On Thursday, Puerto Rico Sen. Antonio Fas Alzamora released a proposal to make Spanish the official language of the U.S. commonwealth, making English a secondary language.

Puerto Rico is a former colony of Spain, and more residents of the land speak Spanish than English, EFE reports. As of now, both Spanish and English are "officially co-equal" in all public forums thanks to Law 1-993, according to the news agency. Former Gov. Pedro Rossello, as a member of the PNP party in favor of Puerto Rico statehood, supported the law at the time

Fas Alzamora is a member of the governing party of Puerto Rico, PPD. He revealed his proposal in a meeting with the Senate, saying that the current set-up forgets the "undeniable reality" that many people living in Puerto Rico do not comprehend English.

"By establishing Spanish as the first official language, we will strengthen our cultural identity and validate the reality that more than 80 percent of Puerto Ricans do not understand or speak English," he said.

Under the senator's proposal, a law would be passed negating Law 1-1993. Spanish would then be the island's official language and be mandatory in executive, judicial and legislative "areas," EFE reports.

Fas Alzamora's PPD party wants Puerto Rico to continue being a U.S. commonwealth. The senator said that he does not seek to remove English classes from schools.

Many of those who are pro-statehood in Puerto Rico are in favor of English being the dominant language in the commonwealth. Meanwhile, those who seek more independence for Puerto Rico like to use Spanish instead.

"Since the U.S. invasion of our country [in 1898], different initiatives have been put into place aimed at the assimilation of the Puerto Rican people," Fas Alzamora said.

The senator added that Puerto Rico's "reality ... in cultural, historic, geographic and judicial terms, is very different from that of our U.S. fellow citizens."

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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