1951 (jan 1, 1947 – jan 1, 1951)

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Big political, economic and social changes swept Puerto Rico after World War II. In 1948, Congress passed an act permitting Puerto Ricans to elect their own governor. Four years later, Puerto Rico would officially become a U.S. commonwealth, which enabled the island to create its own constitution and granted other powers of self-government.

By that time, the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments had jointly launched an ambitious industrialization effort called Operation Bootstrap. Even as Puerto Rico attracted an influx of big American companies, and became a center for manufacturing and tourism, the decline of its agricultural industries led many islanders to seek employment opportunities in the United States.

Between 1950 and 1970, more than 500,000 people (some 25 percent of the island’s total population) left Puerto Rico, an exodus known as La Gran Migración (the Great Migration). Today, more than 5 million people of Puerto Rican descent live in the United States, with huge communities centered in Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami and especially New York City.

https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/puerto-rico-history

Operation Bootstrap
Between 1947 and 1951 government development of industry gave way to promotion of private investment. The new approach was called “Operation Bootstrap.” A forerunner of the economic development strategies implemented throughout the world later, the idea was to industrialize the island by luring foreign, mainly American, companies to Puerto Rico with the promise of low wages and tax incentives. The tourism industry was also developed at this time. Puerto Rico began its industrialization thrust and its clear incorporation into an emerging global economy.
During this period Puerto Rico improved in many areas (e.g., education, housing, drinking water, electrification, sewage systems, roads and transportation facilities). Residents of Puerto Rico felt a clear and present sense of development and progress and, for some, a more equitable income distribution. The industry that was attracted, however, did not provide sufficient jobs. With increased population growth and displacement from traditional labor pursuits, the growing population could not be accommodated. Much
of the surplus labor migrated to the United States.

https://americansall.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdf/ethnic-and-cultural/9.9_Puerto_Ricans_Immigrants_and_Migrants.pdf

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