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In the long-running debate about the political status of this U.S. territory, the defining conflict in island politics, independence long has finished a distant third to commonwealth and statehood. The failure of the main independence party to win enough votes in November to stay on the ballot for 2008 seemed only the latest in a series of setbacks for the movement. But as Washington signals that the days of commonwealth may be nearing an end, while questions persist about whether Congress ever will accept this Spanish-speaking Caribbean island as the 51st state of the union, some independentistas see events turning in their favor. Which is why a month after finishing his customary distant third in Puerto Rico's gubernatorial election, this time with less than 3 percent of the vote, independence leader Rubén Berríos looked out to his supporters and declared victory. In the weeks after the November election, volunteers of his Puerto Rican Independence Party had gathered the signatures of more than 100,000 island voters -- enough to get the PIP back on the ballot for 2008. Now Berríos was thanking the faithful for pulling off the "political feat" that would enable the most prominent independentista organization in this U.S. territory to retain its major-party status. [more]