Luis Muñoz Marín

Luis Muñoz Marín

José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (born February 18, 1898 in San Juan , † April 30, 1980 ) was the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico and is considered one of the most important political figures on the American continent in the 20th century. Marin was one of the founders of the Partido Popular Democrático . He worked closely with the United States government to create a constitution for Puerto Rico that would form the basis for economic and political progress. Through his achievements in the 16-year tenure as governor, he earned the nickname "father of modern Puerto Rico". He also appeared as a poet and journalist.

Life

Muñoz Marín was born to Don Luis Muñoz Rivera and Doña Amalia Marín Castilla at 152 Calle de la Fortaleza in the Old San Juan district of the capital. His father founded the Puerto Rico Herald newspaper in New York and represented Puerto Rico as Resident Commissioner in the US Congress since 1910 . Luis himself often traveled to the United States at a young age.

In 1911 he went to Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, DC and in 1915 he began his law degree at Georgetown University . However, he had to return to Puerto Rico because of the illness of his father, who died on November 15, 1916.

On July 1, 1919, he married the American writer Muna Lee , who came from Raymond , Mississippi . It was considered a leading feminist of the southern states and as an emerging author of the Pan-American poetry. They had two children together: Muna (also: Munita) Muñoz Lee and Luis Muñoz Lee. Temporary separation through convictions and his infidelity led to a divorce on November 15, 1946. A day later, Muñoz Marín married his long-time lover Inés María Mendoza , with whom he had had an affair since 1935.

Political activity

In 1920 he joined the Puerto Rican Socialist Party of Santiago Iglesias Pantín. During this time, he spoke out in favor of Puerto Rico's independence from the United States and sympathized with the workers who, in his opinion, were neglected by politics.

In 1932 he switched to the Liberal Party founded by Antonio R. Barceló and published their newspaper La Democracia . As a journalist, he coined the saying: “The press can improve the government, but the government cannot improve the press.” On March 13, 1932, he was elected Senator together with Barceló. Muñoz Marín wrote to Governor Theodore Roosevelt, Jr .: "I am a radical nationalist: for reasons of morality and collective pride which are not up for discussion, and for economic reasons which I am ready to discuss at any time."

After a political dispute with Barceló, he had to leave the party, whereupon he founded the group Acción Social Independentista (ASI), which later became the Partido Liberal Neto, Auténtico y Completo to direct competition for Barceló's Liberal Party. In 1938, Muñoz Marín helped found the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He concentrated his political campaigns on the rural areas and criticized the common practice of influencing farm workers with money in their voting behavior. During the campaign he met his future wife Inés María Mendoza. In 1940, the PPD recorded a narrow but surprising victory in the Senate election attributed to his activities. Muñoz Marín was then elected fourth President of the Senate.

During his tenure as a senator, he campaigned for workers in Puerto Rico. Together with Rexford G. Tugwell , the last governor to be appointed by the United States, and a Republican-Socialist coalition in the House of Representatives , he promoted legislation on agricultural reform, economic recovery and industrialization. A company's land ownership has been restricted by law. In 1944 the PPD was able to repeat its election victory.

After advocating independence for a long time, Muñoz Marín changed his mind in the mid-1940s. One reason for the change in political philosophy could have been the force exerted by the US military on the island, which could not afford a breakaway modeled on the Philippines . A meeting with US Navy officials in 1946 may also have contributed. His rejection of independence angered some members of the PPD, who shortly afterwards founded the Puerto Rican Independence Party , while Muñoz Marín openly opposed the endeavors until his death.

The actions of the nationalist party, led by Pedro Albizu Campos , which reached a violent climax in the Jayuya uprising , led to a rift between Muñoz Marín and the nationalists. The measures he enforced with the US government, including censorship laws ( Ley de la Mordaza ), arrests for publicly carrying a Puerto Rican flag, and thousands of intelligence files , were later seen as violations of constitutional rights.

