Luis Muñoz Marín - Architect of Puerto Rico Commonwealth Status

Munoz Marin was born on February 18th 1898, several months before the US troops invaded Puerto Rico as a result of the Spanish American War. His father was poet, publisher, and politician Luis Munoz Rivera who was a famous and prominent figure in the autonomous government in Puerto Rico ceded by Spain shortly before the war and his mother was Amalia Marin Castilla.
On March 13, 1932, Muniz Marin was nominated by the Liberal Party for the post of senator..Although the party failed to win a majority in the 1932 elections, Munoz Marin managed to get elected to the Puerto Rican senate.

It's important to note that these years were the time of the Great Depression that was ravaging the economies of the world especially the US mainland. Puerto Rico did not only suffer the effects of the Great Depression but it was also dealing with the effects of Hurricane San Felipe Segundo which had destroyed most of the sugar crops where the jibaros worked leaving most of them unemployed.

During this period, Munoz Marin managed to get a meeting with the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt. He pursuaded her to visit the island to come and see Puerto Rico's problems personally. Following her visit and report, President Franklin D. Roosevelt included Puerto Rico in his New Deal Program which provided for considerable investment of federal funds to develop infrastructure and housing. Munoz Marins involvement in the program made him a popular political figure.

By the mid to late 1930s, Muniz Marin had abandoned support for Puerto Rico independence. He was eventually expelled from the Liberal Party because of this.

In 1938, Luis Munoz Marin and many liberal democratic administrators from the New Deal relief organization created the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD). the party committed itself to helping the jibaro or the average Puerto Rican regardless of their political beliefs by providing better job pay, initiatives to provide food and water, cooperatives to work with agriculture and the creation of more industries..Munoz Marin focused on the rural areas of Puerto Rico...The party was attracting solid participation which surprised the other parties.

By 1940, the PPD gained control of the Senate in Puerto Rico and Munoz Marin was elected president of the Senate. During his term as president of the senate, he advocated on behalf of the working class in Puerto Rico.

Along with US appointed governor Rexford Tugwell and the coalition of different parties in the house of representatives, he advanced a program known as Operation Bootstrap for agricultural reform, economic recovery, agrarian reform, and industrialization. He and the party also helped launch programs for education, appreciation of the arts, public housing, and public health clinics throughout the island.

In 1947, the US congress approved a law allowing Puerto Ricans to elect their own governor. Luis Munoz Marin campaigned for the post and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico. He took office on January 2, 1949 and would be reelected again in 1952, 1956, and 1960 for a total of 16 years.

During his years as governor, Munoz Marin and his officials pushed for "a free associated state status" for Puerto Rico to gain more autonomy for the island. They also created the process of drafting a Constitution for Puerto Rico.

#coquireport #puertorico #boricua

Check out our latest videos and don't forget to subscribe:
Puerto Rico's Three Bioluminescent Bays
#   • Puerto Rico's Three Bioluminescent Bays  
Puerto Rico History - Don Pedro Albizu Campos' Trials
#   • Puerto Rico History - Don Pedro Albiz...  
The Myth that Puerto Rico is a Burden on the US
#   • The Myth that Puerto Rico is a Burden...