Santiago Iglesias Pantin
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Santiago Iglesias Pantín (February 22, 1872 – December 5, 1939), was a Spanish-born Puerto Rican socialist and trade union activist. Iglesias is best remembered as a leading supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico, and as the
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico The resident commissioner of Puerto Rico () is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico every four years, the only member of the House of Representatives ...
in the U.S. Congress from 1933 to 1939.


Biography


Early years

Santiago Iglesias was born in
A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and ...
,
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, where he attended the common schools, and was apprenticed as a
cabinet maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...
. At a young age he stowed away on a ship which landed in
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 Caribb ...
. There he organized workers and, beginning in 1889 was secretary of the Workingmen Trades Circle in
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.
. Iglesias subsequently moved to
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 ...
, and was the founder and
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of three
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
papers: * ''Porvenir Social'' (from 1898 to 1900) * ''Union Obrera'' (from 1903 to 1906) * ''Justicia'' (from 1914 to 1925) He was a very active labor organizer in Puerto Rico and was often arrested and jailed for his activities, and was considered
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutua ...
(AFL) president
Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...
's ally on the island. In fact, Gompers appointed him general organizer of the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutua ...
for the districts of Puerto Rico and Cuba in 1901. In 1915, he founded the Puerto Rico's
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 ...
, a pro-statehood, pro-labor party (not to be confused with the avowedly Marxist and pro-independence
Puerto Rican Socialist Party The Puerto Rican Socialist Party ( es, Partido Socialista Puertorriqueño, PSP) was a Marxist and pro-independence political party in Puerto Rico seeking the end of United States of America control on the Hispanic and Caribbean island of Puerto ...
founded in the 1970s). His Socialist Party, unlike its namesake, did elect its candidates to elective office during many elections. He also served as secretary of the
Pan-American Federation of Labor Pan-American Federation of Labor ( es, Confederación Obrera Panamericana) was an international trade union organization, promoted by the American Federation of Labor. The organization was founded at a conference in Laredo, Texas, United States in D ...
from 1925 to 1933. In 1936, he was wounded during an assassination attempt by
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...
partisans. After losing a race in 1908 against
Tulio Larrínaga Tulio Larrínaga (January 15, 1847 – April 28, 1917) was a Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Biography Born in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Larrínaga attended the Seminario Consiliar of San Ildefonso at San Juan, Puerto Rico. He studied c ...
for Puerto Rico's non-voting delegate seat in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, Iglesias was elected as a Coalitionist
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 ...
on November 8, 1932, and was reelected in 1936 for the term ending January 3, 1941. He served in the 73rd, 74th, 75th, and
76th Congress The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939, ...
es, from March 4, 1933 until his death.


Member of the Senate of Puerto Rico

Iglesias served as a member of the
first Senate of Puerto Rico The First Puerto Rican Senate, under United States occupation, was the first meeting of senators of the Senate of Puerto Rico elected as part of the legislative branch of their government. Elections for the Senate of Puerto Rico were authorized b ...
in 1917, and reelected several times, until his election to Congress in 1932. He pushed for many social reforms, many of which did become law, either as part of the PDP's reform agenda in the 1940s or as part of the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952.


Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives

Iglesias unsuccessfully pushed for legislation to enable Puerto Ricans to elect their own Governor, a concept that did not become law until 1947. He was able to have Puerto Rico included in many
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
assistance programs, including road construction, the Bankhead-Jones Act that enabled agricultural experimentation, the fight against
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
and the Jones Act exclusion regarding the taxation of shipping between Puerto Rico and other U.S. ports. In Congress, he served on the Insular Affairs, Agriculture, and Labor committees.


Personal life

Married to Justa Pastora Bocanegra in 1902, he had eight daughters, named
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Liberty, Equality, Justice, Peace, Light, Fraternity and Fidelity, and three sons, including career military officer Edward Iglesias, and the late Manuel Francisco Iglesias, distinguished Air Force Captain and Lead Crew Radar Office of the B-29s during World War II.


Death and legacy

Iglesias died in office in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 1939 and his body was returned home to Puerto Rico, where it lay in state at the Capitol. Some 200,000 people were said to have filed past the casket and 50,000 are said to have gridlocked the streets of Old San Juan during his funeral. Iglesias's body was interred in a tomb at Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...
. Early in 1943, a
Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
was named for him.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans *
List of Hispanic Americans in the United States Congress This is a list of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress, Hispanic and Latino Americans who have served in the United States Congress. Persons included are identified as having a lineage from Spain or Latin America, a definiti ...
*
List of foreign-born United States politicians This is a list of United States politicians who were born outside the present-day United States, its territories (the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American ...
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) * List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) * List ...


References


Further reading

* Gonzalo F. Córdova, ''Santiago Iglesias Pantín, Creator of the Labor Movement in Puerto Rico.'' Rio Piedras, PR: Editorial Universitaria, 1980. * Manuel Mourelle de Lema. ''Santiago Iglesias Pantín: Un político circunstancial gallego en Puerto Rico.'' May, 2010. * Clarence Senior, ''Santiago Iglesias: Labor Crusader.'' Hato Rey, PR: Inter American University Press, 1972. * *


External links

*
Memorial Services held in the House of Representatives of the United States, together with remarks presented in eulogy of Santiago Iglesias late a resident commissioner from Puerto Rico frontispiece 1941
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iglesias, Santiago 1872 births 1939 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico People from A Coruña Puerto Rican people of Galician descent Resident Commissioners of Puerto Rico Socialist Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Migrants from Spain to Spanish Puerto Rico