Term of office as governor

After the US Congress gave the Puerto Ricans the right to elect their own governor in 1947, Muñoz Marín was the first to take up this post on January 2, 1949. In 1952, 1956 and 1960 he was re-elected and served a total of 16 years. In the 1960 election, Catholic bishops condemned the election of a PPD candidate because of birth control policies and the prohibition of religious instruction in public schools as a sin. During his time as governor, a constitutional assembly was called to draft a constitution for Puerto Rico that was recognized by the US Congress in 1952.

In the 1950s, the industrialization project Operation Bootstrap, together with an agrarian reform, accelerated the development from an agrarian to an industrial society that brought some prosperity to the middle class. In the 1960s, however, rising unemployment slowed development programs, which were initially hailed as miracles.

Muñoz Marín also started the Operación Serenidad with projects to promote education and the arts.

After leaving the governor's office

In 1964, Muñoz Marín left the candidacy to his State Secretary Roberto Sánchez Vilella , who was then elected as the new governor. However, he remained a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico until 1970 . In 1968 there was a dispute with his successor, whom he refused another term. Sánchez then bought the Partido del Pueblo's voting rights and ran for this party. Many PPD members voted for him, which brought the PPD its first election defeat and Luis A. Ferré became governor.

After the end of his political term, Muñoz Marín traveled through Europe and met many politicians. In 1972 he returned to Puerto Rico to support the candidacy of Senate President Rafael Hernández Colón , the new PPD leader, for governorship.

In 1980, Muñoz Marín died of a stroke at the age of 82 . His funeral became a major event that dwarfed his own father's funeral and was attended by tens of thousands.

Meaning and honors

During his tenure as governor there were immense changes in Puerto Rico as it transformed from a rural to an urban society. The number of second-generation Puerto Ricans in the continental states is now at least as large as that on the island. Autonomy is more advanced than ever. It is also considered a harbinger of modern Puerto Rico.

His opponents, however, see a Faustian adaptation of the youthful idealist and nationalist to the power of the United States, who abandoned the idea of ​​independence and instead cemented the island's colonial status. Others accuse him of reducing population growth by empowering immigrant workers in the United States and taking family planning measures.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

US President John F. Kennedy awarded Muñoz Marín the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 6, 1962 . The US magazine TIME published two cover stories about him in 1949 and 1958, calling him “one of the most influential politicians in recent times, whose achievements will be remembered for many years” (“one of the most influential politicians in recent times, whose works will be remembered for years to come ”). In 1957 he received an LLD from Bates College.

His daughter Victoria Muñoz Mendoza is also politically active and in 1992 applied unsuccessfully for the office of governor. The central airport of Puerto Rico ( Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport ) and some educational institutions are named after Muñoz Marín.

literature

• Frauke Gewecke: Puerto Rico between the two Americas. Volume I. On politics, economy, society and culture of a nation in a territorial no man's land (1898-1998) . Vervuert, Frankfurt am Main 1998. ISBN 3-89354-102-0 , especially pp. 62–72.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jonathan Cohen: Muna Lee: A pan-american life (English)
2. ↑ Muna Lee in the Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project at Starkville High School ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
3. ↑ Frauke Gewecke: Puerto Rico between the two Americas. Volume I. On politics, economy, society and culture of a nation in a territorial no man's land (1898-1998) . Vervuert, Frankfurt am Main 1998. ISBN 3-89354-102-0 . P. 63.
4. ↑ Frauke Gewecke: Puerto Rico between the two Americas. Volume I. On politics, economy, society and culture of a nation in a territorial no man's land (1898-1998) . Vervuert, Frankfurt am Main 1998. ISBN 3-89354-102-0 . P. 65.
5. ↑ quoted from: Frauke Gewecke: Puerto Rico between both America. Volume I. On politics, economy, society and culture of a nation in a territorial no man's land (1898-1998) . Vervuert, Frankfurt am Main 1998. ISBN 3-89354-102-0 . P. 65.

Web links

Commons : Luis Muñoz Marín  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín (Spanish)
• Biography for the award of the Medal of Freedom ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English) in the Internet Archive at archive.org, as of September 27, 2007, as of August 18, 2009
• Title of Time Magazine, May 2, 1949 (English)
• Title of Time Magazine on June 23, 1958 (English)