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José Ramón Adolfo Villeda Morales (November 26, 1909 – October 8, 1971) served as
Trained as a physician, his specialty was pediatrics. Villeda Morales was a liberal who supported the democratization of Honduras after a long period of military rule. He was the
President of Honduras
The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Comm ...
from 1957 to 1963. He was also known by the nickname, "Pajarito".
Biography
Trained as a physician, his specialty was pediatrics. Villeda Morales was a liberal who supported the democratization of Honduras after a long period of military rule. He was the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
candidate in the 1954 presidential election, the first free election for over two decades, winning a plurality over a divided National Party but falling short of a majority. The deadlock led to a coup by Vice-President Julio Lozano Díaz
Julio Lozano Díaz (27 March 1885 – 20 August 1957), was first Vice President of Honduras (1949–1954) and then President of Honduras, from 5 December 1954 until 21 October 1956.
He was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and worked as an account ...
. Following the military junta of 1955, he was in 1957 chosen by the country's constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
to serve as president and oversee the transition to democracy. Villeda Morales immediately embarked on a campaign which he believed would help the poorer elements of society, introducing welfare benefits and enacting a new labor code
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 labour ...
that favored the country's large working class population (working on the theory that regulations, rather than the market, can improve, rather than undermine, long-term conditions of work). While these steps were popular with the masses, they enraged the traditional holders of power in Honduras: the military and the upper classes. When it seemed likely that the Liberal Party candidate, Modesto Rodas Alvarado
Modesto Rodas Alvarado (15 March 1921 – 10 July 1979) was a prominent Honduran lawyer and politician who served as President of the National Congress of Honduras between 1957 and 1963.
Biography
Modesto Rodas Alvarado was born 15 March ...
, would win the 1963 election with an even stronger mandate to enact social reforms, the military responded with a coup, just ten days before the election was scheduled to take place.
Ramón Villeda Morales and his wife, Alejandrina, had six sons: twins Ramon and Ruben, Alejandro, Mauricio, Leonardo, and Juan Carlos.
Ramon Villeda Morales died on November 26, 1971, in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he was serving as the Honduran Ambassador to the UN. His widow, former First Lady of Honduras , died in November 2012, aged 95.
Legacy
Villeda Morales helped modernize Honduras, and to create its public health, public education, and social security systems. He was a key supporter of theAlliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marín ...
.
San Pedro Sula International Airport is named after him. His son Mauricio Villeda Bermúdez is a leader of the Liberal Party and was a candidate for the presidency in the 2013 elections.
See also
*History of Honduras
Honduras was inhabited by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east and west of Trujillo by the ...
*
References
External links
1909 births 1971 deaths People from Ocotepeque Department Liberal Party of Honduras politicians Presidents of Honduras Leaders ousted by a coup Honduran pediatricians {{Honduras-politician-stub