Miguel Angel García Méndez (November 17, 1902 – November 17, 1998) was a
Puerto Rican politician and businessman. García Méndez served as the 11th
Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and later served in the
Puerto Rico Senate. He helped found the
Republican Statehood Party
Partido Estadista Republicano (Republican Statehood Party) was a political party in Puerto Rico that operated from 1956 to 1968. Its president was Miguel A. García Méndez. The party formed in 1952 after Partido Estadista Puertorriqueño beca ...
.
Studies
García Méndez was born in
Aguadilla
Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...
,
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 ...
. He commenced his law studies in 1917 at the age of 15 in the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...
. He graduated in 1920 at the age of 19. The
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme c ...
would not license anyone to practice law under the age of 21. He was however, permitted take the bar exam but, was not officially licensed until 1922.
Early career
His first job after graduating was in the law office of his brothers Juan B. García Méndez (who was a reputable civil practice lawyer) and
Manuel A. García Méndez (who was a proficient criminal lawyer). He became a judge in
San German and
Sabana Grande for a short period of time before opening his own law practice in San German.
Political career
García Méndez was a member of the Puerto Rican Alliance and in the elections of 1928, was elected to 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 Sen ...
by the electoral district 18. By 1932, he was a member of the
Republican Union and was named to the first Territorial Executive Committee of the Republican Union. In the elections of that year he was re-elected to the House of Representatives by the same district. In the following elections he was re-elected to the House. This time as an at-large candidate (statewide).
He became the youngest person to be elected as President of the
House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, at the age of 30, starting his first term in 1933. He was reelected for the term from 1937 to 1941.
In 1939, there was a movement to unify the liberal and the labor party members, dissidents of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
. These movement caused his withdrawal from the Republican Union and his collaboration in the organization of which came to be known as Tripartite Puerto Rican Unification. That same year García Méndez introduced the House Bill 598 creating the Industrial Development Corp. which would promote the economic development of Puerto Rico. The bill was never signed by Gov.
Blanton C. Winship. Three years later however, the Industrial Development Co. was created.
In 1940, he ran as candidate of the Unification 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 ...
and in 1941 was chosen vice-president of that political collectivity. When this party was dissolved in 1944, he began to organize the Progressive Republican Union Party, which in 1948 became the Puerto Rican Statehood Party and in 1953 the Republican Statehood Party. In 1952, he was chosen president of the party and elected in that year's election as Senator at large, position from which he resigned. He was re-elected for the same position in the elections of 1956, 1960, and 1964.
In 1952 the year in which
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 ...
was adopted, creating the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, García Méndez was a member of the
Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico. In 1956, he founded the
Partido Estadista Republicano
Partido Estadista Republicano (Republican Statehood Party) was a political party in Puerto Rico that operated from 1956 to 1968. Its president was Miguel A. García Méndez. The party formed in 1952 after Partido Estadista Puertorriqueño becam ...
(Republican Statehood Party) and was a Delegate to the
Republican National Convention from Puerto Rico in 1964.
As head of the Republican Statehood Party, García Méndez boycotted the
1967 status referendum, saying he objected because the results would be non-binding. His position caused a serious division and numerous party members left to go found the
New Progressive Party, among them his wife's brother-in-law
Luis A. Ferré. This led to the party's dissolution after the 1968 elections when it did not poll the number of votes necessary to retain party registration.
García Méndez was known as "El
Pitirre" because of his skills in political debates and ability to mesmerize crowds while speaking in public.
Businessman
The following are García Méndez's business endeavors in chronological order:
1920–1932: Director and secretary for the board of directors of "Banco Caja de Economias y Prestamos de San German".
1937–1940: Member of "Junta de Sindicos" of the University of Puerto Rico.
1940: Presided "Asociacion de Productores de Azucar de Puerto Rico".
Founding Partner of th
Banker's Club Puerto Rico.
García Méndez founded the Western Federal Savings and Loan Association of Puerto Rico (now
Westernbank) on March 1, 1958. His grandson
Frank C. Stipes was the last president of its board of directors.
The W Holding Company was a financial holding corporation located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. On April 30, 2010, Westernbank, its wholly owned bank subsidiary, failed and its deposits and assets were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and subsequently sold to Banco Popular de Puerto Rico.
In the 1960s he co-founded with Efrain Kier a construction company called Atlantic Quality Construction; later on Leon Rubin joined them. The same constructed the Beach Tower and Park Plaza in
Isla Verde, the Ashford Imperial in Condado among others.
In the 1970s he bought the newspaper ''
El Imparcial
''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was a newspaper in 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 Assoc ...
''. but its headquarters was destroyed in a fire (whose cause has remained unknown) and closed down.
Written works
*''Puerto Rico, Eslabon de las Americas.''
*''La Universidad de Puerto Rico como Universidad Panamericana.''
*''Cartas al Pueblo.''
*''La Solucion al Status Politico Final de Puerto Rico.''
Personal life
He married Fredeswinda Ramirez de Arellano Bartoli on June 25, 1926, in
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He had two daughters, Ileana and Fredewsinda. García Méndez died on November 17, 1998, on his 96th birthday, in Mayagüez.
Honors
After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico in 1920, he received a prize from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
for his thesis on Constitutional Law.
On 1993 the "Asociacion Productos de Puerto Rico" presented him with the prize named "Industrial Emeritus Antonio R. Barcelo" for his long and brilliant career as an industrialist in Puerto Rico.
On November 17, 1999, 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 Sen ...
declared November 17 the official day of Miguel Ángel García Méndez.
On a bill passed by
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
there is
United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
building in Mayagüez, his hometown, that bears his name. and there is also an avenue "Avenida Miguel Ángel García Méndez" in his honor.
Among the other honors are "Paseo Miguel Angel García Méndez" in
Aguadilla
Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...
, Puerto Rico, and a statue of him which was placed in the Capitol Building on February 13, 2006.
Link
Public law #19 (''Ley Núm. 19'') of June 16, 2005, created the "Miguel Ángel García Méndez Legislative Oratory Prize" (''Premio Legislativo à la Oratoria Miguel Ángel García Méndez'')
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
*List of political parties in Puerto Rico
This article lists political parties in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has a 'first past the post' electoral system, in which a voter can vote by party, by candidate or both. To qualify as an official political party (and thus be able to appear on the ...
*Politics of Puerto Rico
The politics of Puerto Rico take place in the framework of a democratic republic form of government that is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States Congress as an organized unincorporated territory. Since the 1898 invasio ...
References
External links
Obituary
in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Mendez, Miguel A.
1902 births
1998 deaths
20th-century Puerto Rican businesspeople
Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
People from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Statehood movement in Puerto Rico
Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
University of Puerto Rico alumni
20th-century American politicians