Luis Negrón López (April 19, 1909 - September 18, 1991) was a
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
from
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. Negrón was among the founding members of the
Popular Democratic Party ''(PPD)'' and served as
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and as candidate for
Governor of Puerto Rico
The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
The governor has a duty ...
in the elections of 1968.
Early life and education
Negrón López was born
Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
Sabana Grande () is a Sabana Grande barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas, Puerto Rico, Lajas and Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guánica; south of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Maricao; east of ...
in 1909. He graduated from the
University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
in 1932. Two years later he received his law degree and dedicated himself to private practice until 1948.
Political career
In 1940, he helped
Luis Muñoz Marín
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
In 1948 he ...
and others in the creation of the Popular Democratic Party. In the elections of that year, Negrón was elected Representative to the Puerto Rican Legislature.
In the elections of 1944, Negrón is then elected to Senate of Puerto Rico. He worked closely with then Senate President Muñoz Marín in the implementation of legislation that eventually became the ground work of
Operation Bootstrap
Operation Bootstrap ( es, Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is ...
.
Negrón López was among the members of the Constitutional Assembly that in 1952 drafted the
Constitution of Puerto Rico
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government a ...
. After that, Negrón continued to serve in the Senate, a post that he held until 1968.
That year, incumbent Governor
Roberto Sánchez Vilella
Roberto Sánchez Vilella (19 February 1913 – 24 March 1997) was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1965 to 1969. Sánchez Vilella successfully ran for governor in the 1964 elections for the ''Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, Partido Po ...
had a serious dispute with the leaders of the PPD and was barred from seeking a second term as Governor under the party's insignia. Negrón was then chosen as the new candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico. However, Governor Sánchez had founded a new party, the ''People's Party'', and was also seeking reelection. This caused a division inside the ''PPD'' that caused the defeat of both Sánchez and Negrón. Instead,
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 ...
of the
New Progressive Party was elected Governor. This was the first electoral defeat ever for the PPD.
Later and death
After the elections of 1968, Negrón retired from public life. Negrón López died on September 18, 1991, when he was 82 years old. He was buried at the
Sabana Grande Masonic Cemetery
The Sabana Grande Masonic Cemetery ( es, Cementerio Masónico de Sabana Grande), known formally as ''Cementerio Masónico de la Resp. Logia Igualdad Núm. 23 de Sabana Grande'' ( en, Masonic Cemetery of the Respectable Equality Lodge Number 23 of ...
in
Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
Sabana Grande () is a Sabana Grande barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas, Puerto Rico, Lajas and Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guánica; south of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Maricao; east of ...
. The town of Sabana Grande named the high school after him.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Negron Lopez, Luis
1909 births
1991 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico
People from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
University of Puerto Rico alumni