Rubén Berríos

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Rubén Ángel Berríos Martínez (born June 21, 1939 in Aibonito , Puerto Rico ) is a Puerto Rican lawyer , politician and current president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party .

Life

Berríos was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. He attended high school and graduated in 1957. In 1961 he received his bachelor's degree in business management and economics from the University of Georgetown , his doctorate in law and a doctorate in international law from the University of Oxford . His first wife was Swedish and his son Rubén was born in Stockholm . Since 1967 he has been a law professor at the University of Puerto Rico .

He is the only person in Puerto Rican history to be admitted to the International Court of Justice .

When Berríos was 31 years old, he became president of the Independence Party (PIP) and was president of that party five times. In 1972, 33-year-old Rubén Berríos became a senator for the first time. In 1984, 1992, 1996 he was re-elected Senator.

He published the books The Independence of Puerto Rico: Cause and Struggle , Puerto Rico: Nationality and Plebiscite, and Towards the Puerto Rican Socialism .

Berríos is admired by many Puerto Ricans, including some who did not follow his ideology. In his candidacy in 1984 he therefore received over 80% of all votes.

Civil offenses

In 1971 Berríos protested against the US Navy and was therefore imprisoned. As a consequence, he was stripped of his professorship at the University of Puerto Rico (law school). On May 8, 1999, he and other US opponents took part in a camp on a US Navy bomb test site in Puerto Rico. In December 1999 he resumed his seat in the Senate.

On May 4, 2000, he was evacuated with the remaining campers by US Marshals and US Marines. The arrest of Berríos was broadcast live in Puerto Rico. He reoccupied the base five days later, but was quickly evacuated again. Since he did not agree with the bomb tests of the US Navy, he occupied the test site a third time. He stayed in the test area for five days before being arrested again.

Published books and speeches

  • Rubén Berríos: The Independence of Puerto Rico: Cause and Struggle . Lecture to the United Nations, 1973.
  • Rubén Berríos: Puerto Rico's Decolonization. 1997
  • Rubén Berríos: Un Mapa Para la Ruta. 2004
  • Rubén Berríos: Towards the Puerto Rican Socialism.

credentials

personal data
SURNAME Berríos, Rubén
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berríos Martínez, Rubén Ángel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Puerto Rican politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Aibonito , Puerto Rico