José Tous Soto (October 2, 1874 – March 22, 1933) was a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and former Senator and Representative.

Early years and education

José Tous Soto was born in San Lorenzo on October 2, 1874. He graduated with a Doctorate in Civil Law from the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History Th ...

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Appointed as judge

He was appointed Associate Judge of the District Court of Arecibo. In 1903 Soto sits as district judge of the important office of San Juan, then moving to Ponce again, where he served until 1908.

Political career

Party alliance

Tous began his political career with the Liberal Fusionist Party, led by Luis Muñoz Rivera. He then joined the Republican Party.

Legislator

In 1900, he was chosen to occupy a seat in the House of Delegates of Puerto Rico, representing the district of Guayama. In 1914, he was elected for another term, this time representing the district of Ponce. In 1917, Tous was a member of the first Puerto Rican Senate established by the Jones-Shafroth Act. He represented the District VI (Guayama). Served as Speaker of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

from 1925 to 1930. When the Campbell autonomy plan was presented in Congress in 1922, Tous opposed it. The project offered Puerto Rico the possible development of an autonomous state.

Leadership in the Alianza

He continued serving at the Senate, until 1924. That year, Tous and

Antonio Barceló Antonio Barceló y Pont de la Terra (1 January 1717 – 30 January 1797) was a Spanish privateer and general admiral of the Spanish Navy. Of humble origins, Barceló rose to admiral on military merits alone, an unusual event at his time. He ...

, then Senate president, led a merging of the Republican Party with the opposing Union of Puerto Rico, forming

Alianza Puertorriqueña Alianza Puertorriqueña was a major political party in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island o ...

. The merging came as a means to unify the efforts of the politicians legislating in favor of better conditions for Puerto Ricans. As a result, Tous became a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

while Barceló continued in the Senate.Historia del Poder Legislativo
on SalonHogar

Death

Tous Soto died on March 22, 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tous, Jose 1874 births 1933 deaths People from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican judges Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians University of Oviedo alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico