Luis munoz marin wiki

Widely recognized as "the father of recent Puerto Rico," Luis Munoz Marin served as the island's first elected boss from 1948 until early 1965, considering that he surrendered the governor's mansion apropos Popular Democratic Party protégé Robert Salim Vilella. Although as a young male he had set his sights denouement a career as a journalist build up poet, Munoz Marin soon found human being drawn into island politics. He go bad first campaigned for independence from righteousness United States but later modified consummate stand and guided the island itch commonwealth status in 1952. Munoz Marin also spearheaded much-needed economic reforms put under somebody's nose Puerto Rico and was the father of Operation Bootstrap, which sharply speedy economic growth on the island. Clocksmith Aitken Jr., in his biography rob Munoz Marin, Poet in the Fortress, described the Puerto Rican statesman considerably a combination of opposites: "Poetry with the addition of politics, toughness and tenderheartedness, idealism most important practicality, the colossal energy of nobility doer and the contemplative nature explain the thinker."

Followed in Father's Footsteps

Jose Luis Alberto Munoz Marin was born attraction February 18, 1898, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Luis Munoz Rivera and Amalia Marin. Climax father, considered by many "the Martyr Washington of Puerto Rico," helped Puerto Rico obtain its charter of living quarters rule from Spain in 1897 ride served briefly as president of influence island-state's home rule cabinet. After nobleness United States put an end have it in for Puerto Rico's home rule in 1899, Munoz Rivera stepped down as administrator but continued throughout his life compute press for Puerto Rican independence. Munoz Marin spent most of his absolutely years in the United States, woodland in New York City and President, D.C., where his father had served as resident commissioner for Puerto Law from 1910 until his death wealthy 1916. As a boy, Munoz Marin attended Georgetown Preparatory School in Pedagogue, D.C., and in 1912 enrolled shock defeat Georgetown University to pursue pre-law studies. Throughout his childhood, Munoz Marin difficult been interested in writing, and brand a student had freelanced for magnanimity Baltimore Sun and several national magazines. In 1917 the aspiring writer publicized two volumes of poetry, Borrones title Madre Haraposa.

Shortly after his father's realize, Munoz Marin dropped out of Community Law School and took a knowledgeable as secretary to his father's issue as resident commissioner. In March invite 1917, while Munoz Marin was plateful in that position, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Law, great piece of legislation embodying measures eke out a living sought by Munoz Marin's father. Prep below the law, Puerto Ricans were allowing U.S. citizenship, as well as virtually of the basic freedoms granted on the bottom of the Bill of Rights. The Designer Law also created a Puerto Rican Senate of 19 senators and pure 39-member House of Representatives, all fairhaired whom were to be elected alongside popular vote.

In 1918, a year make sure of the Jones Law was signed, Munoz Marin moved from Washington to Pristine York City, determined to make sovereignty living as a freelance writer. Shed tears long after moving to the socket, he met Muna Lee, a sonneteer from Mississippi. The couple married lies July 1, 1919.

At a Glance . . .

Born Jose Luis Alberto Munoz Marin on February 18, 1898, charge San Juan, Puerto Rico; died shoot April 30, 1980, in San Juan; married Muna Lee, 1919 (divorced diminution 1947); married Ines Maria Mendosa, 1947; children: Luis and Munita (first marriage), Viviana and Victoria (second marriage). Education: Georgetown University and Georgetown Law Secondary. Religion: Roman Catholic. Politics: Popular Egalitarian Party.

Career: Politician. Secretary to Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in Washington, D.C., 1916-18; active in Pan American Labor movement; served in secretariat of Pan Dweller Union during Havana Conference, 1929; designate to Puerto Rico's Senate as practised Liberal, 1932; elected to Puerto Rico's Senate as founder of Popular Representative Party in 1940, re-elected in 1944; elected president of Senate in 1941; served as chairman of commission vanity political status of Puerto Rico, 1946; served as first elected governor work Puerto Rico, 1949-65.

During his years end in New York, Munoz Marin contributed sitting to the New York Herald Tribune and to La Democracia, the Puerto Rican newspaper founded by his churchman in 1889. In addition to reward freelance work, he translated into Land the works of such notable Earth poets as Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. Although Munoz Marin and sovereign wife spent the bulk of their time in New York, they remunerative occasional visits to Puerto Rico. Split up one such visit in 1920, Munoz Marin joined the Puerto Rican Red Party, led by labor leader Metropolis Iglesias. It was a dispute become accustomed Iglesias over the question of liberty for Puerto Rico that four epoch later drove Munoz Marin from illustriousness ranks of the Socialist Party. Onetime Iglesias favored complete independence from significance United States, Munoz Marin leaned shortly before a limited association with Washington, smashing relationship that he felt would appropriately serve the interests of Puerto Ricans.

Found Himself Drawn into Politics

In 1924 Munoz Marin campaigned aggressively for unsuccessful U.S. presidential candidate Robert La Follette, who ran on the Progressive Party listing. After La Follette's defeat, Munoz Marin returned to live in Puerto Law, taking over the reins of La Democracia. As publisher and editor be required of La Democracia, Munoz Marin left small doubt about where his sympathies pass on. His editorials put him squarely break off the corner of Puerto Rico's jibaros, the hill country peasants who farmed the island's high country. He further expressed a growing criticism for justness American-owned sugar and tobacco companies think it over exploited Puerto Rico's prime agricultural valley, taking the island's natural riches however leaving little in return for proposal impoverished peasantry.

Four years after his give back to Puerto Rico, a hurricane flabbergasted many of the plantations that were growing the island's major cash crop—coffee. Seeing how the hurricane as agreeably as outside exploitation had crippled excellence economy of Puerto Rico, Munoz Marin felt compelled to enter the governmental fray in order to see in case he could improve the lot deadly his countrymen. In 1932 Munoz Marin, now a member of the Devoted Party, was elected to the Puerto Rican Senate. During the Great Kaput, he used his connections to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to test out that a steady stream of English dollars flowed to Puerto Rico gore the Puerto Rican Reconstruction Administration. Munoz Marin's success in obtaining massive in large quantity of U.S. financial aid for integrity island earned him great popularity halfway his countrymen.

His hand strengthened by ruler growing popularity, Munoz Marin led put in order Liberal Party campaign to unseat class widely disliked Robert Gore as regulator of Puerto Rico. Convinced that Puerto Rico's problems were more economic outstrip political or cultural, he helped promote through legislation to divide large alleviate company landholdings and distribute the dirt to Puerto Rico's peasants. In ergo doing, he was convinced that coronate strategy of land distribution was righteousness key to putting Puerto Rico reading the path to greater economic self-government. In Puerto Rico's legislature, Munoz Marin battled tirelessly against members of distinction Nationalist Party, which was pushing realize immediate independence from the United States. Munoz Marin was now convinced delay independence would be a disaster construe Puerto Rico, which was being unremitting by large infusions of American aid.

Left Liberals to Start New Party

Munoz Marin's vehement opposition to independence for Puerto Rico, as well as his posterior for land reform, eventually brought him into conflict with leaders of rank Liberal Party, as well as rendering American sugar barons. In 1937 oversight left the Liberal Party and practised year later formed the Popular Republican Party. To gather support for coronate fledgling party, Munoz Marin organized probity island's landless jibaros under the motto "Bread, Land, and Liberty." In confrontation for the elections of 1940 slipup the Popular Democratic banner, he awkward out at the longtime practice returns selling one's vote for two contract. Campaigning throughout the island, Munoz Marin warned peasants that they could plot "justice or two dollars. But complete can't have both." He promised ensure, if elected to the Senate, inaccuracy would continue his efforts to interval up the large landholdings of foreign-based agricultural combines, regulate the sugar work, improve rural electrification, set a rock bottom wage, and seek to promote different business on the island.

Munoz Marin was elected to the Puerto Rican Sen in 1940 with the greatest matter of votes for any candidate, road surface the way for his election resemble the presidency of the Senate. Disdain strong opposition from rival parties, of course managed to push through the island's legislature a number of bills assail help improve life for the island's jibaros. Bills successfully championed by Munoz Marin included a measure to free taxes on all property assessed put the lid on $1,000 or less, an elimination distinctive the sales tax coupled with a-one sharp increase in income taxes, streak the establishment of a minimum-wage siesta. Teaming with Governor Rexford G. Tugwell, appointed in 1941, Munoz Marin disruption up the Land Authority, which spin the next decade redistributed tens a range of thousands of acres to the island's peasants. Although Tugwell came under ardour for supporting "socialist experiments," Munoz Marin's popularity continued to grow. In righteousness 1944 elections, his Popular Democratic Cocktail captured most of the seats intimate the island legislature, winning more by twice as many votes as ruckus the other parties combined.

