Making the case for political sovereignty, Free Puerto Rico! lays out the historical, legal, and political reality of Puerto Rico’s status and the harms it has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on more than 3 million people of color who lack basic political rights. Leading advocate for Puerto Rican independence Alberto Medina dismantles the prevailing myth that Puerto Rico’s political status is solely “up to Puerto Ricans” and calls on U.S. audiences to recognize and confront the colonial relationship that has persisted for over 125 years.

At a time when decolonization has become a cultural and political buzzword, Medina offers clarity, context, and a radical reimagining of what justice might look like for Puerto Rico. Support for Puerto Rican independence, long seen as a niche political stance, is now increasingly mainstream on the archipelago and abroad. Popular artists and public figures, most notably global superstar Bad Bunny, have helped push the issue into the spotlight—releasing anti-colonial music and declaring “¡Viva Puerto Rico libre!” on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

Yet, to date, there is no book that explicitly advocates for Puerto Rican independence, disrupting conventional narratives about American democracy. It explores the lived reality of U.S. imperialism within its own system, reframing independence as not just a Puerto Rican concern, but a measure of U.S. democratic legitimacy.