Justo Alcides Méndez Rodriguez (December 2, 1917 – September 2, 1995) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as a Senator in the

Puerto Rico Legislature The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico ( es, Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico) is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bic ...

Education and career

He was born in

Lares, Puerto Rico Lares (, ) is a mountain town and municipality of Puerto Rico's central-western area. Lares is located north of Maricao and Yauco; south of Camuy, east of San Sebastián and Las Marias; and west of Hatillo, Utuado and Adjuntas. Lares is spread ...

. He later studied Engineering at the

College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...

in Mayaguez, there he joined the Beta chapter of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities, Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puert ...

fraternity. He married Provi O. and had three children. He began his career as a Chemical analyst at the Central Plata in 1941, then he was Chief of chemicals at the Central Los Canos, in Arecibo in 1943. He was a member of the US armed forces from 1943 to 1946, later he worked as Gen. Sipt. at Central Los Canos from 1946 to 1950. Afterward on he was Executive Vice-President of the Central Fed. Savings & Loan Assn. from 1958 to 1964. After that he was President of San Martin Mortgage & investment Corp. from 1964 until 1967. He served as President of the Junta Planificacion of Arecibo and was a former member of the Junta of Corp Dirs. of Urban Renovation of Housing, and the Junta Dirs. Of the Housing Bank.

Political career

He was elected Senator for the first time in 1968 as a member from the New Progressive Party (NPP) In the 1968 Senate elections he almost beat out PPD

Rafael Hernandez Colon Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

for President when the first vote in the senate was tied 12 to 12, yet in the second round of votes he lost by one vote. The reason for the tie was that some PPD senators such as

Lionel Fernández Méndez Lionel Fernández Méndez (January 24, 1915 – February 17, 1998) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician. He was a member of the Constitutional Assembly that created the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (1951–1952). He was a senator for the Pop ...

voted in blank. From 1968 till 1972 he was the Minority Leader in the

Senate 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 ...

, but after the 1972 elections

Carlos Romero Barcelo Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

supported José Menéndez Monroig to be selected to that position instead. He was also

Secretary of Agriculture of Puerto Rico A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

. In 1984 he switched to the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) after a bitter internal fight with Carlos Romero. From May 22, 1986 til December 31, 1988 Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. He died in September 1995 at the age of 77 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Justo Alcides Mendez Y Rodriguez - LifeStory
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez Rodriguez, Justo A. 1917 births 1995 deaths Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Lares, Puerto Rico Secretaries of Agriculture of Puerto Rico Secretaries of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico 20th-century American politicians

Education and career

Political career

See also

References