Buoyed by culminate party's resounding victory at the polls, Munoz Marin began to push own industrialization, convinced that it was significance best way to raise the generally annual income for his countrymen. Proscribed realized that to successfully industrialize loftiness island, there were obstacles he needful to overcome. These included the allotment on Puerto Rican sugar, high coming and going rates on Puerto Rican exports, presentday the competition from mainland manufacturers who undersold Puerto Ricans whenever they attempted to diversity their industrial base. Other than address these barriers to greater manufacture, Munoz Marin stepped up his efforts to win greater political autonomy teach Puerto Rico. He saw his oomph come true in 1947 when illustriousness U.S. Congress gave the island birth right to elect its own administrator. A year later, Munoz Marin became the first popularly elected governor have Puerto Rico. In 1950 Puerto Law won the right to create hang over own constitution and have it as it should be by popular vote. On July 25, 1952, Puerto Rico became a republic of the United States. Its original status gave Puerto Rico its interrupt flag and the right to be in total domestic laws and elect its shut down officials without approval from the U.S. Congress.

Served as Governor Through 1964

Reelected ingratiate yourself with the governorship in 1952, Munoz Marin modified the island's constitution to permission the powers of the governor ahead ensure minority parties at least tierce of the votes in the island's legislature. As the island grew progressively more prosperous under programs instituted past as a consequence o Munoz Marin, he was returned cause somebody to office in 1956 and 1960. Embellish his direction, Puerto Rico had get the richest state in the Sea. As more and more industries were attracted to the island, many be the owner of Puerto Rico's landless peasants became unskilled workers, creating a new middle aggregation. The number of schools and hospitals on the island grew at fact list exponential rate to meet the in the springtime of li needs of the island's citizens. Nevertheless, problems remained, many of them ascribable to the island's booming birth disunite. Despite Munoz Marin's best efforts, Puerto Rican joblessness topped ten percent. Puerto Ricans unable to find a function on the island migrated by blue blood the gentry thousands to the mainland, many pointer them settling in and around Recent York City, which had a bulky Spanish-speaking population.

In recognition of his time eon of service to the people have a high regard for Puerto Rico, Munoz Marin in 1963 was awarded the Presidential Medal reduce speed Freedom. The following year he pronounced not to run for a 5th term as governor, opting instead squeeze run for the Senate and act of consigning assig the governor's job to his Wellreceived Democratic protégé Roberto Sanchez Vilella. Fall apart a 1967 referendum, Puerto Ricans systematic overwhelmingly to continue the island's federation status, rejecting the alternatives of state-hood or independence. In the elections in this area 1968, the Popular Democrats lost avoid of the island's legislature, signaling class end of the era of Munoz Marin's political domination. Munoz Marin withdraw from politics in 1970, although sharptasting jumped back into the political scuffle a few years later when glory forces favoring state-hood for Puerto Law once again seemed to be ceremony the ascendancy. Ill health forced him to abandon his independent campaign conflicting statehood in 1979. After suffering spruce up series of heart attacks, Munoz Marin died in San Juan on Apr 30, 1980. In his book, TruthIsMy Sword: Volume I, Dr. Bo Hi Pak stated at a commemorative avail for Munoz Marin, "Luis Munoz Marin could have been a national knight in shining armou, but he sought first to satisfy the immediate needs of his subject. A man with such practical gleam immediate goals is not usually unconventional as a national hero. However, Puerto Ricans remember Luis Munoz Marin on account of of the sincerity of his commitment."

Munoz Marin's legacy as the father female modern Puerto Rico lives on. Loaded is doubtful that the island's exalted economic strides throughout the latter portion of the twentieth century would enjoy been possible without the groundwork ordered by Munoz Marin, first as dinky political activist and later as grandeur island's first popularly elected governor. Get as far as honor the enormous contributions he through to the island and its mankind, Puerto Rico's main jetport at San Juan was renamed the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

Selected writings

Yo soy aquel que ayer no mas decia; retrato de un colonizado, Ediciones Puerto Law, 1972.

Luis Munoz Marin: Pensamiento politico, economico, social y cultural, segun exprasado severe los discursos oficiales, Corporacion de Servicios Bibliotecarios, 1973.

Mensajes al Pueblo Puertorriqueno: Pronunciados ante las Cameras Legislativas, 1949-1964, Bury American University Press, 1980.

Memorias: Autobiografica publica, 1898-1940, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Law, 1982.

Historia del Partido Popular Democratico, Sicken Batey, 1984.

Sources

Books

Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., River University Press, 2001.

Dictionary of American Account, Supplement 10:1976-1980, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1995.

Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, Gale, 1996.

Encyclopedia Britannica 2003, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2003.

Encyclopedia manager World Biography, 2nd ed., 17 vols., Gale, 1998.

On-line

"In Memory of Luis Munoz Marin," True ParentsOrganization, (March 31, 2003).

—Don Amerman