Bolívar Pagán Lucca (May 16, 1897 – February 9, 1961) was a Puerto Rican historian, journalist, and politician.

Early years

Pagán was born in

Guayanilla Guayanilla (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 ...

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 received his primary education in the public schools of Adjuntas, and went to secondary school in the city of Ponce. While still in school in Ponce, he was a contributor to the newspapers '' El Día'', ''Nosotros'', ''Renacimiento'', and '' Puerto Rico Ilustrado'' and editor to both ''La Idea'' and ''La Aurora''. In 1919 Pagán became the vice president of the Socialist Party of Puerto Rico, a pro-statehood, pro-labor party (not to be confused with the

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).

Schooling

In 1921 he graduated with a law degree 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 wa ...

; the same year he was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in San Juan. The following year he served as judge of

Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It i ...

Political career

In 1924, Pagán ran unsuccessfully as a Socialist Party of Puerto Rico candidate for election to the

Puerto Rican 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 th ...

. The following year, he began a four-year tenure as city treasurer of San Juan. In 1928, he ran again for the Puerto Rican Senate, but was not elected. He succeeded on his third try, and served as a member of the Puerto Rican Senate from 1933 until 1939, rising to leadership positions such as president pro-tempore and majority floor leader. While in the Puerto Rican Senate, he worked on legislation of social and cultural importance, such as universal suffrage, workers' compensation, and the creation of the Instituto de Literatura Puertorriqueña. He also served as mayor for the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1936 till 1937. In 1939 Pagán was appointed

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 ...

to the U.S. House of Representatives by the Governor of Puerto Rico, William Leahy, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Pagán's father-in-law,

Santiago Iglesias 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 Commis ...

. In 1940, he was elected Resident Commissioner under the auspices of a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

between the Socialist Party and the Republican Union. In the 78th Congress Pagán was appointed to serve on the Committees on Agriculture, Labor, and the Territories. The following Congress, in addition to the previous committee assignments, he was appointed to the Committees on Insular Affairs, Military Affairs, and Naval Affairs. In Congress he continued the work of his father-in-law and successfully advocated the extension of social security benefits to Puerto Rico, and the application of workers' compensation laws to the Island. Pagán pushed for Puerto Ricans to elect their own governors. He introduced a number of bills to achieve this, but they were not passed during his tenure. In addition, he brought to the attention of Congress the dissatisfaction of some Puerto Ricans with Governor Rexford G. Tugwell. Pagán returned to Puerto Rico, and was again elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico, was reelected in 1948, and served until 1953.

Later years

He resumed his law practice in San Juan until his death on February 9, 1961. He was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial 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 over ...

Major publications

*'' Historia de los Partidos Politicos Puertorriqueños (1898-1956).'' Librería Campos, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1959. *''America y Otras Paginas.'' Imprenta La Correspondencia, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1922. *''Ley Municipal Revisada, Anotada y Comentada.'' Imprenta La Correspondencia, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1925. *''Ideales en Marcha.'' Imprenta Venezuela, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1939. *''Puerto Rico: The Next State.'' Imprenta Dwyer, Washington, D.D., 1942. *''Crónicas de Washington.'' Editorial Stylo, Ciudad de Mejico, Mejico, 1949. *''Historia de los Partidos Politicos Puertorriqueños.'' Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1959.

References