Rafael Guas Inclán (1896 – October 12, 1975) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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 ...

and

Vice President of Cuba The vice president of Cuba, previously the vice president of the Council of State between 1976 and 2019, is the second highest political position obtainable in the Council of State of Cuba. Currently there is a provision for several Vice Presiden ...

. He was son of Carlos Guas Pagueras, a Cuban independence general and

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 Rosa Inclan. He was graduate of the

University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first ...

School of Law where he also later taught classes. Guas was lifelong member of the

Liberal Party of Cuba The Liberal Party of Cuba (), was one of the major political parties in Cuba from 1910 until the Cuban Revolution in the late 1950s, when it was exiled. History Liberal governments Founded as the Autonomist Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Aut ...

, in 1925 was the youngest elected person to the

Cuban House of Representatives The Congress of Cuba () was the legislature of Cuba from 1902 until the Cuban revolution of 1959. The Congress consisted of the 150-member Chamber of Representatives (''Cámara de Representantes'') and the 54-member Senate (''Cámara del Senado' ...

, which he presided from April 1927 to August 1933. Guas went into exile, with his father and brother Gregorio (a dentist and also member of the Cuban House of Representatives) after President

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major polit ...

was overthrown in August 1933. The three were involved in an automobile accident in Miami on Dec. 6, 1935, as a result of which their father died. The brothers then returned to Cuba to bury their father. He was a delegate to the Cuban Constitutional Convention 1939-40. He served as senator (1940–44) and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

province (1944–48). He was Minister of Communications 1953-54. As president of the Liberal Party, was elected Vice President of Cuba in 1954 as a compromise candidate under Fulgencio Batista. Guas was elected

Mayor of Havana In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

in November 1958 but did not assume the post after Castro seized power on January 1, 1959. A street mob burned his law office that day. Guas sought asylum in the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an Embassy in Havana and returned to exile with his wife, Luisa Maria Decall and children, Hilda, Luisa, and Carlos Rafael Guas Decall (an attorney and member of the Cuban House of Representatives). He tried to join the

Brigade 2506 Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506) was a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion landings in Cuba on 17 A ...

prior to the April 1961

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

-sponsored

Bay of Pigs invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fina ...

but was rejected because of his age. His son, Carlos Rafael, died in combat at the Bay of Pigs. He died in Miami and is buried at

Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum is one of the oldest cemeteries in Miami, Florida. Woodlawn Park Cemetery-North was established in 1913 by three pioneers in Miami’s early history – Thomas O. Wilson, William N. Urme ...

there.

References

Latin American Studies website article

20th-century Cuban lawyers Speakers of the House of Representatives of Cuba Cuban senators Government ministers of Cuba 1896 births 1975 deaths Mayors of places in Cuba Vice presidents of Cuba Cuban emigrants to the United States {{Cuba-mayor-stub