Jayuya uprising
The Jayuya Uprising was a revolt against the US government in Puerto Rico that occurred in Jayuya on October 30, 1950 .
prehistory
On September 17, 1922, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico was founded. Jose Coll y Cuchi , a former member of the Union Party, was its first president. He called for radical changes in the economy and social charity programs for Puerto Rico. In 1924, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos , a lawyer who served as a second lieutenant in the US Army during World War I , vice president of the party. He believed that Puerto Rico should become independent - if necessary through armed confrontation. In 1930 Coll y Cuchi left the party after a dispute with Albizu Campos over leadership. On May 11, 1930, the latter was elected President of the Nationalists.
In the 1930s, Blanton Winship, the US-appointed governor of Puerto Rico, and Police Colonel Riggs instigated severe repressive measures against the Nationalist Party. In 1936 Albizu Campos and the party leaders were arrested and first detained in Princesa Jail in San Juan and later in the Federal Prison in Atlanta . On March 21, 1937, the nationalists held a parade in Ponce , during which the police opened fire on the crowd. This event went down in history as the Ponce massacre .
Albizu Campos returned to Puerto Rico on December 15, 1947 after ten years of imprisonment. On June 11, 1948, Governor Jesus T. Piñero signed a law banning public advocacy of independence. It was similar to the anti-communist Smith Law that was passed in the United States. On June 21, 1948, Albizu Campos gave a speech in Manatí , where all the island's nationalists were gathered in case the police tried to arrest them. Later that month, Albizu visited Campos Blanca Canales and her cousins Elio and Griselio Torresola, the nationalist leaders of Jayuya. Griselio soon moved to New York , where he befriended Oscar Collazo.
planning phase
From 1949 to 1950, the nationalists on the island were busy planning and preparing for an armed revolution. The revolution was supposed to take place in 1952, the day the US Congress gave Puerto Rico the political status of Estado Libre Associado (freely associated state). Albizu Campos viewed the new status as a colonial farce. He chose Jayuya because of its location as the headquarters for the revolution. An arsenal was built in the Canales residence.
The uprising and the consequences
On October 26, 1950, Albizu Campos was holding a meeting in Fajardo when news reached him that his home in San Juan had been surrounded by police in order to arrest him. He also learned that the police had already arrested other nationalists. He fled Fajardo and announced the beginning of the revolution. On October 30, the nationalists staged riots in Ponce, Mayagüez , Naranjito , Arecibo , Utuado , San Juan and Jayuya.
In Jayuya, Canales and the Torresolas led the armed nationalists into town and attacked the police station. One officer was killed and three others injured while fighting with the police before the rest of them laid down their guns and surrendered. The nationalists cut the telephone cables and set the post office on fire. Canales led the group to the town square, where they hoisted the light blue version of the Puerto Rican flag (from 1898 to 1952 it was forbidden to fly such a Puerto Rican flag). Canales gave a speech in the square declaring Puerto Rico a free republic. The nationalists held the city for three days.
The US declared martial law in Puerto Rico and sent the National Guard to attack Jayuya. The city was attacked by US bombers from the air and overland by artillery . Although the city was partially destroyed, news of this military action was prevented from spreading beyond the borders of Puerto Rico. It was called an incident between Puerto Ricans. The main leaders of the nationalist party, including Albizu Campos and Blanca Canales, were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. Griselio Torresola was in the US, where he and Oscar Collazo planned an assassination attempt on US President Harry S. Truman . On November 1, 1950, they attacked Blair House, killing Torresola and a police officer. Oscar Collazo was arrested and sentenced to death. Truman later commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Collazo was later pardoned. The city of Jayuya established a historical museum in Blanca Canales' house.
swell
- ↑ Remember the 1950 Uprising of October 30: Puerto Rico
- ↑ NY Latino Journal - Puerto Rico's October Revolution ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
