Attorney Ángel Viera Martínez (1915 – December 6, 2005) was a prominent pro-statehood public servant in Puerto Rico during the second half of the 20th century.
Biography
Earned his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Puerto Rico School of Law
The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...
. He began his public service as a prosecutor. In 1968 he ran as a candidate for state representative under the banner of the
New Progressive Party, which he helped found the year before. In January, 1969, he became Speaker of the
Puerto Rico House of Representatives
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senat ...
, collaborating closely with pro-statehood Governor
Luis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 October 20, 2003) was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the ...
, while the
Puerto Rico Senate
The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control t ...
, presided by
Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...
, remained under the control of the opposition
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party ( es, Partido Popular Democrático, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the ...
. When Hernández Colón and his party swept the 1972 elections, in 1973 Viera Martínez became House Minority Leader until he once again became Speaker in 1977.
As a result of the 1980 elections, the New Progressive Party had won 26 seats and the Popular Democratic Party 25, but the latter challenged the results of the
35th Representative District, creating a tie with each party holding 25 seats, pending the final results of that district. Since the new House in 1981 was tied, it was unable to elect a Speaker, as required, by an absolute majority. To complicate matters,
Ramón Muñiz (PPD
32nd District) died on the House Floor in January 1981 and Representative-elect
Fernando Tonos Florenzán's election was invalidated due to him not having the constitutionally required 25 years to serve in the House,
[''Nogueras'' v. ''Tonos Florenzán'', 110 DPR 356 (1980) and ''Tonos Florenzán'' v. ''Bernazard'', 111 DPR 546 (1981).] leaving the House with 25 New Progressives and 23 Popular Democrats. House Secretary
Cristino Bernazard, who normally would have presided over the House only until it elected its new Speaker in its inaugural session, became the first unelected Acting Speaker of the House. During Bernazard's incumbency, he appointed co-chairs to the House standing committees and required that all House decisions and legislation be approved by consensus. After some political wrangling, in what became known as the Viera-Colberg Pact, the House elected Viera Martinez once again as Speaker for the remainder of 1981 and maverick Popular Democratic Rep.
Severo Colberg Ramírez
Severo E. Colberg Ramírez (September 16, 1924 – December 26, 1990) was a Puerto Rican politician. He served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, and was the Speaker from 1982 to 1985. He was affiliated to the Popular Dem ...
as Speaker from 1982 until 1984. In late 1981, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Popular Democratic candidate in the 35th District, and with the Popular Democrats finally filling in the two vacancies they had, that party gained control of the House, with a majority of 26. In 1982, Viera Martínez once again became the House Minority Leader.
In 1983, he joined San Juan Mayor
Hernán Padilla
Hernán Padilla Ramírez (born May 5, 1938) is a retired physician and former two-term Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Biography
After training as a nephrologist, he entered private practice and joined the military with the Puerto Rico Nationa ...
in bolting the NPP and founding the Puerto Rico Renewal Party, serving as its unsuccessful candidate for
Resident Commissioner
Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...
in the 1984 general elections, ending his elective career.
Died at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital due to heart failure at age 90. The House cloakroom was named after him before his death in 2005, when he was honored by Governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...
, House Speaker
José Aponte and Senate President
Kenneth McClintock
Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...
with a state funeral.
He was buried at Buxeda Cemetery in
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina (; ) is a city and municipality located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and Trujillo Alto; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread ove ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viera Martínez, Angel
1915 births
2005 deaths
People from Gurabo, Puerto Rico
Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
Viera Martinez, Angel
New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico alumni
20th-century American politicians