riveting televised legislative hearings investigated the event, and revealed that police had executed the men after arresting them. In addition, it is possible that Malave, the undercover agent, planned the affair. Romero Barcelo, who had meddled with investigations by his appointed secretaries of justice, was felt by many to have been complicit to a cover-up of the events. This, combined with the fact that the then- Mayor of San Juan , Hernán Padilla , left the party to form his own party, Partido Renovación Puertorriqueña (or PRP), allowed Hernández Colón to obtain re-election in 1984 . In 1988 , the PNP candidate, Baltazar Corrada Del Río , the former resident commissioner, ran for governor but he lost to Hernández Colón. 1990s The PNP came back to power in 1992 , when Pedro Rosselló , a pediatrician, became the party's leader and defeated Luis Muñoz Marín 's daughter Victoria Melo Muñoz to become governor. 2000s Rosselló stepped down as governor after 8 yr in power in 2000 . His period as governor was marked by the Vieques Protests and major economic growth. In 2000, Carlos I. Pesquera ran for governor. His main PPD opponent, Sila María Calderón , and him were tightly matched on pre-election polling. In the final weeks, a turning point in campaign were relevations of a Calderón maid, originally from the Dominican Republic , who publicly accused Calderón of being an abusive boss. When later it was discovered the maid had been paid off by a PNP spokesman, Edwin Mundo (who resigned shortly thereafter), Calderon ultimately won the election. Rosselló subsequently defeated Pesquera in the PNP primary for the gubernatorial nomination. The fall campaign was lively and controversial. Rosselló's prior administration was repeatedly painted as corrupt, while Anibal Acevedo Vila (PPD) was initially lackluster. In his performance in televised debates, Anibal's campaign gained momentum. In pre-election polls, Rosselló led by double digits, but ultimately Rosselló lost by some 3,000 votes (12,000 votes went as write-in for Carlos Pesquera). After a lenghty court battle decided by the United States Court Of Appeals For The First Circuit (located in Boston , MA ), Anibal was certified as governor. Rosselló then became the senator for Arecibo when the elected senator for said district "gave up" his seat for the ex-governor. As of 2005 numerous of the PNP are voicing their wish for Senate President Kenneth McClintock to step down to transfer the position to Rosselló. Others in the party believe that their constituency could be weakened by putting their entire future on the hands of a single person who lost the last election, now holding an appointed legislative post. Some 5,000 voters cast their ballots in favor of Rosselló's running mate, Luis Fortuño, but abstained from voting for governor, in protest of Rosselló's refusal to discuss the rampant corruption of his tenure as governor. There is speculation that the intra-party feud will enhance the prospect of a PPD gubernatorial candidate. PARTY LOGO The party is called the ''blue party'' (''partido azul'') in Puerto Rico because its logo consists of a blue oval with a white Palm Tree inside it, and the words ''"estadidad, seguridad, progreso"'' (''"statehood, security, progress"'' in English) surrounding the oval and written in blue. IMPORTANT PARTY LEADERS
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